Answers to Queries.
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Daimler Commercial Repairs. .
[2755] (Grimsby).—The parties for whose .address you are inquiring are probably :
The British Automobile Traction Co., Ltd., 21, Rochester Mews, Camden Town, N.W.
A Five-tonner or Two Smaller Ones ?
[2756] (Manchester).—We have had pleasure in posting a sheet of working costs. The smaller the unit, the higher the cost per ton-mile, but the possession of two units instead of one gives increased facilities for handling deliveries contemporaneously, and is advantageous to that extent provided the smaller unit is never damaged by overloading.
Getting On in the A.S.C., M.T.
[2757] (Licutenant).—We are afraid that any man, once he is in the Army, has to put up with military speed. It will only do you harm to invoke outside help to "get a move on." We strongly advise you to put in three months at least on whatever comes your way, without any apparent grumbling, and then to begin to push for a better job and one carrying In ore responsibility.
Axles in Relation to Insurance.
[2758] (Expert).—We find, on inquiry, that the Car and General Insurance Corporation has never condemned Timken axles. Any condemnation of any part at any time by the Car and General engineers, is solely limited to the particular ease of abuse by an owner with which they may be dealing. If a man buys an axle which is made and sold for a four-ton load, and seeks to put seven tons on it, an insurance company which is intelligently managed will naturally not run after the business, but there is no reflection, in such an occasion, upon the maker of the axle.
Charging 6d. Per Ton-mile for Loads Drawn , by Steam Tractor and Doubtful if it Pays.
[2759] (Sussex).—The costs for your Tasker tractor should be in accordance with our sheet, provided the mileage reaches 200 miles a week. Sixpence per ton per note should pay well, unless there are exceptional delays or the road-surfaces are very bad. Reckoning a load 'on the trailer one way only, with a five-ton load, this represents is. 3d. per mile run, ont,and back. Of course, if there is much dodging about or idle running between jobs, that non-earning mileage may affect the average. Sixpence per ton per mile on a steady job should pay satisfactorily. If, however, you find that the average earnings do not represent at least is. 2d. per mile run, reckoning all mileage in the divisor, you should, as haulage contractors, put up the rates, especially at the present time.
Can He Register and Use a Tractor Both as an .Agricultural Locomotive and a Heavy Motorcar?
[2760] (Salop).—Different local authorities and 'different Benches of magistrates take different views as to when a tractor can be classed as amagricultural locomotive. There is DO doubt that you can use a tractor as an agricultural locomotive, as well as under the Heavy Motor Car Acts, at least in some counties. Of course, the nature of the load will determine whether the engine is being used as an agricultural locomotive or not. You are not allowed to haul two trailers under the Motor Car Acts. So long as your loads will be always agricultural in character, you might possibly accept the risk of working the engme as such at all times, but there is undoubtedly a. risk when you undertake haulage work. The limitation of use of a tractor under the Heavy Motor Car Acts is the haulage of a single trailer. This may be altered in the future, but that is the law at the present time. When you are claiming to be working under the Motor Car Acts, we
strongly recommend: you not to haul more than one trailer. Delivery is at present a difficult matter. Purchasing second-hand through our columns is one possible solution.
It may interest you to know that the definition of an agricultural locomotive, under the Acts of 1896 and 1011, is as follows:—
" An agricultural locomotive is a locomotive which is used solely for threshing, ploughing, or any other agricultural purpose, or which belongs to one or more owners or occupiers of agricultural land, and is used solely for the purposes of their farms, and is not let out for hire." Any registration fee is a maximum of 2s. 6d., and a single payment covers the life of the engine.. If you let the tractor out for hire, it. obviously becomes a traction engine when it draws two trailers.
For Coal to the Works.
[2761] (Dewsbury).—We consider that a steam lorry will suit, you best. The standard sheet should help you with costs, provided you can get the mileage per week.
Having regard to your location, we recommend you to apply in the first instance to the undermentioned makers:— Yorkshire Commercial Motor Co., Pepper Road, Hunslet, Leeds.
Mann's Patent Steam Cart and Wagon Co., Ltd., Hunslet, Leeds.
It will be expedient for you to order a machine with solid-rubber tires, having regard to likely classification and taxation arrangements in the future. Petrol-driven vehicles are, of course, allowed to travel at higher speeds, but the first cost and working costs are higher than for steam. Unless you have at least a two-mile trip between your works and the point where you pick up the coal, it will not pay you to entertain petrol.