London's Refuse Reclaims Marsh
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MARSHLAND bordering on the tiny hamlet of Mucking in Essex has, during the past 20 years, gradually been reclaimed with refuse from three London boroughs. Some 250,000 tons of it from Wandsworth, Lambeth and Lewisham are used annually for this purpose, and although the part played in the scheme by road transport is small, it is essential to its efficiency.
The contractors, Messrs. F. W. Surridge, Wharf Road, London, S.W.18, use our ex-W.D. Albion six-wheeled lorries to carry the refuse from a Thames-side
jetty to the reclamation site. On the day of my visit, this was about a quarter of a mile away.
Until 1944 a locomotive and rail wagons were used, but as a more flexible means for transport was desired, six Bedford 5-tonners were acquired and were operated at Mucking until the larger vehicles were placed in service two years ago. The Bedford& are now working on an identical but smaller scheme at East Tilbury, five miles away.
Barges, each carrying about 140 tons, bring the refuse down from London daily. These are tied up alongside the jetty which Surridges have built specially for the purpose, and the refuse is unloaded direct into the Albions by two Stothert and Pitt cranes.
In two minutes the 28-cu.-yd. trucks —representing some 12 tons of refuse —arc filled by the 5-cu.-yd. grabs of the cranes. The round journey from jetty to site, including tipping, takes only nine minutes, so that it will by realized that the vehicles do an abnormal number of runs in a day. They also carry top soil to the site, 1 ft. Of which must, by local sanitary regulations, cover the refuse.
Operating conditions are rigorous. Until recently there was no road, but one stretching approximately 1,000 yd. from the jetty has been completed. This concrete. stretch, 30 ft. wide and 1 ft. deep, is reinforced with iron from bedsteads and vehicle cluissis found in the refuse. Continual running over broken bottles and old tins, which form a large portion of the refuse, necessitates frequent tyre changes. A life of nine or ten years is expected of the bodies, which, along with the twin telescopic tipping gear, were built by the Spenborough Engineering Co., Ltd. The 1-in.-thick wooden bodywork has a protective lining of thin plate, but it is the operators' intention to increase the thickness of the steel in future bodywork.
Although much of the matter carried is soft, the impact of an occasional bedstead can do much damage. Dimensions are: 6 ft. 2 in. high, 15 ft. long and 8 ft. 6 in. wide.
As might be expected in work of this nature, economic fuel consumption is not a great consideration. The Albions return approximately 8 m.p.g. and oil is changed once a month.
Fourteen maintenance men are stationed at the workshops nearly a mile away from the workings. Apart from breakdowns, which are rare, vehicles are checked only at slack periods. Only gearbox and minor running repairs to the Albions and Bedfords are handled there. Engines are sent to the Church Road Engineering Co., of Hadley, for overhaul, and a spare engine is always kept at the workshops for replacement.
It is the intention soon to replace the Bedford 5-tonncrs working on the East Tilbury scheme with four Albions similar to those at Mucking. A.I.D.S.