The Motor Drivers News.
Page 21
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Mysterious Hitch.
" W.B." (Slough) writes :—" In answer to the request tich you published at the foot of my letter in your issue the 6th ultimo, I send the following notes. The strainers erred to in A Mysterious Hitch ' are placed in the
I believe, to keep any foreign matter from passing into with the possible result eventually of stopping up the mall holes in the baffle plates. A silencer, fitted with a niner, lasts longer and is free from back-pressure, so ig as the strainer is taken out and cleaned at regular in-vals. I have, naturally, paid attention to the matter of aning Out the strainers on my vehicle ever since I exrienced the hitch referred to in my previous letter to you."
oublesome Joints.
J.D." (Keighley) writes on the 28th instant :—" Since 4 sending you some of my experiences, I have been exunely fortunate in having no breakdowns of any kind, :hough my wagon has had a good deal of hard and coniuous work to do. Steam wagons, and petrol-driven hides for that matter, are really most peculiar things. ut may drive your motor for weeks and everything will swimmingly; then comes the fateful day when the luck ms. Joints blow out; bolts shear; and everything seems go wrong until the turn of the bad luck is over. Well, e day last week I was told off, with three other of our ivers, to take our wagons for a journey of twenty-nine les outward, the return journey—making a total of 58 les—to be completed in the day. (To those who are not the know with regard to steam wagons, I may say that e above distance means a longish day's work.) Each tgon carried five tons of goads, with the addition of fuel, iter, and small etceteras. As I knew th.at water was ,ne too plentiful on the route which we were going to ke, I made up my mind to be No. " "out of the yard, that I should be first at the various watering points. To ake a long story short, I started off knowing that, with asonable luck, the run would be a good one, as I had pre)usly thoroughly overhauled my vehicle. I had not driven ry far, however, before a cylinder joint blew out, and in 57 make of wagon it is very awkward to make a new joint, pecially when the metal is hat. I had my pattern joint .th me (for those who do not knew what this is, I may oxam n that it is cut from tin and is an exact replica of the int which is to be cut from asbestos or other material) id soon cut a piece of asbestos the right shape, without .ving to burn the tips of my fingers; I thus saved valuable ne. Then I started off with the wagon once more, being ow No. " 4 " instead of No. " I," and this after all my irry in starting away from home. When I arrived at the .st watering point, I found that the other three wagons id taken up all the water, so that there was hardly a op left, so I had to wait for over half-an-hour while the 3ter trickled slowly in. When I had replenished my tank, made another start, and had hardly got under way, hen the jointing in the steam gauge New out nis happened in a solitary spot with no shops, and, as I id used all my asbestos when attending to the cylindei' ,ver, I was at a loss as to the best means of repairing e damage. Some distance from the road 1 espied an Dlated house, so I trudged to the door and asked for a ece of cardboard—I could think of nothing else which ould be of use to me. My request was complied with, and made the joint which has given every satisfaction and mains in place as l write this letter ; the cardboard appears to act quite as well as asbestos. I then made another start and, eventually, arrived at the second watering place,. only to find that, as before, all the water had been used up by the three drivers in front of me. After waiting for twenty minutes, I filled my tank and started off and at last arrived. at my journey's end without further mishap. Here,. however, I met with another disappointment; owing to my being so late all the men had gone home and I could not get unloaded until the next morning. I had lost nearly six hours altogether owing to the delay in getting water and making joints, etc. This was my first experience of being stopped owing to joints " blowing," and I sincerely hope it will be the last. My record for the previous week was as follows :—Six journeys ; the wagon travelled 213 miles; the value of the goods delivered was over ,-,606; 26Ewt. of coke was used ; and, last but not most unimpOrtant, I slept at home each night. Do steam wagons pay?
say—yes, if they are properly organised."
[We think that " J.D.'s " idea of carrying sheet metal patterns of the joint rings required for the engine is a good one, and we would commend it to others. To-find that all the water had been taken by the other drivers must have caused much disappointment to our correspondent, especially after his starting first and anticipating making a " scoop." Why not toss for first place next journey—if the other drivers will agree?—En.]
Nearly a Serious Accident.
" J.K." (Bridgwater) writes I notice that, in your issue of the 23rd May, you publish a letter headed A Tight Corner,' which reminds me of •a narrow shave I once had. with a single-deck motorbus. The interior of the vehicle. was quite full of passengers, whilst the roof carried their Itig-gage, and also one or two extra passengers. I. was. driving up a rather steep bill, when in a moment the cardan shaft fractured near its forward end. This put my foot brake out of action, so I threw over the hand-brake lever, but to my alarm the brake would not hold the vehicle, and, to make matters worse, we jumped the sprag. I could not steer into the bank, for the simple reason that it was of solid rock, and would have knocked in the side. of the vehicle as well as injuring the passengers who were sitting inside. There was nothing else for it, so I steered backwards down the hill, round a turn at the bottom, along a short piece of level road, and, finally, up an incline, which brought us to a stop. Luckily, the passengers kept their
heads,' and this made it better for me, although it was no easy matter steering down the short hill ; as the inside was full, I had to steer by side glances down one side of the body. The road was quite clear of any traffic at the time, which was something to be thankful for as the distance that we ran backwards was fully 5oo yards. Both passengers and myself were shaken when it was over, but I am thankful to say that no damage was done to the bus, with the exception of the fracture of the cardan shaft."
[Amongst the many drivers of motorcabs in the Metropolis, there must be many who experience the necessity for prompt and intelligent action during the day's work. The incidents may include mechanical difficulties, tire and traffic troubles, or any of the numerous small annoyances which are peculiar to, and must be met by, the drivers of these publicservice vehicles. We, therefore, invite drivers to send in details, either with or without rough sketches. Published letters will be paid for at the rate of one penny per line.—En.]