Looking for Future Trade with the East.
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0 A coThmeVeial nation such as ours, the opening up of new avenues of trade and the development of the resources of such countries as Egypt, Mesopotamia, Persia and the East in general are of vital importance. The difficulty lies in the fact that there is less of the visionary about the present generation than was the case in the time of our forefathers and that we are more inclined to look for immediate results from and an adequate recompense for our own efforts.
Whether Governments may be expected to show evidence of the possession of greater imagination than individual manufacturers, and to speculate with public funds on enterprises to sithich the manufacturers themselves are not prepared to devote their own monies, is a question that has yet to be answered. Col. Donohue, than whom there is scarcely anyone who has devoted more time and thought to the improvement of transport for the purpose of opening up undeveloped lands, considers that considerable future good may be expected to accrue to British industry if public funds were, to a comparatively sinall. extent, drawn upon for the purpose of a Preliminary consideration of the transport requirements of such countries as we have in mind. With the help Of the Department of Overseas Trade, urged on by the Association of British Motor Manufacturers it may be possible for this consideration to he given.
It is abundantly certain that the individual manufacturer can do very little for himself, because it is necessary, before providing a type of vehicle that seems to answer existing requirements and to suit prevailing conditions, to knosv whether those requirements and conditions will continue for long. The whole circumstances would be altered if official plans for the development of a country should be put into operation at an unexpectedly early date.
There is one important factor that, in dealing with the East, must never be overlooked—that time is relatively valueless there. What will appeal to traders . and merchants in Eastern canaries is the saving in cost—the saving in time is of no moment whatever.
We confidently commend Col. Donohue's article in,. this issue to the attention of manufacturers and others who consider that we should look well into the future, whilst developing current possibilities of profit earning.
THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR TheDevelopment of Bulk Transport.
AVIRTUE that is possessed by mechanical road transport is that it is able, to a very large extent, to eliminate packing. Conveyance direct from door to door and the reduction in handling permit of this great saving, and it is one of the factors which is serving to extend the radius of the road motor far beyond that which would be economic on a mere comparison of freight rates as charged respectively by rail and road.
Transport in bulk is gradually being accepted as a valuable ally of the road motor, and its adoption is being developed in connection with many trades. The brewers., who have for some time had experience with glass-lined steel vessels in the processes of brewing, have been using tanks for the distribution of beer to public-houses, and they are now having their names painted on the tank wagons—a procedure to the adoption of which, in 'deference to public prejudice (due, of course, to ignorance), they were for a long time averse.
We are able this week to deal with two of the latest ideas in bulk transport and to show that, in the case of milk, the method has already been widely adopted in the United States of America. The second instance concerns another foodstuff which, whilst a solid, has the virtue of being able to flow, namely, wheat. The saving of handling and the reduction of labour that would have to be expended in bagging, trucking, loading and unloading, always involving leakage and waste, is very great when wheat can be lifted by pneumatic unloading plant from a ship's hold, be poured into a tank wagon and, by gravity, be allowed to flow from the wagon to the miller's bins. .
There is nothing to prevent the immediate growth of the use of the grain-carrying body, but in the case of milk it is quite evident, from our article in this issue, that more stringent inspection methods and improved conditions of dealing with the milk at the producing areas must be instituted before it would be practicable to adopt the truck-tank, except in special cases.
Transport Vehicles for Traversing Snow and Virgin Country.
EFFICIENT transport in aid circumstances is an essentikl to the well-being of any country. In some the matter is one of comparatively little difficulty, but in others, particularly where there are few, if any, roads of a suitable strength to bear motor vehicles, or where, perhaps, many feet of powdery snow present great problems, special means of transport have to be devised. To be successful, the throbbing heart of an industrial country must send its life-giving materials through every artery of communication, and any part isolated, even for short periods, is apt to cause a partial paralysis of trade which may reflect on the industry as a whole.
During the past few years many efforts have been directed towards the development of vehicles which will satisfactorily traverse all kinds of country under almost any climatic conditions, and in several instances notable successes have been achieved.
Reference to certain of these was made in a lecture given recently by Mr. L. A. Legros at a joint meeting of the British Section of the Societe' des Ingenieurs Civils de France and the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, several films being utilized to illustrate some of the most remarkable machines and their uses.
For a considerable time almost all efforts were concentrated on the track-laying type machine, of which the Citroen-Kegresse has proved most successful. This vehicle can be utilized, in wet marshy ground and over snow many feet deep: and yet can also traverse ordinary roads at a fair speed. Its
BB achievement in crossing the Sahara received worldwide recognition. More recently attention has again been directed to the possibilities of the wheeled machine, and the six-wheeled Renault has also proved that it can traverse sandy desert without any difficulty. Another notable vehicle of the wheeled type is the new Pavesi lorry, which is a development from the well-known tractor of the same make. The lorry is so constructed that the cab can move relatively to the body portion, so that a ditch or wide gully may be crossed at an angle in such a manner that, whilst the cab and two front wheels are inclined in one direction, the rear wheels and the body are inclined in the other, thus avoiding all dangers of frame twist and giving a vehicle so flexible that it can be employed over the roughest country.
Considerable success in traversing country covered with snow and ice has been achieved by an 'American machine known as the Snow Motor. In this vehicle there are, at each side of the chassis, two revolving drums, the front of the first drum being of projectile shape. Round these drums are carried stsips of metal which turn each drum into a screw having several starts. At one side the threads are lefthanded and at the other side right-handed, and the drums at the* two sides rotate in opposite directions. During rotation threads are cut into the snow or ice, which are then used as a nut for each drum, the vehicle actually screwing itself forward at speeds up to SS m.p.h. This machine can run quite successfully on deep, powdery snow, but it appears to be rather difficult to steer on ice, as it has a wavering motion.
We have only given a few examples of what is being done, but we believe they will be sufficient to show that great developments are being made towards a satisfactory solution of the many difficulties encountered.
The Requirements of a Big User.
IT IS seldom that we find a user of motor vehicles sufficiently courageous, or well enough versed in the construction of motor vehicles for commercial purposes, definitely to state what he requires, beyond the mere fundamentals such as load capacity. Therefore, when one appears it behoves designers and makers to pay every attention to the additional data which he gives, particularly if the trade for which the particular design is required may be taken as representative of many others and cover a large field of useful employment.
Nowadays it is the practice of most commercial vehicle manufacturers to specialize in chassis which, in their opinion, will meet the needs of the majority. This is somewhat unfortunate, as the vehicles have to be strong enough to cope with the hardest tasks to which they may be put, with the result that those users who wish to carry light goods only, but goods which are of such a bulk that a comparatively large vehicle is required, are either compelled to employ vehicles far too heavy for this work or to purchase from foreign makers who will supply vehicles more suited to lighter service. Fortunately, the situation thus created is new receiving more recognition, and certain makers are bringing out lighter models, which, we trust, will have the effect of retaining more of the trade for our home market.
Elsewhere in this issue we deal with a paper read last week before the members of the Institution of Automobile Engineers by a director of a well-known company whose business as universal providers calls for a certain type of chassis which, it was stated, cannot be obtained in this country. The writer gave a resume of the features desired, and we have incorporated the majority of these in a chassis assembly drawing, a careful study of which will certainly he of great interest to all those responsible for future productions.