HOW THE " C.M." CUP IA
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;4OUGHT FOR AND WON. The Value of Vehicle Parades. 'The CoPromote the Efficiency Which has Enabled Paterson and Co., Ltd., Gas Light and ri Between Users and Their Drivers to ices to be Gained by the Teams of Carter, and London Wholesale Dairies, Ltd. A S DONORS of the Challenge Cup competed fOr by titeams of three vehicles each at the recent parade of commercial vehicle organized by the Commercial Motor Users Association, with the co-operation of the British Electrical Development Association, and held at Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C., we are naturally very interested in the manner in which the parade has progressed and gratified that the high standard set up by the teams of Thomas Wethered and Sons, Lttl., which, incidentally, won the previous cup outright in 1924, is being maintainer.
There have been questions as to the utility of competitions such as this, whether they really make for increased efficiency, or if the time and money expended on them are not wasted. Personally, we believe—and we know of many others who also hold this belief—the parades are of the utmost value in stimulating both owners and drivers to keep their vehicles in a proper state of mechanical efficiency and clean appearance.
Our chief regret is that the parade has been limited to the bigger users, and we hope that soon this limiting will not be necessary. We will not say further here on this matter, as it is dealt with elsewhere in the journal. The majority of the teams exhibited this year showed a marked improvement in their general condition, and we do not really envy the task of the judges, which is certainly becoming increasingly difficult.
With a view to ascertaining the various points and factors which have led up to the successful efforts of the winners of the cup and of those who have achieved other high places in 'the prize list, we visited several of the users, and will deal with these in their order of merit,. as .shown by the prize list.
At the Commercial Motor Users Association's Parade of last year the three Leyland vehicles entered by Carter, Paterson and Co., Ltd., were the runners-up. Therefore, it is not surprising that this team won the premier award at the parade of March 26th. The company thus holds The Commercial Motor Challenge Cup for a year, and longer if they win again, whilst the drivers, T. W. G. Jude, W. H. French and F. T. ird, hold the ShrapnellSmith Challenge Cup, apart from the medal and cash award presented to each, whilst the C.M.U.A. silver medal, constituting the engineer's prize, has been gained by Mr. R. Burgess, fleet engineer to Carter, Paterson and Co., Ltd.
The amazing point in connection with the vehicles comprising the winning team is their remarkable mileages, which, up to the time of the parade, were 214,000, 220,000 and 247,000 respectively.
During the visit which we paid to the company's motor department and central sorting station at Goswell Road, London, E.C.1, we were able to see some units of the motor fleet in actual use, and learn a few interesting points about their work. The. vehicles of the winning team were purchased in 1908, and Mr. R. Burgess, who also joined the company in that year, was responsible for the order. It is interesting to note that he has been fleet engineer during the whole period. The company has entered teams for the C.M.13.A. Parades for many years, but only on this occasion have the same vehicles been entered a second time.
As a proof of the general excellence of maintenance throughout the many hundreds of vehicles forming the total fleet of the company, we may mention thn those forming the winning team came from depots at Walthamstow, Penge and Brixton, respectively, and as to • the mileage they have done, this cannot really be considered excessive in the ease of the Carter, Paterson fleet. For example, reference was made to one of the 4-ton vehicles purchased in 1919, this having already achieved 230,000 miles.
The company is, of course, extremely pleased and very proud at having won the Cup, particularly as only mechanical maintenance and was-king-down are
attended to in the shops and depots, the rest of the work being done by the drivers.
The running efficiency of the whole fleet is very good. Taking it over five years, 921 per cent, of the vehicles has actually been on the road. This is a very high figure, and few transport businesses can equal it.
There are some 24 different garages, but the whole of the vehicles go to repair shops at Walthamstow for
the periodical overhaul. ldrge number of repairs for other firms is also undertaken, this work actually running into thousands of pounds per month. Many people look upon Carter, Paterson and CO., Ltd, as being purely carriers. Actually, the business is most comprehensive, a large number of vehicles being run on contract work, these including a fleet of travellers' broughams and a number of -battery-electric vans. The company even does its own bodybuilding and undertakes work of this type for other firms.
Another side of the business which is de7-eloping rapidly is the provision of garage space for all classes of vehicle, private and commercial.
There are between 30 and 40 carrier depots, and the area covered is approximately 10,000 square miles. In such work as this, with a company selling transport facilities and not goods, the cost per mile is—in the words of the engineer—the bogey to be overcome, and it is not so much a question of spit and
.."\C polish as attention ti5 raechanical efficiency.
It is essential to keep expensive vehicles In actual paying service for as long as possible. We noted, for instance, that at the central sorting station there is a large travelling crane or tackle by which lift bodies can be shifted from one vehicle to another in a few seconds, and this tackle is used for a somewhat unusual purpose. Immediately a vehicle arrives, its body is lifted off and dropped on to the platform of a horsed vehicle; by this means it is shunted to various points for unloading and reloading; meanwhile another lift body, already loaded, can be dropped on to the motor vehicle from another horsed "shunter."
The company also has reason to be proud of its G.V. electric vehicles, one of these gaining fourth place in the electric vehicle section.
It is a very gratifying experience to go amongst the staff which comes under Mr. Walter MeDowall, the "chief of stores" of the Gas Light and Coke Co., and to probe into the methods by which the transport system is run. "Pre," however, is hardly the word, for the records of the company are thrown open to the earnest inquirer with a purpose—as, for instance, a representative of The Commercial Motor seeking useful informa. tion on behalf of the readers of the journal. Those records are perfect and cover every incident in the career of each vehicle forming part of the fleet, and every cost is not merely recorded but is budgeted for each year, the ultimate cost and the budget being compared. Thus, the budget sets the standard of economy that is to he expected and the year's recorded costs show whether the budget figures have been improved upon.
It is gratifying to meet the transport staff of the-cornpatty, because an unusual spirit of harmony prevails, with a very obvious urge in every section towards efficiency and economy. It is the spirit which has been at the back of the constant striving of the various garages to win The Commercial Motor Cup at the C.M.U.A. annual London parade. When the parades
were resumed in 1920 the company entered no fewer than 54 of their vehicles, which was the greater proportion of the entire fleet of 60. Such a large entry helped materially to re-establish the parade, and the teams were rewarded with the gain of the second place. The old petrol vehicles commenced to be replaced in 1924 with Guy and Dennis lorries and vans, the numbers increasing from 45 in 1923 to 54 in 1924, to 57 in 1925 and to 60 in 1926. In the latter year the Firentford branch of tile company was created, a fleet of 24 petrol vehicles being taken over. To-day the total fleet is 84 petrol vehicles, 16 steam wagons, and a number of staff ears. meters and the three Haggerston vans dealing with stoves only. There was a smoking concert that night, free with all its trimmings, to the company's staff, but the conspicuous absentees were the drivers and vanguards of the nine competing vehicles, and Haggerston found an augury in the fact tha,t at football the week before they had beaten the Fulham garage!
, The struggle between the three teams must have been fierce and the markings of the judges very close, for they finished second, third and fourth, being just beaten by the Carter Paterson team. The consistency of the vehicles must have been remarkable for the three teams to have thus finished neck and neck, as it wene. Haggerston gained pride of place and, with two scores against Fulham, is, we learn, now prepared to meet them in any other contest they fancy, and they ask : What about draughts?
Each G.L. and C. Co.'s van does about 10,000 miles per annum in house-to-house delivery, much of it at short radius. The calls total about 50 per day, so that the task imposed on clutch mechanism, clutch, gearbox, gear-change mechanism, brakes, etc., is quite severe. Fuel consumption is apt to be high in consequence, yet the average throughout the whole fleet of 30-cwt., 2-ton, 3-4-ton. 5-ton and heavy vehicles does not emceed a gallon per 10.5 miles. The 3-4-ton Dennis vans do about 6.5 m.p.g., but one driver can consistently get 7.4 miles from a gallon of fuel.
The oil consumption of the fleet is excellent, and it has been considerably lower than it is now, but under the repair superintendent's orders the men are now using more oil than the vehicles at first demanded. The fuel used is the company's own benzole, which is not only natural but is patriotic, for, of course, it would be cheaper to use a mixture having imported fuel. The steamers burn the company's coke in their furnaces.
The mileages covered in 1926 were as follow: 30-cwt. Guy and 30-cwt. Dennis vans, 198,385 miles; other light vans, 90,177 miles; the 2-ton Dennis vans, 26,073 miles; the 3-4-ton Dennis lorries, 205,101 miles; the 5-ton Dennis lorries 19,089 miles, whilst the heavy vans did 8,881 miles. The fleet's total mileage In the year was, therefore, well above the half-million. Some of the facts can best he set out in a table which is here given. It should be made clear that the statistics of the fleet operating from Brentford have not yet been welded in with those of the main fleet of 60 petrol lorries and 13 steamers.
It is interesting to find that none of the troubles generally predicted as attendant upon the use of bensole has arisen. There is no excess of carbonization of the piston heads. To prove this, the cylinder heads of the engineshave not been off since the vehicles were delivered, with this exception, that after two years of running,typical'chicle s were opened up for inspection in order to ascertain when the first overhaul should be due. As a result of this examination, the first of the overhauls was post-dated until 1927, and now the 30
cwt. vans are to be taken in rotation and thoroughly overhauled. The first chassis was actually over the pit on the day of our visit last week.
The number of days of possible work in a year are 307, and a 95 per cent, fleet efficiency means that the average time in dock is 15 days per vehicle per year. This would be shortened but for the time spent on bodywork after mishaps. Accidents are not many, and seldom serious, and so little are they ascribable to the men that the company is now carrying its own motor insurance. The time lost clue to mechanical defects is slight indeed. It is incumbent upon the men to report even the most trivial mishap, and awards of £1 Is. per year are made for freedom from accident. Five years' freedom brings an additional bonus of £5 55. One man is now in his ninth year of freedom from accident. To qualify for the bonus the men apply for the Safety First Association's diploma.
The vehicles are located in about a dozen garages distributed over London. All adjustments anti running repairs are done there; all overhauls are carried out at the motor repair works at Fulham, ;tinder Mr. Thompson, With each vehicle received there is submitted a driver's report of defects authenticated by the garage foreman, and on the report are added the particulars of other repairs found necessary at the repair shop. As the work goes on a record is made of all new parts (if any) that are fitted, and the form is completed and kept in files at the repair shop, the garage and at headquarters. It is possible in a moment to ascertain the life history of any vehicle and to observe if there be any recurrence of a faurt.
The repair shop can undertake work on six vehicles at once, but as the staff under the superintendent is kept at 14, probably the weekly output would only be a little more than one overhaul and the usual quota of small repairs. However, the shop is able to tackle all other repair work in which the internal-combustion engine figures as well as detail work on the steam wagons.
The workshop is able to cut, harden and grind the gearwheels required, to test and overhaul magnetos, to test on the dynamometer an engine after overhaul, to do all necessary machining and fitting, to charge accutnulators, to sharpen and grind milling cutters, to weld by oxy-acetylene flame, etc., so that it is very Well equipped for the work in hand. During any work on a chassis, the driver stays in attendance and lends a hand, as this is found to be better than to transfer his services to a spare van.
Altogether, a visit to the Gas Light and Coke Co.'s fleet gives one the impression of sound work and efficiency, and when one can acid to this a talk with the men, one can understand what a lot there is behind the surface cleanliness and shining parts of the parade vehicles.
The first place in the electric vehicle section was taken by London Wholesale Dairies, Ltd., the actual machine scoring the winning points being an Edison (Detroit) with a mileage of 150,000. This is a most remarkable figure for an electric vehicle and one which has surprised numbers of people, as the batteryelectric is usually looked upon as being a machine suitable only for short-distance work. This is quite true when considered on the daily basis, but many a mickle makes a muckle, and if the useful days of such a vehicle can be numbered by the many thousand, one begins to realize how a large total can be built up.
The electric vehicles operated by the company average some 50 miles per day, so that, up to the present, the prize-winning vehicle has achieved a record of at least 3,000 working days, and the chief engineer informs us that no doubt the present mileage will be doubled before its useful life is finished. Of the other two vehicles entered by the company, one had run 96,000 miles and the other 84,000. Both these were Orwells, made by Ransomes, Sims and .Tefeeries, Ltd. There are few vehicles which have to work so hard as those employed in the milk trade, and this applies with full force to the 14 electric vehicles of 2-4-ton
capacity in the fleet of London Wholesale Dairies, Ltd. Owing to the manner in which they have to be worked, it has been found essential to lay down a charging equipment so that the engineer can be certain of the vehicles being charged to their full capacity, as he found it was not always satisfactory to send them out to charging stations; sometimes they were not fully charged and at other times the charging was carried out too quickly.
The vehicles commence work between 12 midnight and 2 a.m., delivering milk to wholesale buyers. The first returns to the garage at about 10 a.m., having run some 35 miles. It remains for about three-quarters of an hour while receiving a boosting charge and is then sent out for a further 8-10 miles on railway station work. Following this it receives a further half-hour's boost and runs a final six miles on the work of returning empties from its depot to the station. There are two shifts a drivers per day, as the roundsman does his own delivery work and collects empties on his own round, but he does not take them to the station.
The cost of current is approximately 1id. per unit, and this Is considered by the company to be far too expensive, and it is hoped that when the re-organization of the electric supply system is brought into being, attention will be paid to this important matter, for to be a really paying proposition, the current should cost between and id. per unit.
We asked the chief engineer to what he ascribed the winning of the prize. His reply was (a) on mileage; (b) by concentrating on mechanical condition, as distinct from mere appearance. It is quite possible, he said, to wait until a vehicle breaks down and then to spend twice as much on the repair as would be necessary if it received Proper treatment yearly.
The electric vehicles are housed south of the river on the Albert Embankment, and here is situated the charging equipment, which can deal with eight machines at a time.
We havereferred to boosting charges, but, so far as possible, these are not so much boosts as proper charges, for if a vehicle has to be kept idle for a few hours or comes in early, it is given a charge at a normal rate, and to carry this out, so far as possible, the operation of the vehicles is arranged in cycles of work and charging.
A senior electrician and his assistants are retained to maintain the vehicles and, so far as possible, one machine is kept under overhaul all the time, the other 13 being in active employment. Incidentally, every machine which is dealt with is now being equipped with a new open body having a cabseating the driver only.
The batteries are of D.P. Kathanode make, which we were informed are not only excellent in themselves, but are excellently serviced, no trouble being considered too great by those responsible for their sale.
So far as the parade history of the vehicles is concerned, a team, the vehicles of which proved to be the sole entrants in the electric vehicle section, was displayed two years ago, whilst, last year, one of the company's vehicles gained second place in its section.
The drivers help to clean the bright parts of their vehicles, but have very little time to spare for any other than their own work.
The company considers that the electric vehicle has a very great future and that it will certainly eventually take the place of many horses. There is one advantage with the horsed vehicle which is somewhat difficult to equal. That is, when delivering from door to door the horse will follow on its own initiative, but, as a matter of fact, electric vehicles made by other concerns and used by municipalities have been built with kerbside control, so that it is not necessary for a driver to regain his seat after every visit.
The engineer of the company is rather disappointed at the comparatively small size of the London parade considering the number of vehicles employed in the London area, but it is obvious that if the number of entrants was greatly increased it could not take place at Lincoln's Inn Fields.