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THE LORRY'S PART IN HIGHWAY MAINTENANCE.

5th August 1924, Page 18
5th August 1924
Page 18
Page 19
Page 18, 5th August 1924 — THE LORRY'S PART IN HIGHWAY MAINTENANCE.
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A Special Type of Vehicle used for Many Road Operations in America.

.L-3,„ A LITT-LE over a year ago the high way officials of Kern County, California, bought of Messrs. Fageol Motors Co., Oakland, Cal., a lorry specially equipped for highway maintenance. These road men claim to be amply satisfied with their purchase. In one short year this lorry saved more than it cost, at the same time keeping the roads of the district where it was employed in a better condition than ever they had.been kept before. The mechanical and up-todate " Stonecracker John" seems to have been evolved at last !

The experimental Fageol maintenance unit has been improved upon during its short life, but Carefully compiled cost figures covering, its work in Kern County show that, in some cases, the saving in operation expenses is as high as 65 per cent. The story is the same in the case of the traction companies that have bought the improved maintenance lorries. , All show tremendous savings through being able to dispense with large sections of their old maintenance personnel.

In addition, because repair work can go ahead faster' and because, also, the crew is able to find time to patrol long stretches of road, streets can be kept in a better condition. Whenever any

break in a road shows up it can be repaired before it assumes serious proportions, and here alone the road maintenance lorry can save many hundreds of pounds annually. Some British roads would be all the better if every road authority would realize that the time to begin maintaining a road is the day it is completed.

Ttw Fageol maintenance lorry can perform many tasks efficiently and economically : it repairs roads by using pneumatic jack hammers to break up the damaged places • a pneumatic jet can blow out refuse dust ; road materials are carried in suitable bins; a power

driven concrete mixer is carried, whil t tar or surface oil can be spread over finished work. Highway fencing and county and traffic signs can be erected by using the pneumatic posthole digger, materials and concrete mixer, tamping tool, and spray outfit for painting or fireproofing. A side arm 15 available for stretching wire, whilst existing fences lying off the road can be repainted with the spray out.fit. This Admirable Crichton of the road can be used to erect or repair bridges and culverts. Steel, wood or concrete— it is all the same. A -drawbar attachment is fitted to haul materials on trailers. There is an oxy-acetylene

welding outfit for steel repairs. Old paint, rust, etc., can be removed from steel work with the aid of a sand-blast equipment, and then be repainted by spray. Rivets can be heated and headed up by a rivet heater and pneumatic guns. Highways can be bevelled, graded, 'shouldered up, .rolled or drained by using the grading plough attached to the extension side arm. This grader can also be used in .combination with the steel roller tyre on the rear wheel. Cracks on concrete highwa,ys can be chipped out with a special gun and the openings sealed with bat tar through a pressure nozzle. When it is necessary to make road excavations for the laying of sewer pipes, gas mains, etc., asphalt paving can be cut with pneumatic chisels or jack hammer. Replaced excavations can be properly tamped by the tools provided and, finally, the surface of the street can be covered with asphalt and rolled. A tar tank can be used to keep the road mixture hot.

Trees and shrubberies, in parks as well as along highways, can be sprayed by filling the water tank with insecticide or

fungicide and making a high•pressure fog gun of the air hose. Highway fires, especially grain fires, which often purn down fencing, can be put out by filling the tank with a special chemical and turning on through a high-pressure nozzle. This auxiliary fire-fighting apparatus has proved to he most practicable and, for the special purpose for which it has been embodied in the equipment of the vehicle, it has given evidence of its value on many occasions.

The suction hose and centrifugal pump carried can be used to good advantage in pumping out caissons in sewer or bridge construction, for relieving flooded highways and for other uses. Pneumatic tools for cutting road surfaces, a mechanical tie puller and pneumatic tamping tools are also carried.

Other equipment includes an air compressor, operated from the forward-drive shaft, with a capacity of 80 cubic feet per minute ; a large air receiver fitted with a safety valve, gauge, hose connections, etc. ; 200 ft. of 1-in, air hose and connections; and combination material bins having capacities for 1,000 lb. of cement, 1 cubic yd. of sand or 2 cubic yds. of gravel or rock. There is a gravity feed from all bins, controlled by hand-operated gates to the mixing apron.

A water tank, with a capacity of 150 gallons, the contents of which can be drawn either by gravity or under pressure, is carried, and a rotary concrete mixer, driven by an auxiliary shaft from the transmission, also forms part of the equipment.. A 10-ton jack, with bracket complete; 200 ft. of I-in. Manila rope ; 25 ft. of towing chain; a number of shovels, picks, crowbars; a large sledge hammer ; red lanterns and flags; "road

up " signs; and a steel wheelbarrow must also be mentioned.

The chassis used for this extraordinary outfit is a Fageol 5-ton heavy-type unit fitted with the seven-speed combined transmission, which is a feature of this make of vehicle. A high speed can be reached when required, thus saving time in getting to the various points of operation. It also enables the vehicle to operate under all sorts of difficult going, for, sometimes, land must be crossed that is beyond the limits of use of the ordinary lorry.

The engine has four cylinders, with 41 iris, bore and 61 ins. stroke. Although it is rated at 32.4 h.p., its actual b.p. at 1,000 r.p.m. is 45. This engine supplies all the power for the varied equipment carried, and auxiliary power shafts can be operated at different speeds through the combined transmission control.

The platform body is made of oak and fitted with special tool boxes, whilst a windshield and storm curtains are also

fitted. If desired, this outfit Can be used for railway work by fitting flanged wheels. Its sphere of operation can thus truly he said to be most comprehensive.

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Locations: Manila, Oakland

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