ECONOMIES IN TRANSPORT OF REFUSE.
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How the Economy of Collecting by Horse-drawn Containers can be Wedded to the Economy of Motor Haulage.
T.IIERE IS considerable diversity in the .methods pursued by the municipalities in dealing. with the .Collection and rotnoval of house refuse, to much so that practically .every township has a system • best suited Wits own particular requirements. 'This': is, however, perhaps, the most costly of municipal transport, because of the time taken to collect .loads, the -short journeys, and the frequent stoppages, which, of course,. are. unavoidable. . It may not, under these conditions, be a. matter . of surprise that some municipalities should be still manifesting an interest inhorse cartage, but on account of the high service potentiality of the motor vehicle this has, in some instances, been a determining factor in indsicing local councils to twitch over to mechanical transport, not only for the purpose of administering to the sanitary services, but to undertake general haulage work for the other municipal departments as well.
Collection by Horse-drawn Containers.
The .Corporation of Southport has in use quite a novel system for the collection and transport of house refuse— even at the best of time slow work—by combining the best. features of horse transport with motor haulage. Up to about 12 months e horse. vans were employed, and the week's cost of a horse vehicle and driver was £7 5s., which, translated into terms of municipal service, .inearit that the municipality had to pay 6s. 2d. for each ton of refuse removed (the average for the vehicle per week being 23.4 tons).
Thirteen or 14 months ago specially designed. Pagefield wagons were put into service and employed in conjunction with the horse collecting vans, with results that have proved eminently satisfactory.
Mi. A. E. Jackson, M.Inst.C.E., the borough engineer of Southport, informed The Cnnatzereial Motor last week that: since the adoption of the Pagefield system, there had been a. saying of 20 per cent, in other words the cost of the new compared with the ohlsystem was
-2s. 6d. per house per annum less to the ratepayers.
Motor Haulage to the Dump.
.Whp,t, is the Pagefield system, and how does it Work at Setithport-? it might be asked. The main transport unit is a Pagefield lorry (3-ton), which does not figure in the actual collection rA refuse from private dwellings (this work is done by horse vehicles), but in running the bulk loads from the collecting areas to the tip or destructor. There are many big residences, including a large number of semi-detached villas, in Southport; consequently, the "live" area is very
scattered. Altogether, there are about 17,000 dwellings, which are grouped up into seven: areas,. all of _which in due course will fall under the tegis of the Pagefield system.
Two of these specially designed lorries are now in service, whilst a third is being acquired as a reserve and. for • general haulage' work. EaW Moter works in conjunction with thtee' horse collecting vans, which are not of the conventional high body type;._but: of particular "design' so that the body will fit on the lorry platform. The horse-drawn vehicles are low
loading. collecting wagons of about 200 .
cubic it. And of 3-ton capacity. The
maximum loading level with the sides up is only 4 ft. 6 ins. When the horsedrawn wagon is full the horse is relieved of its container by the motor; which unburdens itself of a light one; enabling the horse to continue in useful employment. As the lorry platform is equipped with sliding ramps, this process of exchange is very simple of accomplishment. The ramps are first drawn out, and the platform end tipped to an angle of 25 degrees. The horse and shafts having been detached from the tontainer, the latter is now attached to a wire rope worked from a winch (driven by the engine of the wagon) and hauled on to the lorry, on which it is made secure by an automatic locking device. No longer than five minutes is needed to deposit the empty container and to pick • up a full one2 and the :operation can be performed in an ordinary thoroughfare without interference with the ordinary traffic.
'The motor lorry then-proceeds on its way to the tip, where, by the removal of the tailboard of the container and the tilting of the platform to a height ex reeding that of the cab, the whole load is cleanly deposited. The vehicle is now ready to make another round.
Regarded as a Distinct Advance.
The adoption of 'the system has been well justified by the results which have been registered. So far as Southport is concerned, the scheme is-not now looked upon, as it was less than 12 months ago, as being experimental, but as being a • distinct advance upon the more commonplace systems of dealing with the collection and disposal of house refuse. The principal type of irehicle employed at Liverpool for the removal of refuse is the narrow wheelbase dust wagon. Originally, the corporation ventured upon Halley e (4-tonners), then upon Leylands (4-tanners), and finally Pagefields (31-tonners). The numbers of the respective types are Halleys, 10; Leyrands, 8; and Pageflelds, 10—all of them end-tippers. The wheelbase of these vehicles is in the vicinity of 81t. 4 ins., and they are specially suitable for being driven along narrow streets . and negotiating congested. corners.
The city is divided into areas for the collection of house refuse, whilst the class of refuse varies considerably • in each district, calling in some instances for the employment of particular vehi cles. So far as private dwellin.gs are concerned, a gang of binmen work with each motor and carry the loaded bins of refuse along the entries and back passages of dwellings, emptying the contents into the body of the lorry stationed at a point convenient of access. As a rule, each motor makes four full journeys a day. Altogether under the jurisdiction of the Liverpool City engineer there are about 70 petrel vehicles, five steam wagons, and two electrics.