ECONOMY OF MOTORS IN MUNICIPAL HAULAGE.
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The Experience of a Large London Borough. Facts and Figures in Support of Municipal Claims.
AFEW months ago—to be precise, in our issue for May 16th—in the course of an article deaiing with the use of electric vehicles in public service, we referred at some length tot-he experience of the Islington Borough Council with vehicles of this description, and published certain comparative statistics dealing with running costs. We are now able to amplify these facts and figures by extracting interesting matter from the recently published annual report of Mr. H. J. Wigfieid, the cleansing superintendent, for the year ended March last. Mechanical vehicles were first utilized for refuse collection in the borough on June 6th, 1921, when two 2-ton electric vehicles were put into commission. During September the vehicles, which had been engaged on street watering, were transferred to this work by the interchanging bodies, A daily collection of fish offal is made by a Ford 1-ton vehicle, the offal being contained in suitable bins of a standard type ; every night a tank van conveyS the offal to the Fish Guano Co. at West Ham. The borough is divided into 16 districts for refuse collection purposes, arid at the end of March the work of collection in seven districts was effected by means of 11 electrically propelled vehicles, and one petrol vehicle was engaged on collecting refuse from laundries, prisons, hospitals, and other public buildings; four other electric vehicles, delivered in February, were put into commission during March as 'relief " vehicles, to enable the bodies of nine of the above-mentioned vehicles to be changed for street watering, to conunence on April let. Since the close of the financial year, four 2i-ton electric vehicles for refuse collection have been ordered, together with another 4-ton petrol lorry, to be fitted with a refuse body. The cost of collecting refuse in the borough by both horse-drawn and mechanical vehicles varies according to the season; in summer, when the material is light, the cost per ton is considerably higher than in winter. In September last it was computed that each gang of six collectors and four horse-drivers cleared weekly an average of 2,304 houses and collected a weight of 55 tons of refuse, as compared with two 2L-ton eleetrics, with six fillers and two drivers, which cleared 2,556 houses and collected 65 tons, the comparative costs of collection then being :—
ton.
By horses, 17s. 4d. per n.
By electrics, 15s. 7.7d. per ton. on.
In January, 1922, the amount collected by horses averaged 65 tons per week each district, and by electric vehicles 851 tons, and the respective costs were :—
By horses, 4s. per ton.
By electrics, 11d. p 12s. 1.5d. per ton. In 1920 the cost of collecting domestic horse labour o refuse by honly was 21s. 7.9d. per ton, and a further sum of 10s. 4.3d. per ton for disposal, a total of 32s. 0.2d per ton. At the close of the year (March 61st, 1922) the respective costs are :— By horses Collection only, 14s. 11d. per ton; disposal, 8s, per ton; total, 22s. lid, per ton.
By electrics : 12s. 1.5d. per ton disposal, 8s. per ton; total, 20s. 1.5d. per ton.
The cost of collecting only from each
house 'weekly is 3.65d. by horse vans, and 3.10d. by motors.
The Karrier petrol lorry collects, on an average, 67 tons per week, at an approximate cost of 7s. 10d. per ton, and does the work of four horses and vans, with a saving of 4s. 2.5d. for each ton collected. Street watering was carried out by a number of the electric vehicles, fitted with watering bodies. At the commencement of the year machine sweeping was carried out in Islington by a Lacre motor sweeper and six horse-drawn sweeping machines, which between them swept 65 miles of streets each week. This work is now carried out by three Laffly motor road sweepers, which collectively sweep 100 miles of streets each week. In former years the Islington Borough Council has employed as many as 91 horse-drawn watering vehicles in dry weather, but owing to the greater portion of this rolling stock becoming totally unfit for further use, between 60 and. 70 vans were broken up, and less than 30 vehicles were at work, supplemented by a number of mechanical vehicles. It is anticipated, however, that owing to the large programme of tar-spraying work which is now being carried out, the amount of street watering performed in the past will not in the future be necessary, During the watering season a water van is attached to each Sweeping gams, and this answers the double purpose gang, and only watering the road surface, but also prevents the sweepers from raising elouds of dust, as has been the case in
the past; this method is not only of benefit to the passers-by and the shopkeepers on the route, but is more pleasant for the sweepers themselves. Owing to the adeption of mechanic-al transport, the number of carmen in the service of the council has been reduced from 100 to 93, and the services of the whole of the hired horses and drivers which in the past were regularly engaged have been dispensed with, except for holiday relief work and for street watering in summer. .
The number of horses has been reduced from 100 to 94, and as it is the intention of the council to replace horses with mechanical vehicles, it is evident that the number of men engaged in the workshops will accordingly be reduced as time goes on,
MotorVehicles Effect Economies in Gully Emptying.
The total number of gullies cleansed during the period under review was 7,160. At the commencement of the year these were emptied and flushed by horses and vans, and it. is estimated that each gully was then cleansed once every four to six .months. At the present time this work is carried out by a Leyland steam gully eriiptying vehicle; working in conjunction with a Hanford flushing (and street watering) vehicle-on occasions supplemented by horses and vans—and at the present rate of working each gully is emptied once every three to four months, thus showing an improved working capacity of about 35 per cent., with lower working costs. This work is, of course, still in a very unsatisfactory condition, and it is ins tended that further improvements shall gradually be made until each gully receives attention at least once a month.
It is computed that the cost of emptying each gully by horses and vans amounted, at the Close of the year under review, to 3s. 5d., and by the Leyland gully emptier to Is. 10d. Flushing gullies by horses and vans costs 1s. each, and by the Hallford flushing vehicle Ed. only. A garage has beenprovided at the Cottenham Road depot for the housing and charging of the council's electric vehicles. This building was erected by the building and maintenance department of the council. The total cost was £5,708. Accommodation is provided for 12 vehicles and electric lighting has been installed both in the garage and other depot buildings at a further cost of £362. The necessary generating plant, charging panels, etc., have been installed at an outlay of £4,851 10s. The main switches are of 250 ampere double-pole iron-clad fuses, suitable for 600-volt circuit ; each motor starting panel is fitted with no-volt and overload releases, suitable for 403 volts 50 period single-phase motor, the maximum current between steps not exceeding 15 amperes_ There are five charging panels, each capable of charging two vehicles at the same time. The five generating sets installed are each capable of giving a maximum output of 150 amperes at any desired voltage between 90 and 115; the motor is of the slip-ring or repulsion type ; the direct current generators coupled to these motors direct are capable of giving 150 amperes at a con stant speed of 960 r.p.m. , An entirely new building of two stories has been in course of erection since May, 1921; at Lofting Road, to serve as a garage for the mechanical vehicles and for their repair and maintenance, and also for the charging of electric vehicles, there being provision, for 'workshops, etc., and generator room overhead. This building, which has cost about £20,000, provides accommodation for 22 vehicles_ The first two electric vehicles were put into commission on June 6th, 1921, but, owing to delay in the completion of the installatiop of the generating and charging plant at the Cottenham Road garage, they had to be charged, until July 11th, at an outside station. The charging plant at Cottenham Road is capable of dealing with ten vehicles.
All the drivers employed on these vehicles have been trained for the w,ork (in the council's thne), having been previously engaged as carmen, etc., and their transfer from such work has been necessitated by the adoption of mechani
cal traction for the council's work. The total amount of electrical energy consumed for the charging of the vehicles to March 31st was 77,018 units, an aver-p age consumption of 3.06 units per mile run; it must be remembered that this figure includes power required for the running of the generators.
The consumption of each vehicle varies with the nature-of the -work upon which it is engaged. House refuse •collection necessitates frequent stops, and thus more energy is consumed than would be the case when the vehicle is on a long run, as when employed on street watering.
Fuel Consumption and Mileage Totals.
The total consumption of fuel by the council's fleet of petrol vehicles for the year ending March 31 was 3,994 gallons.
A total mileage of 25,137 miles was covered by the electric vehicles (4,771 miles on street watering and 20,366 miles on refuse collection), and it is estimated that the total mileage of the petrol vehicles to March 31st, 1922, was 30,422 mites (17;529 miles on street sweeping, 1,460 miles on refuse collection, 7,368 • milee, on street watering and gully flushing, and 4,065 miles by the Ford 1-ton vehicle on -street cleansing and fish offal collection).
The fact that no.fatal or other serious accident has occuiredi during the period under review reflects great credit to the care and judgment exercised by the drivers ; the number of minor collisions and accidents in which the vehicles were concerned amounted to ten in all, i.e., one to every 6,000 miles run, Which is a very commendable record. During the period under review a total of 14,184 tons of refuse was collected by the mechanical vehicles in 4,594 loads, or an average of 3.09 tons per load.. It will be seen from the mileage figures that this avorksinvolved the running of 21,826 mile.e, so that the collection of each load necessitated an average run of 4.75 miles,
There is, at present, only one steam vehicle, viz., the Leyland gully-emptier.