THE HANDLING AND TRA
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r OF AWKWARD LOADS.
Permission Required in Certain Cases. Ti Long and Co., Ltd., and Redpath, Brown
:s of John Mowlem and Co., Ltd., Dorman Vehicles and Trailers for Special Loads. ONE, OF the most useful properties possessed by the mechanically propelled road vehicle i its ts adaptability to a vast variety of purposes. Amongst these the transport of loads, which, at first sight, appear to be almost too unwieldy and weighty to be carried by road, is one of the most interesting. We are apt to treat as 'a, matter of course the sight of a huge boiler being trundled along, apparently with the utmost ease, behind a steam tractor, and we do not often stop to consider the work which must have been involved in lifting the boiler on to its truck or trucks, and that which will be required when it reaches its destination. As a matter of fact, the handling. of such articles as boilers is not one of exceptional difficulty when compared with many other articles, some of which may weigh as much as 25 tons.
In dealing with loads of this description, the first essential is to obtain permission from the authorities of the various towns through -which the route lies, and in cases where the overhang eaceeds 8 ft. —thus increasing the total length of the vehicle to something like 36 ft.—permission must be obtained from the police, even though the „axle weight entailed by the article carried is less than the maximum axle weight permitted by law.
Our illustrations show many types of vehicles which have been designed or arranged for the transport of heavy or awkward articles, and also examples of the latter, but in this article we 'propose to deal mainly with the activities of several of the bigger concerns who have to deal with constructional steel -work and roa,dmaking appliances.
During the course of our peregrinations we were struck by the appearance of some of the machines utilized by John Mowlern and Co., Ltd., of Ebury Bridge Road, London, S.W. This company do a large amount of work in connection with road construction apart from their building activities. One of the most interesting machines used by them is a trailer or drag built to carry 30 tons. The trailer is fitted with rails, and at the forward end is a, crab winch carrying a wire rope. Although the trailer can be used for carrying many articles, it .ia more usually employed in conveying travelling cranes of the type with which we are all familiar, and weighing some 16 tons.
, 'When loading or unioading one of these cranes a ramp is formed by rails laid down and carefully packed with blacks of timber, the front of the rails being provided with pins which fi0.into corresponding holes in the rails on the tractor. The wire rope from the crab winch is brought round a block at the back of the crane, which, incidentally, is dragged up back: wards, and fastened under the winch. The ramp rails are provided with stay bars, so that there is no fear of them separating. Owing to the height of the cranes, care has to be taken to avoid bridges which might touch the boilers.
,Recently an 18-ton Holt caterpillar tractor B3? was driven up this rail ramp under its own power and brought from Bagshot.
Sometimes this trailer is hauled by a steam tiactor, whilst at other times a most interesting hybrid motor vehicle known as "Lizzie " is employed. " Lizzie " has a most interesting past. Originally a Coulthard steam wagon purchased by the company in 1903 at a cost of ,E606, the boiler and steam engine were removed in 1905 and replac,-ed by a 20 h.p. Thornycroft petrol engine and Thornyeroft three-speed gearbox. As the vehicle had a twospeed gear incorporated in the countershaft, the addition of the gearbox gave the .wagon a total of six speeds, the first being something like 1 m.p.h. Later on the Thornyeroft engine was replaced by a 40 h.p. Aster. Apart from its gears and high
powered engine, the vehicle is provided with a winding drum on an extension from the countershaft layshaft, which can be run in either direction whilst the wagon is stationary.
" Lizzie " is approaching her majority, but, in spite of this, is used entirely for very heavy loads, such as-,8-ton blocks of stone and for hauling heavy machinery, and in the latter capacity it sometimes deals with a concrete breaker weighing 25 tons. This it has pulled up and down hills from Erith without any great difficulty, descending Blackheath Hill and Shooter's Hill on the way.
Another machine which it hauls periodically is a 54-in. trench digger for pipe-lines, etc. This weighs 22 tons, and is mounted on caterpillar tracks at the rear. One drying drum utilized by the company weighs
9 tons 14 owt., and is 37 ft. long, but, in spite ef its weight and dimensions, is carried on an ore, tx ary trailer, and is pulled by an 'Aveling and Per ter tractor.
Whilst referring to tractors, we may mention that the company's fleet also includes an Atkinson steam wagon, three Aveling and Porter 7 n.h.p. steam tractors, one Garrett 74 n.h.p. tractor, two Peerless 4-tonners, a 3-ton Albion, a 25-cwt. Karrier, a 15-cwt. six-cylindered Wolseley tender and a 2-cwt. Charron light van. Mr. Eric Burt, of Messrs. John Mowlem and Co., Ltd., mentioned that the use of rubber tyres on steam tractors is an exceptionally good proposition. When steel tyres were employed axles were broken at an average of three per year, whereas now breakages never occur.
Speaking of the petrol lorries, Mr. Burt men tioned that the Peerless was one of the best lorries for heavy work, as it will get out of practically any difficulty under its own power, and will also deal with heavy loads, whilst the Albion is apparently not quite so powerful, but, comparatively speaking, costs nothing to run. 'Lizzie" is, of course, expensive, and consumes something like a gallon for every three miles. When dealing with such articles as boilers the procedure is to insert ;heft lengths of stout timber under the front and rear, avoiding putting these under the smokeboxes in the case of locotype boilers i hydraulic jacks are then brought into service, and the boiler carefully lifted until the trailer to be used can be run underneath. The timbers are then knocked away or the jacks let down until the boiler comes to rest on the trailer. A similar procedure is adopted when unloading it.
Dorman, Long and Co., Ltd., the well-known steel construe. tion engineers, naturally have to deal with many loads of an awkward nature. For this work they employ a fleet comprising three 5-ton Fodens, two 5-ton Sentinels, two Leyland steam wagons, together with two trailers, .which are used in conjunction with any of the wagons aa. required. The corn; pany carry steel only, but some of the loads weigh as much as 22 tons. For this work they employ a special machine owned by Pickfords, which used to be engaged on the transport of aircraft. Some of the lengths of steel are as long as 63 ft.
On made ground and roads which are undermined or temporarily supported, the company still employ horsed transport, as there is less dead weight ; for instance, a Foden, fully loaded, weighs approximately 12 tons, whereas the total weight of a horsed vehicle to carry the same load. is 8 tons, and, in addition to this, the load is more evenly distributed over the wheels. This would appear to be a ease where the multiwheel vehicle, by reducing the, wheel pressure, would solve the difficulty. Steam is employed exclusively because it has a greater reserve than the petrol engine.
All loading is done by overhead travelling electric cranes with a gantry extended over the loading dock at the works. For unloading an erection crane is usually put up at the site, and so arranged that the jib can reach to the point of access ; but in the case of congested sites the loads are shot or dropped on to packings and enanmuvred to the actual site on big steel rollers or. bogies.
Redpath, Brown and Ltd.,. the large steel constructional engineers, of Co.,Riverside Works, East Greenwich, London, S.E. 10, employ a mixed fleet of petrol and steam vehicles, including five 5-ton Fodens (some of which were purchased at least 12 years ago), two Aveling 5-tonners and,three A.E.C. 3-tonners. These are employed almost all the time for transporting constructional steel work, although they are occasionally used for timber and bricks. As much as 16 tons a day is carried on each vehicle, with a trailer and to a radius of up to 50 miles. The maxin-oun length of the material carried is approximately 70 ft., and it is disposed over wagon and trailer. Lengths of 40 ft. are usually carried on the wagon alone. All are loaded by overhead cranes; unloading is sometimes done by crane, at other times the material is dumped.
The wagons are equipped with special channel steel holsters, the metal bodies being specially constructed 'for the job.
Mr. Winning, the works manager of the company, mentioned that steam wagons are much more reliable than horses, as the engines will pull out of awkward places where horses could not be employed; for instance, at sharp turns, towing a heavy girder by as many as 12 horses is a very difficult task, but it can easily be done by the steam wagon.
The company are quite satisfied with the types of vehicles employed, and have never used horses since they first adopted motors.
We will now deal with some of the particular chassis, trailers, etc. which have been designed, or which are particularly suitable, for use in connection with the transport of awkward loads.
The Saurer Commercial Vehicle Co.,„ .Ltd., 21, Augustus Street, Albany Street, London, NAV. 1, supply a number of very interesting types of trailers which can be used in connection with the Saurer chassis, which, incidentally, is specially designed ler trailer haulage.
The trailer which we illustrate has been built for the conveyance of electric transformers. The frame is constructed of longitudinal girders connected by cross-members and bent through two right-angles at the front in order to provide a low loading platform and the necessary means for
attachment to the trailer. The front members of the frame converge to a ball-headed socket, and a strong eye-bolt is fitted on the socket, so that the trailer can be connected and disconnected from the tractor by means of a crane, or, alternatively, by jacks carried on the front portion of the frame. The back end of the trailer frame, where the ale and wheels are mounted, is designed to suit the carrying capacity of the trailer. The one illustrated can carry up to 20 tons, and there are twin wheels in place of single wheels, in order to spread the load over a greater area. If necessary, the carrying capacity can be increased up to 25 tons, but larger section tyres would, of course, have to be fitted.
The trailer chassis has no axle in the strict sense of the word; there is no spring suspension, the tyres providing the necessary cushioning. A seat is provided on the raised portion whence the brakes can be operated, or, if required, the brake control can be effected close to the driver's seat.
Other types of trailers made at the Saurer works include a dirigible trailer for use on roads with sharp bends. This has a carrying capacity of 15 tons.
The vehicle used with any of these trailers is the 5-ton standard lorry, the frame of which carries channel iron supports holding the ball head for the trailer socket, and an aperture is provided in the platform of the vehicle so that the socket can be placed on the ball head.
Another vehicle which is particularly suitable for trailer haulage, and which can be supplied for various types of trailers to meet individual requirements, is the F.W.D. marketed by the Four-Wheel Drive Lorry Co., Ltd., Slough, Bucks. Owing to the four-wheel-drive principle, the vehicle can run Over comparatively soft ground. This is partly due to the additional traction, as well as to the fact that instead of the rear wheels pushing the front wheels into the soft ground, the front wheels actually lift the lorry through the soft ground and roll over it.
In addition to delivering, -loads of material can be brought out of such places as gravel pits or quarries without intermediate handling ; in fact, in recent case the owner of a mixed fleet used his F.W.D. specially for delivering material out of the sandpit to his other lorries. Owing to the track of the F.W.D. being the standard 4 ft. 8 ins, which is the same as a horsed vehicle, the lorry is tracks. able to follow ordinary cart The company have made up special reversible trailers, which consist merely of two front axles with locking pins, which keep either drawbar central when desired. In the ordinary way, the drawbar of the rear axle would be locked; but, if it is necessary to reverse, the front axle drawbar is pinned and the rear one unpinned.
Another special reversible trailer is made by James Bartle and Co., Ltd., of Lancaster Road, Notting Hill, London, W., and is described and illustrated elsewhere in this issue.
Amongst our illustrations is shown one of two useful types of Albion vehicles, both designed for the transport of long -articles. One is fitted with the ordinary type of high bolster behind the cab with a shorter bolster for carrying in the body, whilst the other has a special form of two-wheeled trailer, which is to all intents and purposes a bolster tarried behind the vehicle, and provided with upright pins to prevent, the article slipping off. Amongst the products of the Berliet Co., whose London address is Automobiles M. Berliet, 40, Sackville Street, W., is a long -wheelbase lorry which has proved very useful for the transport of girders, eta., weighing not morn than 5 tons. The bodywork consists of substantial wood cross-members connecting two wood side-members clipped to the chassis frame. Above these are mounted hardwood bearers, one at cads end and one at the centre of the, body. Metal side stakes arc mounted at the outer ends of the bearers, each being hinged at its lower end and retained in a vertical position by a substantial pin, so that the load can be discharged over the side when necessary. The length from dash to end of frame is 15 ft. 6 ins.
The ordinary 5-ton type can also be used in conjunction with a two-wheeled trailer, which is shown in one of our illustrations. This also is most useful for the transport of long girders. For those who have to deal with the transport of broken-down vehicles, the Fordson tractor may be adapted for road work by the provision of proper wheels and rubber tyres, and, used in conjunction with a trailer, should prove most efficient. This little tractor can haul a trailer with a 3-ton load over practically any road. It is fitzed with three forward speeds and a reverse, and uses approximately one gallon of paraffin for 6k miles. One of our illustrations shows the tractor hauling a.trailer used by A. and S. Andrews, Ltd., Ford dealers, Uxbridge Road, Ealing Common, London, W. 5, who employ the trailer for carrying cars which are not in running order.
Maudslay vehicles have also dealt with some very heavy loads, and we show one drawing 28-ft. steel stanchions by utilizing a two-wheeled trailer attached to the lorry through a long beam drawbar.