Tipper Bulldozed into Sea Wall: B.R.S. Part in Flood Relief
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WHEN the three-quarter-mile-long W gap in the sea defences at Suttonon-Sea was being filled with material brought from Scunthorpe and Corby, one of the tippers in a long line of vehicles broke down. The urgency of the work precluded any possibility of its being towed away for attention, so that, together with slag and roadstone, it was bulldozed into the 20-ft.-high bank being constructed. Tarmac Ltd. was the main contractor for the repair of the sea wall at Sutton and used 200 vehicles of its own, mainly Thames steel-bodied tippers. and 300-400 more hired from British Road Services and other operators during the period between the disaster and the high tide a fortnight later. As the vehicles had to turn on the sea wall in order to tip their loads, only short-wheelbase models could be used.
Unlimited Hours and Speed
As drivers' hours regulations were waived and the police expedited the movement of the vehicles with no regard to speed limits, the tippers managed to make two return trips a day. Drivers, for whom accommodation was provided at the Grand Parade Hotel, Skegness. put in 16 hours' work every day. Road transport moved 4,000 tons of material daily. Special trains carrying 500 tons each ran to the railway station at Sutton. Mr. E. A. Betteley, transport manager of Tarmac, Ltd., who escorted the Duke of Edinburgh during his visit to Sutton, told The Commercial Motor that work was still in progress at Sutton and Ingoldmells, although not with the degree of urgency as during the critical period.
7,000 Tons a Day
B.R.S. set up an emergency transport organization under Mr. D. H. McVeigh, Lincoln District manager, to deal with the traffic. At the peak period 500 vehicles, manned without stop by 600 drivers, carried 7,000 tons of material a day from Scunthorpe and Sleaford to Sutton and Mablethorpe, where the main contractor was Sir Robert MacAlpine and Sons, Ltd. The narrowness of the roads, with deep dykes on each side, made driving hazardous, particularly at night. Many drivers were away from their homes for 10 days, working without a break. When the urgent need for tippers first became apparent, a call was teleprinted to all B.R.S. stations, relief drivers were enrolled, and emergency fuelling and billeting arrangements devised. Report points were set up at which drivers could be told where to pick up their next loads; sometimes 200-mile journeys to Derbyshire were involved. Over 100,000 tons of slag and clay have been transported. Lorries and excavators frequently became submerged and had to be sal vaged. On one night, 27 vehicles were recovered by B.R.S. heavy tractors. In addition, B.R.S. have distributed over 9m. sandbags in the various danger zones—lm. in the first 12 hours following the flood. Bundles of clothing and bedding were carried in from places as far afield as Glasgow and Bristol. Six landing craft were conveyed by the Special Traffics (Pickfords) Division on low-loaders from Plymouth and Portsmouth to Chatham.
NEW STANDARD ESTATE CAR 14YDRAULIC operation of the clutch I 1 is a feature of the new Standard models announced yesterday. New to the range is a cheaper version of the estate car, which is supplementary to the existing four-door model. Minor changes in the general appearance of the van and estate cars are concerned with the radiator grille and bonnet motif. The price of the four-door estate car is il,020 7s. 9d., whilst that of the twodoor model is £927 Is. Id. Both the 12-cwt. van and pick-up truck cost f:639 Is. &I.
STANDARD TO BUILD JEEPS
IN three or four months' time, the I Standard Motor Co., Ltd., is to begin the manufacture of American Willys Jeeps at Coventry. The vehicles arc to be offered to Commonwealth, Western European and South Asian Governments for sterling. The price is hoped to be lower than that ctf the American product. The arrangement reached between the Standard company and the WillysOverland Export Corporation will enable Standard vehicles to be marketed in America.
ROOTES SHOW WEEKS
QERVICE show weeks by Rootes
■ –; dealers in the Home Counties are to be held as follows: March 9-14, Messrs. Herman Solomon and Sons, High Street, Camberley; March 23-28, Wright's Motors (Hells), Ltd., Rickmansworth; April 13 18, Manton Motors Ltd., Shirley Road, Croydon; April 27-May 2, R. S. Mead (Sales), Ltd., 42 Queen Street, Maidenhead.