Tests at 14.000 ft. Precede Big Order B EFORE vehicles to the

6th May 1955, Page 76

6th May 1955

Page 76

Page 76, 6th May 1955 — Tests at 14.000 ft. Precede Big Order B EFORE vehicles to the

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value of £250,000 were delivered to Bolivia, tests were made by a field service engineer of Leyland Motors, Ltd., at an altitude of over 14,000 ft., on gradients of up to 1 in 3 and around tight hairpin bends on unsurfaced roads.

The vehicle used was a Super Beaver with a modified fuel-delivery system. Two cast-steel crushing-mill rollers were mounted on the'platform as a test load. A fleet of vehicles is required for work in the mining district of Catavi. From where the transport workshops are situated, the route climbs from 12,200 ft. to 14,000 ft. to the mines.

The Super Beaver had a gross laden weight of over 11 tons, but there was ample power to cope with all the difficulties of the route. A maximum radiator temperature of only 72° C. was recorded when climbing and the brakes proved adequate.

Comet and Super Beaver models are to be shipped to Bolivia. Twenty Comets will probably be required for refuse collection in La Paz, and others for the Government forestry development organization.

[An article dealing with the adaptation of engines for work at high altitudes appears on page 449.]