50 YEARS' CONTRACTING BRIls
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PROSPERITY AND EXPANSION
141'0W taking an active, if indirect, part in Britain's vast armament moves, one of Gloucester's premier road-haulage firms can look back upon times which seem wrapped in fantasy, if compared with our age of machine-mastered speed and -efficiency. The " teething " years of Messrs. Tom Morris and Sons, Dover Court, Coney Hill Road, Gloucester, were times of hansom cabs and horsed wagons. Steam power was still a new god, whilst mechanical transport was far from being a vital factor in war and defence.
Fifty years ago the grandfather of Mr. F. A. Morris at present a director) founded the concern with one or two horsed vehicles. In 1914 came the firm's first motor—a Selden, whilst in the past 14 or 15 years remarkable steps have been made in the acquisition of further commercial vehicles. At present •there are 29 vehicles on A licences, 10 on C licences and four on A-contract licences. The most recent addition is a Dodge (two months old), whilst there are 18 other vehicles of this make, the oldest being a 1997 model.
These smart Dodge tippers were supplied to the firm by the St.. Aldate Garage, Gloucester, who operate, incidentally, an up-to-the-minute and splendidly equipped service station. Fourteen of them are 5-tonners, two are 4-ton long-wheelbase jobs, and another two are 2-tonners. In addition, there is one Dodge .5-ton three-way tipper. Making up the remainder of the A-licensed section of the fleet (the aggregate tonnage of which is 65) are Forclson, Bedford, Morris-Commercial, Commer and Reo vehicles.
Having an aggregate tonnage of 10, the lorries on A-contract work are Bedfords. On the C licence, which is held in the name of Tom Morris (Sands and Gravels). Ltd., there are 10 Bedfords. A short-period B licence is being obtained for these vehicles for Government work.
The firm have one trailer, but this is employed only occasionally. All tipping bodies are of Brandlow and Edwards manufacture.
On the firm".s letter heading 'are seen the words
gA
motor contractors, warehousernen, furniture removers, starers, etc." This legend,however, is trite and makes known little of the fine service in haulage which the firm have given, and continue .to give on a scale which is steadily growing.
In the earlier days of their notor haulage Messrs. Tom Morris and Sons were occupied mainly in sand and gravel carrying. Then came the transport of furniture as well, whilst a good deal of general haulage was carried out. Of recent years there has been a steadily increasing demand for reinforced concrete, so that ballast carrying has become the all-important work of the fleet. This is arduous work and the vehicles are well put through their paces.
It is not only that more roads, bridges, etc., are always being made, but the defence programme has brought a new and far-reaching demand—a call for materials for the construction of aerodromes,. shadow' . factories, underground fuel-storage tanks, barracks, and so on, So Messrs. Tom Morris and Sons keep up a B13 steady supply from quarry to contractor by the use of fast and reliable lorries.
An idea of the type of service given is provided by the information that, on a recent day, nearly 200 loads of ballast were carried from Edge Quarry to Quedgeley Aerodrome site, each trip being about 10 miles. On this particular job, the firm aim at delivering 1,000 cubic yds. or over per day. As will readily be understood, a certain amount of hiring of vehicles has to be done.
Approximately 45 sub-hauliers are employed; the average number of lorries hired daily is about 55, and the fleet is operated as follows:—
A great deal of transport is carried out for county and city councils on various assignments. One big job for Gloucester Corporation, in progress at the moment, is in connection with a reservoir at Churchdown.
Furniture haulage, of course, still forms an important part of the work of the fleet (there are depositories at Charles Street and Barton Street, Gloucester), whilst general haulage.entails the carrying-out of many varied and interesting jobs.
It may be said that the normal radius of operation of the fleet is 50-60 miles, whilst the average mileage per vehicle per day is probably in the region of 120, the maximum being 160. A Dodge purchased in December, 1936, has completed 84,000 miles, and a Bedford put into commission at the same time has done 63,000, so that it will be seen that there is a good deal of variation as between the mileages of the different vehicles.
Sand and ballast haulage is extremely _rough work, and vehicles engaged in it are certain to suffer hard lives. In spite of this, the firm keeps its lorries in presentable condition, and it is stated that reliability is of a high order, particularly in the case of the modern Dodge vehicles, which have proved a fine investment. Tyres, naturally, wear quickly, and a mileage of 16,00018,000 per set is all that is expected.
All routine maintenance of the fleet is effected at the firm's depot, but major jobs. such as reboring or crankshaft grinding, are done by the St. Aldate Garage. Messrs. Tom Morris and Sons have a well-equipped workshop and a good stock of spares. Body repairs, repainting, etc., are also carried out at Dover Court.
Mr. F. A. Morris takes a decidedly active part in he busine.ss, whether it be supervising at the quarry, " making contact" with potential important customers, or attending to administratory matters in the office. Co-director in the -firm, and without a doubt equally keen, is Mrs. C. E: Morris, his mother.