Original Features in New Guy Tower Wagon
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ANEW and original type of tower wagon, having a Guy Wolf chassis as its basis, formed a recent delivery to Liverpool Corporation Passenger Transport Department. Designed and constructed at the corporation's Edge Lane works, the body possesses many unusual features.
The vehicle is to be used in connection with the repair and maintenance of overhead equipment, of which there are 92 route miles. The body, which is light in weight, carries a telescopic tower, and embodies a workshop and seats for linesmen. The cab, which was supplied by Percy Lane, Ltd.,, has a full-width windscreen.
To assist the driver in " placing " his vehicle, a Triplex toughened-glass panel is built into the roof over his head. This glass has a double curve, so that it merges into the shaped metal roof.
At the rear of the driving compartment is a workshop, equipped with a bench, vice, etc., and on the off side of the compartment a seat for a linesman is provided. Communication with the driver is via a sliding panel in the bulkhead. This compartment has a door on only the near side, but is glazed on all four sides.
The sides of the vehicle, to the rear of the workshop, are swept down and taken around the back to leave a wide step, which gives easy access to the telescopic wooden tower with its revolving platform. The tower is operated manually and is fitted with check-dogs, ratchets and pawls to prevent unforeseen accidents to the winding gear.
The exterior of the body is metal panelled and painted in the department's standard colour scheme of cream and green. On the roof, facing forward, and on the tower at the rear, large illuminated danger signs are provided, to warn traffic that linesmen are working. To prevent accidents when the vehicle is standing in unlit portions of the track or transversely to a roadway, red danger lights are built into the panelling on both sides.