Mann's Patent Steam Cart and Wagon Co., Ltd.
Page 19
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
Exhibit :-2-ton High-speed Wagon.
The above-mentioned company is showing one of its new 2-ton steam wagons which has been built to the order of Tangyes, Limited, which company now owns two vehicles of similar make. This wagon is fitted with a locomotive-type boiler, built up of Siemens-Martin mild steel plates, the edges of which are planed, and the riveting done by hydraulic machinery.
It is well stayed, and is constructed for a working pressure of 20olb. per square inch. It is fired from the off-side through a fire-door accessible from the foot-plate and may be fed with either coke or coal. It is provided with all usual, necessary fittings, including silent blow-off, safety valve which discharges the escaping steam into the funnel. Fitted in the smoke-box, is an exhaust steam superheater which not only silences the discharge of exhaust, but also renders it invisible, in order to meet the requirements of the regulation referring to visible vapour. The boiler is fed by a continuous-acting pump, driven by the engine, which ensures proper regulation of the water level. There is also an auxiliary injector fitted, for supplying the boiler when the engine is standing. Special arrangements are made for efficiently cleaning and washing out the boiler and, whenever a plate is bent, it has a very large radius, which is certainly a point to be considered in boiler design, as it permits of more equal expansion and saves the riveted joints considerably. The boiler occupies rather less of the total length of the vehicle than is the case in some vehicles fitted with this type of boiler, and this is brought about by shortening the barrel and somewhat increasing its diameter. The length from the back of the driver's scat to the extreme front end of the smoke-box is 4 feet 9 inches. A large tank is fitted, which holds mo gallons of water and, for rapidly filling this from any wayside brook or pond, a water lifter with 20 feet of suction hose and a strainer is provided.
The engine is of the compound type with a high-pressure cylinder 31 inches in diameter, and a low-pressure cylinder 6,01 inches in diameter; the piston stroke is 6 inches. The wearing surfaces are made large for high speeds and, whereever necessary, the parts are case-bardcried. The reversing and linking mo tion is actuated by a single eccentric in a manner patented by the company. The engine develops 2oh.p. at its nn-mai number of revolutions per minute. All the working parts of the engine, as well as the transmission gearing-, are enclosed and run in an oil bath of rather neat and light construction. The side plates are of cast steel and have long bearings of hard phosphor-bronze to take the crankshaft and intermediate shaft. The remainder of the oil-bath is built of flanged steel plates, which give a lighter form of construction than is possible with any form of cast engine case. In doing this, the company is carrying out the principle of design which it has always embodied in wagons of its make; the only point of difference being, that the crankshaft and intermediate shaft bearings are here cast integral with the side plates instead of having loose brackets bolted on, as in the 5-ton type.
The transmission is by steel gears throughout. All those are of cast steel with machine-cut teeth, and, running in oil, they ensure silent and smooth operation. Two speeds are provided; one, 31 miles an hour, is for hill climbing, and the other, 8 miles an hour, for all normal running. The frame is of channel steel, suitably stayed and braced, and is mounted on semi-elliptic springs over both the axles. The leading axle is carried under a fore. carriage and turntable bolted to the under-side of the smoke-box, and steering is effected from the foot-plate by a diagonal shaft with a worm engaging with a quadrant on the fore-carriage.
The wheels are all of steel, the "drivers " being 3 feet 2 inches in diameter by 6 inches in width of tire. This has holes drilled in it to receive cross
bars or spikes for use on soft Or frozen ground. The front wheels have chilled bushes, and oil caps to prevent the escape of oil. There is a powerful brake which acts directly on the rearwheel rims, and the reversal of the engine offers another and powerful form of brake for emergencies.
The lorry platform is to feet long by 5 feet 6 inches wide and the height from the road to the top side of the platform is 3 feet 6 inches. Any type of fixed or tipping body can, of course, be fitted to suit special requirements.
The vehicle is constructed on sound, road-locomotive lines; all castings, wherever possible, are of steel, in order to combine lightness with great strength, and all the working parts arc properly encased and lubricated. It is designed to deal with a load of 2 tons on its own platform, and the area to accommodate this load is ample for almost any kind of merchandise. The approximate weight of the vehicle is 3 tons, and the overall dimensions are, roughly : length, 15 feet 6 inches ; width, 5 feet 6 inches. The company also makes, amongst others, a vehicle for dealing with a load of 5 tons on its own platform, and its address is :—Mann's Patent Steam Cart and Wag-on Co., Limited, Pepper Road Works, Hunslet, Leeds.