THE S. D. FREIGHTER IN THE MAKING.
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The Encouraging Growth in the Demand for a New Introduction Which Offers the Advantage of a Low Platform Level.
p11.0BABLY no chassis introduced in recent years for commercial motor vehicle Use has caused more speculation upon its merits and possibilities than the S.D. made by Sholvoke and Drewry, Ltd., of Letchworth, and, with its various types of body, sold as the S.D. Freighter. At first, those who had the opportunity to study the chassis, but had not imagination to foresee for 'themselves the purposes for which it was designed, said, " Yes ; a very clever and interesting prodtiction, but what a pity it is so low "
The merchandising of goods has, however, materially altered in recent years, the introduction of power in their handling having extended so much that, exeept the coal merchant and the .miller, the dealer in weighty supplies does not reckon to have to deliver his goods from warehouseto lorry and from lorry to purchaser on the shoulders or back of his carman. And, if this form of transport is abolished, the way is thrown open to the vehicle with a low platform in order that the amount of lifting from ground level to platform and of lowering again to ground level can be substantially reduced.
The Bin on the Dustman's Shoulder.
There is one form of shoulder transport that, apparently, will persist, viz. the handling of refuse bins. A household bin is invariably taken from its position of reception to the tipping wagon on the dustman's shoulder, and then arises the desirability of emptying it into the wagon without the need for mounting a ladder in order to clear the high side. Here it is a question of the level of the sid6.and not of the platform itself, and, because the S.D. Freighter is about 18 ins, lower than the normal lorry, it has appealed to municipal authorities for refuse collection.
When we had the pleasure a few days ago of being shown over the Shelvoke and Drewry works by one of the managing directors, we were much impressed by the list of municipal authorities who are using—and giving repeat orders for—the Freighter, and we heard with pleasure that, although it is only about a year since the first vehicle was produced, the one hundredth chassis will shortly be laid down. We believe that a libation of wine is intended for it ! That is exceedingly good progress for the first year of an entirely novel production, the markets for which have had to be found and to be opened up, and it augurs well for a substantial business in the near future.
Manufacturers, merchants and dealers of all kinds of goods are finding that the Freighter is excellent for their purposes. It possesses the utmost ability to manceuvre, as it can turn in a circle of less than 21 ft. in diameter, it has a low tare Weight, is as easily driven backwards as forwards, and can get through quite a lot of work. One well-known London haulier has stated that the Freighter, working with demountable bodies, engaged in the removal of grain in sacks from shipside to warehouse, recently hauled 220 tons for a distance of 300 yards in 124 working hours, making 11.0 journeys. This works out at about 7 minutes for the haulage of 2 tons for the distance stated and returning, dropping one body and picking up another at each terminal. The petrol consumption for this work was 4 gallons—.a total fuel cost, at to-day's prices, of 5s.
A very interesting fact is that, with little differences in tare weights, four different wheelbases can be supplied, viz., 61 ft., 8 ft, 94 ft. and 11 ft., giving accommodation for bodies of the respective lengths of 10 ft., 12 ft., 14 ft. and 16 ft., the load capacity being always 2 tons. For passenger carrying, wherever a speed of 15 miles per hour is sufficient, it gives again the advantage of a low platform level, as three easy steps are all that are necessary between pavement and vehicle floor. Hence, for seaside work, it is unapproachable. For milk transport it is an ideal nhassis. Few people realize that more injury is done to men in the handling of milk churns than in almost any other class of porterage, and the saving of that 18 ins, is highly important, as it is that extra height on to the ordinary lorry platform that does the harm.
Railway companies are finding that the S.D. Freighter serves a very useful purpose for the movement of goods and parcels on their platforms and in the parcels yard. It is found, then, to offer the great advantage of quick and ready loading and unloading, the height of the platform of the vehicle being exactly suited to reception from, and delivery to, parcels coaches.
The Letchworth factory is not yet grown to its fullest possible extent, as there is a total area of about 20 acres available, but there is room for a dozen to '15 chassis on the assembly and completion floor, whilst the stores are capacious (if at present somewhat congested), and there is a busy machine shop. But the plans are prepared and passed for the addition of bays which will double the floor area, and work on the preparation of the site has already been started. The first advantage will be a little more breathing room in the stores department.
The drag of bodywork production is felt here as in every other factory in the in-. dustr,v, so that a very substantial extension of body-building facilities, when it can be made, will in itself serve largely to increase the output of the Freighters.
The Question of Tyre tonnevity.
Excellent service is being given by the tyres, which are specially made for the Freighter. We inspected sets which had done 10,000 miles of hard and rough work and found them in good condition, capable of giving a considerably longer term of service. This evidence answered the question that was in our own mind about tyre wear on small-diameter -Wheels.
We have referred to the low level of the loading platform because this is where the Freighter specializes. There are sonic users, however, who have had the platform built to the standard loading dock level of 3 ft. We were interested, therefore, to see the outcome of a test of high loading, four cases, each weighing 121 cwt., being mounted one on top of• the other until the top of the load was about 7 ft. 6 ins, above the platform. The Freighter was then jacked up on one side on 6-in, blocks, and remained stable throughout the test.
One of the points claimed for. the Freighter is its smooth running over the roughest roads because the load is equally distributed over all four wheels, permitting the use of very flexible springs.
As a demonstration is the most effective form of propaganda, the directors of the company have no fewer than 16 representatives in different parts of the country, each of whom has a Freighter, the capabilities of which be is prepared to demonstrate to all enquirers. As indicating the live character of this work, we are given tounderstand that a representative is never satisfied unless he gives at least • a deans demonstrations per week.