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Icy Reception

9th June 1961, Page 48
9th June 1961
Page 48
Page 49
Page 48, 9th June 1961 — Icy Reception
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

I N case my readers did not hear, there was an international

ski-jumping event held at London's Wembley Stadium last week. In order to obtain the right degree of slip, the top half of the jump was covered with imitation plastics snow, whilst the lower half had a layer of finely crushed ice. Something like 150 tons of ice was required during the two-day event and this was supplied by United Carlo Gatti, Stevenson and Slaters. Ltd., the ice and cold storage concern.

A team of Austins and Thames Traders of 4-6-ton capacity ran in relays to Wembley with 3-4-cwt. blocks of ice and with crushed ice from the company's headquarters at Battersea. Sixty per cent, was in block form and these were crushed at Wembley.

1 am told that this was not entirely a new problem to Carlo Gatti, for in 1936 they transported to Earls Court approximately 3,000 tons of ice over a period of three weeks, during a ski-jumping competition. Today, the company operate 30 vehicles delivering ice in bulk up to a radius of 275 miles from London.

Flying Start

' HAVE been hearing some praiseworthy reports about some relatively new entrants into the steel tipper body business— Sheppard Fabrications. Ltd., of Thetford. Sheppard's started in this line at the request of an associate company, George Sheppard (Hatfield), Ltd., and last year the two concerns co-opeTated to develop a design which would be both rugged r 10

and light in weight. These bodies were put to the test on motorway-construction sites—a tough enough start for any design. Nowadays steel bodies of from 5to 21-cu.-yd. capacity are in production.

Already Sheppard's are building bodies for at least one important firm of vehicle distributors—and the price is right. too.

Good Looking

THIS week the Ford Motor Company announced its latest I Thames 5and 7-cwt. vans, based on the Ford Anglia private cars. When showing these vehicles to the Press some weeks ago, Sir Patrick Hennessy, the energetic chairman of the Ford Motor

Co., Ltd., pointed out that not so many.years ago pe Ie seemed to show no interest in styling whatsoever, whereas nowadays even van styling counted. Sir Patrick said that he felt that his new vans would give the operator something he could be proud of and added the truism that "it doesn't cost any m e to make a good-looking van than an ugly one."

Nein, Nein, Nein

OUR recent leader about the sales and exhibitio of British goods vehicles in Germany prompted one largeale manufacturer to tell me that they regard the potential o Germany as a market quite highly. The only trout* wa that they couldn't build vehicles quickly enough to satisfy th ir existing markets, so they were having to play dumb in Deuts Wand.

Springs and Free Pistons

HELL'S reputation for producing amusing and formative films about engineering topics must be enhanc d by their latest two epics, shown in London for the first tim last week. They dealt with vehicle suspension systems and free-piston gasifiers. Much of the mystery associated witl the lastmentioned pieces of machinery should be dispelled by Shell's very lucid explanation of their theory and their pplication in practice.

Nothing was said about road-vehicle uses, though: surely it is too early yet to discount this form of power coin letely? It would be interesting to know how far Renault ha e got with their work along these lines. . . .

Tags

Organisations: Earls Court
Locations: London

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