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STEAM WAGONS AND THE COAL INDUSTRY.

the Good Points of the Steam Wagon are Adduced and the Arguments in Favour of Using a Homeproduced Fuel are Advanced. Future Developments are also

RE "paramount importance of the

coal-mining industry in the economic and social life of this country is a common place, and it is unnecessary for us to dwell upon it. With the exCeption of agriculture, to which it is a close second, the industry employs more men than any other, not less than onetwelfth of our population being directly dependent upon it. It is the foundation of our iron and steel, shipbuilding and engineering trades, and, indeed, of our whole industrial life. The value of its product is in the neighbourhood of 250,000,000 a year. It provides , one-tenth of our exports in value and about four-fifths of them in volume. By furnishing outward cargo for a large amount of shipping it cheapens freight for the imports on which we depend for our vita' needs."

The above extract from page 3 of the Report of the Royal Commission on the Coal Industry (1.925) shows how vital this industry is to the commercial life of the nation. No one can deny that the present situation is a very serious state of affairs, and every possible means should be taken to Irelp place this industry. on a sound footing.

Great Britain's Most Valuable Raw Material:

Coal is the most valuable raw material which this country produces, and, according, to expert estimates, there exists at the present time over 190,000 million tons available to be won. Assuming the present rate of output, which is approximately 250 million tons. per annum, to remain fairly constant, there is enough coal to last about 700 years. It is, therefore, obvious that there is an abundant supply and that there is no fear of any clanger of fluctuation in cost, owing to demand , overtaking supply.

Previous to the present stoppage, this country was exporting coal to the value of approxiniately £50,000,000 per annum. It is admitted that the export trade is the chief cause of the present troubles, yet it is an astonishing fact that we are importing, oil to the value of about £45,000,000 per annum. Our coal exports are, therefore, nearly balanced by our oil imports, and this state of affairs is most serious when we consider that coal Is our chief raw material.

The greater part of this imported oil is. undoubtedly used on motor vehicles in the form of petrol, and probably more than one-half of the .petrol is consumed by commercial goods vehicles. There is no need to dilate upon the economic aspect from the national point of view, and although, at the present time, this kind of fuel is essential to private cars, very serious considera tion should be given to the claims of the steam wagon for commercial goods carrying.

One of the most attractive features of the petrol lorry is its cleanliness, and no doubt from this aspect arises most of the prejudice against steam wagons. It should. be borne in mind, however, that during the last few year considerable progress has been made in steamwagon design—more so than in any previous period of the manufacture of the type.

The majority of steam wagons in use at the present time, however, are of the older type, and are in an entirely different class from the present-day machines. They are chiefly of pre-war design and are considerably slower in speed than the latest type of machines that are on the market. When these vehicles were designed, manufacturers were quite content to cater for short. distance, slow-moving traffic, and they left the fast, long-distance haulage to the petrol vehicle. This is now recognized by the leading makers to have been a short-sighted policy, and certain types of steam wagons are now available that are eVert faster than petrol vehicles of equal load-carrying capacity.

Where the Steam Wagon Scores.

Where the steam wagon scores is in climbing hills, for whereas petrol lorries ; when fully loaded, have to change gear on medium gradients, steam wagons can negotiate most of the hills on ordinary routes without changing gear. In very hilly districts which necessitate changes of gear on steam wagons, the Superior speed of the steam wagon is most noticeable.

Apart from the great, improvement in speed, . thefl latest-type steam .wagons are as quiet in operation as any other type of commercial vehicle. This fe-ature of comparative silence., has been attained by totally enclosing all the moving parts and running them in an oilbath. When compared with the pre-war type of wagon, which usually had the engine parts and gearing all exposed, the absence of noise is easily accounted for. Apart from the enclosing of the motion work and gears, another important factor is the alteration in size and material of the gearwheels. In the older types the gears were made from steel castings and soine of the wheels were as large as 30 ins. in diameter. Sometimes an attempt was made to deaden the sound by

filling the wheels with wood between the boas and the rim. The mounting of the gearwheel shafts was often very crude, and any distortion of the chassis was bound to throw the gear teeth out of alignment.

In the let eat-type steam wagons the gears are all made from heat-treated steel forgings and are much smaller in diameter. They are carried in self-contained gearboxes and are thus independent of chassis strains, consequently the teeth are always in correct mesh. Considerable improvement has also been Made in eng,ina design, great care being now given to secure correct balance at high running speeds. Wear and tear are thus reduced to a minimum, as all parts are protected from dust and are properly lubricated.

II1Lcared-for Steam Wagons.

In addition to the improvement in mechanical parts, the arrangement of controls and seating accommodation for the driver and mate have been so improved that the new models are almost as comfortable to drive as a motorcar.

Steam wagons have, no doubt, in the past suffered far more from abuse and neglect than petrol lorries, and owners have apparently taken less pride in their appearance. The prevailing idea seems to have been that anything was good enough for a steam wagon. With the old-type wagon it was, without doubt, a very difficult matter to keep a machine snick and span. It called for far too much attention, and the average driver could not spare the necessary time and labour to keep his machine anything like respectable. With an open engine and gears, oil and grease were splashed all over the machine, and the general outline of these machines did not lend itself to a quick clean-down. No consideration was given as to the proper disposal of waste oil and water ; drain pipes were simply arranged to discharge on to the ground.

None of these defects is apparent in the latest types. Oil and grease are properly confined to the parts that require lubrication, and the hand-feed oilcan has been dispensed with. The drain pipes from the cylinders, boiler fittings, etc., now discharge their contents into the boiler ashpan instead of on to the road. Their external lines are very simple and neat, and the vehicles are quite easy to keep clean.

D10

Great Brktain's 20,000 Steam Wagons.

At the present time there are at least 20,000 steam wagons in use in this country, and they consume, roughly, 1,500,000 tons of coal, per annum. As the production of coal per miner is about 220 tons per year, steam wagons give employment to approximately 7,000 miners. Roughly speaking, every three steam'wagons give constant employment to one miner. The vital importance of this consideration from the national point of view cannot be overestimated. Again, apart from the question of industrial employment, the fact that the fuel is produced at home instead of having to be imported from countries abroad, is of the greatest national value, both from the point of view of the safety of the nation and the wealth of the people.

There is also the question of available oil supplies to be considered. Various estimates have been made from time to time, but these have been chiefly the product of guesswork., The recent report of the special Oil Conservation Board in the United States to President Coolidge is, however, worthy of very earnest consideration. This report states that the United States has only six years' supply of oil in the present known pools, and strict conservation is urged, combined with the acquisition of all available foreign oil reserves. The object of this report is no doubt partly political, but, nevertheless, it is very significant. At the present time the United States is the greatest producer and also the greatest consumer of petrol and oil. If the time ever arrives when the oil wells in the United States should become exhausted and that country has to import all its supplies, the price of petrol will soar to a figure never before dreamt of.

Demand for Petrol Outstripping Supply.

It is quite evident, therefore, that at some time En the future the demand for petrol will overtake the supply. When this time arrives there will be a serious upheaval in mechanical road transport organizations that are dependent on petrol-driven vehicles. The effect on commercial goods-carrying vehicles will be far more serious than on passenger and private vehicles.

Much time and thought are at present being spent in the endeavour to produce an alternative fuel to petrol. In France serious efforts are being made to introduce vehicles driven by suction gas, and a series of trials with lorries fitted with several types of gas-producers have recently been made under the supervision of Government officials. Alcohol fuels are also finding Governrhent support in France, Germany and Australia, but this fuel is not meeting with much favour except when mixed with petrol.

It is also proposed that, instead of using coal in its raw state, it should be treated to extract the oil and gas in the fuel, and to leave as residue a solid smokeless fuel that could be easily burned. This would certainly assist the supply of oil, but it would also be of great service to steam wagons. At the present time a large amount of coke is used as fuel, but chiefly for short journeys; this fuel is too bulky and is not sufficiently responsive to the varying demands for steam to be suitable for long journey work. The semi-coke that would be produced by low temperature carboniza lion of coal would be a very suitable smokeless fuel for steam wagons.

Another method Of increasing efficiency and economy in the use of fuel is the employment of pulverized coal. This method gives very complete combustion and great ease of control in steam production. A further advantage is that fine coal and coal containing a large percentage of ash can be utilized. This would increase the amount of coal available for use, for at the present time a large amount of small coal is wasted, as no use can be found for it.

The Use of Pulverized Coal.

Pulverized coal is now being used in the latest powergenerating stations with great success ; it has also been successfully applied to steam locomotives. It would be an ideal fuel for steam wagons ; its perfect combustion would render the steam wagon absolutely smokeless, and the ease with which the fuel supply could he controlled would considerably simplify the driving of the wagon. The chief problem in the use of this fuel is the pulverizing of the coal and its storage. In the large power stations the coal is pulverized as required and immediately fed to the burners by air blast, which also supplies part of the air required for combustion. This would not be a practicable proposition on. steam wagons, and what is required is a safe and convenient method of storing and distributing pulverized Coal. As the coal is ground to a very fine powder, it forms an explosive mixture when mixed with air. It should, however, be much safer to handle than ,petrol, as the flash point of a coal-air mixture is much higher than that of a petrol-air mixture.

In order successfully to employ pulverized coal, it will be necessary to make considerable modifications in boiler design. Stationary boilers using this class of fuel are practically, in all cases, of the water-tube type, in order to obtain a large combustion chamber. No firegrate is necessary, the burner usually being placed vertically and inverted so that the ash will fall to the bottom of the combustion chamber..

A type of boiler which offers certain possibilities in steam-wagon design is the submerged combustion type, where the flame is directly immersed in the water or other medium. This type of boiler is specially adaptable for oil or gas fuel, but it can also be employed with pulverized coal.

When oil or gas is Used, the flame can be immersed directly in the water which is to he converted into steam, and the resulting steam-gas mixture—i.e., the .steam generated from the water, plus the combustion gases—can be used with great efficiency in a steam engine. If, however, pulverized coal be used, instead of the flame being immersed directly in the water it is burnt in a separate chamber filled with lead or other metal which easily liquefies; this combustion chamber is immersed in the water to be evaporated. In this case pure steam is generated in the boiler and used in the engine, the products of combustion being led away separately. The reason for this is to get rid of the

fine ash which results from the combustion of pulverized coal and which, if mixed with the steam, would be Very detrimental to the engine.

This type Of boiler is being developed in this country by Messrs. Featherstone Hammond Partners, Ltd., London, and also in Germany by Mr. Oscar Brunler of Hanover. Iletharkable figures are claimed in respect to efficiency,'. but he most attractive feature of this boiler from the steam-wagon point of view is the small size of boiler required to generate a given amount of steam. The average 6-ton steam wagon requires a boiler capable of generating about 1,000 lb. of steam per hour. A submerged flame boiler to generate this amount of steam 'could be placed inside the firebox of the ordinary steam-wagon boiler.

Progress in Steam Wagon. Design.

Although great progress has been made in steamwagon design during the last few years, it should be fairly obvious that there are Still great possibilities with this .type of motor wagon, and all concerned in the transport industry of this country should give it every consideration. Transport is simply an adjunct to other industries and is entirely dependent upon them. If these productive industries, which, as previously shown, are based upOn our coal supply, are allowed to languish, road tra.nsPort will languish with them. The inexorable law regarding the wealth of any nation is that full use must be made of its natural products. As the chief natural product Of this country is coal, of which there is an abundant supply, every effort should be made to employ coal to the fullest poSsible extent.

At the present time a great deal is being said with regard to the weight of heavy commercial vehicles and • the damage done to the roads by them. Steam wagons are admittedly heavier than petrol lorries, but wok of • the extra weight is carried on the front wheels. This Is no detriment so far as road wear is concerned, for the front-axle load on all wagons is proportionately less than the rear-axle load, whilst no driving stresses are transmitted by the front wheels. Weight is not the chief factor in respect to road damage; speed plays a far more important part. However, there are now great possibilities of effecting a considerable reduction in weight on steam vehicles, when further progress has been made with the submerged flame boiler.

The industry must, however, obtain the necessary support of transport users, and, above all, it should receive every-encouragement from the Government and be given preferential treatment as regards taxation. Everybody is being exhorted at the present time to "Buy British "; this should be developed to its logical conclusion, and users should not only buy British-made motor wagons but buy .I3ritish-made wagons which are run on British-produced fuel which will be available even if fuel imports diminish.