HEAVY MOTOR VEHICLES IN MUNICIPAL WORK
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By Arthur E. Collins, City Engineer, Norwich County Borough Council.
IN approaching this subject, a municipal or county engineer responsible as a road engineer for the construction and maintenance of highways and their bridges must think of the effect thereon of the use of these vhicles.. He knows that roads, of the classes usual till now, are quite capable of continuing to give useful service when subjected to the small loads arising from horse traffic without unduly burdening the ratepayers for maintenance. Road engineers feel that builders and users of mechanically driven heavy vehicles have not given fair thought to designing and using them so as to ensure minimum damage to roads.
No reasonable person, whether a road engineer or not, wishes to stop the development of a movement so essential to the nation's progress as mechanical transport and traction.
Whilst' it is the business, duty, and pleasure of road engineers to raise the standards and conveniences of their roads to the highest attainable degrees, they feel that designers, builders, and users of mechanically driven vehicles should meet them half-way by having regard to road construction limitations in the design. and use of their vehicles.
The incidence of costs of adapting roads to the change from the old to the new order of things is most unfair and irritating. It is very clearly illustrated by the extraordinary traffic case of Westonsuper-Marc U.D.C. v. Henry Butt and Co., Ltd., now before the courts. Weston is essentially a very charming residential health resort, situated, as to its northern half, on a limestone hill. Lime of high quality is burnt by Messrs. Butt and Co., who, to reduce haulage costs between their kilns and the Great Western Railway, introduced steam wagons in substitution for horse traffic. The substantial limestone macadam roads, which easily carried the tonnage with horse traffic, are alleged to have broken clown under steam traffic, and it fell upon ratepayers, in the relatively small area of Weston only, to reconstruct their roads, and, in doing so, to take the chances as to Messrs. Butt and Co. finding the change a paying one or not.
If Weston assumed the steam wagon traffic would continue and adopted road construction of the character to resist it, and eventually Messrs. Butt and
Co. reverted to horse traffic, the additional cost o: road improvement would practically be wasted. Tt protect the ratepayers as a whole, who are not in terested in reducing Messrs. Butt and Co.'s trans port charges, the local authorities were compellec to claim for extraordinary charges from Messrs Butt and Co., and protracted and expensive litigatim has been in progress for several months §it grea cost and worry to the local authority and to Messrs Butt and Co.
Whilst, it is obviously unfair to load a relativel: small local authority with the whole extraordinar costs arising from such change in methods of traffii. as that quoted above, it is also contrary to publi. policy that an embargo shall be placed on the prope, and legal use of mechanical vehicles by the fear o extraordinary traffic claims. •
The writer's opinion is that legislation is require( empowering the Ministry of Transport to raise fund nationally effectually to assist local authorities ii making the necessary changes where such changes o traffic render it essential. In this manner the natio] as a whole would bear the cost, instead of, as now first one and then, another relatively small boa authority being swamped. Such legislation shoal( also free users of legal vehicles properly used fron claims for extraordinary traffic damage.
All that goes before has little to do with the us. of mechanically driven heavy vehicles in municipa work, and is chiefly intended to direct the attentim of municipal and county engineers to the necessif: of choosing vehicles in which the distribution o weight, springing, drive, brakes, etc., are such a to minimize road damage.
The first steam wagon purchased by the writer fo his council was a 4 ton steam-driven hand-tippei wagon, which started work in 1902. At that tarn no builder was experienced, but plenty of experienc was obtained with, this pioneer, because of broke] back axles, side frames steam pipes, etc., etc. Thes were dealt with as they arose, chiefly in the cos porafion workshops, and eventually this became . reliable wagon, which ceased work as such so rE cently as 1919, since when it has continued in us as a self-moving portable engine for winding, drivin saw bench, pumping, or what not. Eventually th tipping body will be. fixed, roofed, Sand fitted as
;ortable workshop, with drill, grindstone, etc., ;riven by the engine.
The pioneer wagon has been succeeded by four thers from the same builders, the latter three being -tanners. The last two were delivered two years go ; they have power tipping gear and the wheels re rubber shod. The previous wagons were eonerted from hand to power tipping in the corporaion workshops, and rubber tyres have been substiiited for the previous steel tyres. Rubber tyres were .-dopted for two 'chief reasons :—First, to save the oath, steel tyres being found excessively destrueive on granite sett paving ; second, to save the, vagons and their crews from jar and vibration. :hese two desiderata have been effectually attained. Two years ago three Straker-Squire 3l4 ton petrol[riven hand-tipping wagons lyre bought at Richeirough, and, after reconditioning in the corporaion workshops, were set to work on general highrays, sewerage, and building haulage. One has wen converted to power tipping, and the others will ;Ise be so treated. The corporation concerned ought none of their eight steam or petrol wagons or domestic refuse collection, but for general laulage in their works department. To enable them o display their superiority over horsed vehicles, the writer, from the first, sought the most rapid available nears for 'loading and discharging. The latter cenerally consists of tipping, which, if done by mwer, leaves little room for improvement. For oading, an electric locomotive crane with a 1 ton Iones's :grab bucket is provided to grab macadam, ;oaf, etc., out of lighters, and, by. the guidance of large tundish or hopper on wheels, to drop its ;ontents into the motor wagon or cart, as the ease nay be. Simpler means for emptying could he idopted where motor wagons only are dealt with. ['his arrangement works well, and it causes motor vagons to be cheaper than horses when delivering ven at such short. haulo as half a mile.
At one wharf there is an overhead electric run vay with weighing rail thereon. This runway iperates 1 ton tipping buckets filled in the lighters )3r: hand. This apparatus Was provided for coal ;torage purposes, but is used at times for loading notor wagons with coal or macadam, and gives -easonahly good dispatch. At a third wharf is an rverhead electric runway for general goods, which, when handling macadam or coal, operates ton ;coops filled by hand in the lighters. This gives, also', !airly good dispatch.
At the corporation gravel pits two sets of hoppers lave been constructed, in each of which four grades >f material are stored. Any of the grades can be lrawn rapidly into a wagon standing beneath one )1 the hoppers or alongside the other by opening a 7alve. About five minutes suffices at either of these Kippers for a motor wagon to get. into position, be oaded with 31, 5, or 6 tons, and move away.
Any of the above appliances ensure quick loading where they are available. A question arises as to he proper means for loading at other Places. qarnual leading of materials such as macadam should lot be adopted, excepting as a last resort. The writer built a power-driven crane into one wagon ind 'provided tipping boxes, hoping this would en;ure rapid loading. It did not, and the work for r crane in other directions was so little that the crane vas dismantled to avoid carrying non-productive weight.
In the city served by the writer, the railway 5idings and the different roadways serving them ire on the same level, and no advantage can be iaken of gravity when transferring from railway :rucks to motor wagons. A scheme was prepared laree years ago for laying a 24 in. gauge line alongnde one of the railway sidings rented by the carieration, so that the side doors of the trucks, when poled, should slope down to Jubilee side tip trucks .n such a manner that macadam, etc., could be
quickly shovelled and scraped into the Jubilees; these would then be hauled by a small electric winch, one at a time, up an incline to a trestle-supported track parallel with the motor wagon road,. and sufficiently elevated for the Jubilees to be tipped into motor wagons. Sufficient full Jubilees to fill a motor wagon would be kept on the elevated trestle track. When conditions. permit, this arrangement will be constructed, and quicker unloading of railway trucks and rapid loading of motor wagons are confidently expected.
It has been found here that the Jeffery petroldriven wagon loader is a very efficient appliance. With everything favourable, it will fill a 6 ton motor wagon in about six minutes. Ordinarily, manceuvring into position of a 6 ton wagon, loading, and starting away will occupy. about 15 minutes. All the eouvemences. in the world to facilitate and economize transport will fail to reach full efficiency if the users are not interested and willing. Fortunately this is so with the writer's-crews, who are encouraged by good wages and bonuses. The crews of the mechanical vehicles have standing wages, as follow :—Drivers, Ms. 6d. ; mates, 73s. 4d. plus bonuses, based on ton-mileage, and d. g 18s. per week to drivers and gs. to mates. If the wagons are transporting light loads, such as public hall fittings, joinery, etc., a full load is treated as of the hill tonnage of the vehicle. Whilst full loads, whether in tons or capacity, are required; excessiv weights are prohibited. The fixed wages are based on the Milling Trades' Awards, and the bonuses are adjusted to enable the drivers to earn 158. and the mates 7s. 6d. per week if the wagons are worked to 66 per cent. of their calculated efficiency, in ascertaining which many timed cycles were observed for each class of wagon and under various duties and conditions. The crews usually make more than these sums in bonuses. If a wagon is off service for any reason, the crew has to help in any direction, and the bonuses cease. Time and way sheets have to be kept filled up to current journey on each wagon, and drivers have to fill up and sign a form weekly, stating that they have attended to lubrication of each important part (separately named), blown out boiler, etc., etc., and in a space provided they must report any defect, and in another space make suggestions for improvement of the service. The fuel and consumption of each wagon is separately ascertained, and all the crews are informed. The crews are proud of the service.
The average bonus per loaded wagon-mile now being paid is 8d.' of which 60 per cent, goesto driver, 30 per cent. to mate, and 10 per cent. to running shed foreman, who is also the leading fitter (engineer). It was intended that the bonus should be paid on each wagon separately, but the crews requested that all be placed in a pool and divided between the drivers, mates, and running shed foreman in the proportions named.
Serious attempts have been made to abolish mates, but they have failed, notwithstanding offers of extra bonuses to drivers. The tortuous streets and narrow entries in which this' traffic is conducted render mates, whether on steam, petrol, or electric wagons, indispensable.
Comparative Costs.
The writer's method of calculating costs per tonmile allows nothing for empty return journeys, i.e., if a wagon takes six tons three miles and returns three miles, the result is treated as 18 ton-miles, and the wagon is credited with having travelled 'three miles only.
In the yearfl ending June 25th, 1913, the detailed accounts of steam wagon C, then five years old; showed the ton-mileage cost at 6.5d. per ton-mile, as against horse haulage by contract of is. per tonmile. The electricity department of the corporation use 3-i ton Ironclad Exide battery power-tipped wagons made byRansomes, Sirna. and Jefferies. An analysis for two year's •ending December, 1920, which period includes some charges not likely to recur, shows the cost, on the basis of the above figures, to be 2s. 7.68d. per ton-mile. They are chiefly engaged hauling coal from railway stations to. works a &stance of less than a mile through narrow streets. An analysis made in ranuary, 1921, showed the cost of loading gravel into motor vehicles transporting six miles, tipping, and returning empty, were :—.
Per ton-mile. s. d.
6 ton steam wagons ... 1 10 3i ton petrol wagons ... ... 1 9 All the accounts are on the same basis, and do not include capital charges, because the wagons vary in age from 14 years downwards, and none has been charged to capital, but all have been paid for from revenue.
The accounts for the year ending December 31st, 1920, showed results which are set out in the table and costs accompanying this article. The services demanded from the electric wagons do not give them a fair chance to compare favourably in cost per ton-mile by reason of short haul, which, for a considerable part of the distance, is through narrow, crooked, and congested streets. The steam, petrol, and horse traffic is also hindered by these conditions, but as much of their work is not in such streets the effect is much less.
As city engineer, the writer is advising his council on improving the collection and disposal of domestic refuse. He wishes to find a motor wagon having the following characteristics, and has not yet been successful :— (1) Low loading height. To enable dustmen to empty their hods into wagons without climbing ladders, which are very objectionable ; this height should not materially exceed 41ft. (2) Five to six cubic yards capacity. (3) Capacity : A. load of two tons.
(4) Easily controlled speed from 1 to 10 m.p.h. (6) Sufficient power to travel with its load upon a refuse tip assisted in very soft places by steel channels, laid trough up, as plate-ways. (6) Power-tipping to an angle of not less than 45 degrees. The low loading height, coupled with reasonable overall, length, and. Width, is th stumbling-block, but the author thinks it worth th while of builders of front wheel drive machines t see if, by adopting cranked hind axles, they ca provide a suitable vehicle.
Thes personal problem is how best and ITIOE economically to collect, from house to house an send the load to tip about 21 miles from the centr of collection in the same vehicle.If. the ider vehicle for the double duty is not forthcoming, the the best course appears to be to collect in low sided, small-wheeled, non-tipping electric vehicles .o1 say, 3 cubic yds. on 1 ton capacity, working to thre or more transfer points, each at about the centr of, say, a 1 mile 'circle of the. area of collectior Where levels permitted, a transfer centre should b arranged to enable the collecting vehicles to b. tipped by the aid of an electric hoist into the traile body of a high capacity (say, 15 cubic yds. Or tons), six-wheeled petrol or steam wagon (of whie the Scammell petrol wagon is a good example), whicl would make. the long journey to the tip.The Scam mell six-wheeler is very suitable for this work, a the requisite number of interchangeable detachabl trailers, each pivoted over the driving axle of th. tractor part, can be provided with every tractor part enabling. the latter to be kept running with: on trailer whilst others are 'being loaded.
From tests the writer had carried out of one o these wagons, he found them practically as handy traffic as four-wheelers, whilst able to carry mile] heavier loads with less liability to injure roads 13: reason Of weight distribution on the wheels. The writer's knowledge of the use of street sweep ing, scraping, .and combined sweeping and loadim machines extends back, as respects the two former nearly 50* years and the latter to 35 years. He ha: not had direct responsibility for mechanicall:! operated sweeping, sweeping and collecting, gullel cleaning, and suchlike apparatus, and cannot speai from his own experience thereon, but, from what hi has seen, he thinks an important future awaits them But for the small fleet of motor wagons the write: controls, he. would have been unable to carry on work during the past few years, because of the short age of horses, and, even had they been available the cost • of his transportation would have beer greatly more than has been the case, and demurrag( on railway trucks would have been a serious feature Granted equally good management to both, as r result of nearly 50 years' experience of horse ark • 20 years of mechanical haulage in municipal works. the writer is most decidedly ot opinion that, for most operations, the latter is more efficient and econornica] than the former, and, with the continuous improve. 'Dents and adaptations to special requirements now in-,progresS, he looks forward to the time when the horse will be entirely superseded.