THE MUNICIPAL MARKET IN AUSTRALIA.
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A Sphere in Which the British-built Vehicle has Eclipsed the Cheaper American Product. Types of Vehicle Which are in Demand.
TNT:RING. the past two years Australilia has been the leading country to absorb commercial vehicle*, and imports have totalled considerably in excess of 1,000 lorries a month. The majority of the vehicles have consisted of light units manufactured in North America, but signs are not wanting to show that numbers of heavy British. made multi-purpose municipal lorries will be in demand in the near future. For this reason British makers will find much that-is instructive and encouraging in an article dealing with the need for motor vehicles in municipal. work that appeared in a recent issue" of the Australian Municipal Journal, Melbourne.
Many city, suburban and country municipalities, states this article, have been wondering for years, are still wondering, and will -probably be wondering for many years to conic, what is the cheapest and most efficient form of transport or cartage, and whether mechanical transport compares favourably With horse haulage.
The answer, of course, is that each has its ownparticular field of useful nose. There are occasion* when the motor Vehicle cannot profitably compete with the horse, although, as the sphere of the mechanical vehicle is .extended, these occasions are being much reduced in number. The chief asset of the horse in its competition with machinery is its low capital. value. Interest an capital invested and depreciation are items that enter very .largely into the running costs of all machinery, so that it will be readily understood that if a vehicle covers a comparatively small mileage these standing charges . and others, such as wages, insurance, etc., aredivided over_a very fAvy miles, and result in the cost per mile being excessive. For this reason it does not pay
to keep a. motor vehicle to tackle odd jobs, doing only a few miles per day.This is work for the horse, the standing charges of which are considerably lower.
To get the best results from powerdriven vehicles every advantage must be taken of their inherent capabilities of moving quickly and keep moving without tiring. To do this organization is necessary. The wheel* must be kept moving, and, to ensure this, modern methods must. be used as ninch as possible in the loading and unloading of goods in order to avoid delays at both ends of all journeys. The bigger the load and the greater the number of loads that a vehicle can transport in a given time, the cheaper will be'the-cost of the carriage of those loads per tonmile, and this is the main factor that must be borne in mind in connectioh with the use of motor vehicles in municipal work.
Apart from special machines, such as flushers, sweepers, etc., the chief use which Australian municipalities have for mechanically propelled vehicles is for the cartage of road-making materials,.such as broken metal, tarred and dry screenings, asphalt, etc. This class of load is extremely heavy, aiid is, at times, necessarily carried over had surfaces. It is, moreover,, often of a gritty nature, and readily finds its way into the mechanism unless proper precantions are taken. It is often loaded badly and dumped suddenly, thus imposing tremendous 'istresses on the chassis and the body of the vehicle. For this reason it -is very necessary on work of this description to obtain a enbstantially built machine, otherwise the cost of :upkeep will be extremely
heavy, and the time that the vehicle spends off the road for repairs excessive.
In this respect it is very pleasing to note, so far as Australian municipalities are concerned, that the British-built vehicle has come out completely on top, and by the -results it has given has thoroughly eclipsed• the more cheaply constructed vehicles of American and foreign manufacturers. The British manufacturer of heavy commercial vehicles seems to have come into ,his own in the municipal market of Australia, and, although ttie Americans have captured a large percentage of the trade in private cars, the British manufacturers appear to have secured practically all the business in motor lorries
and buses. .
flaying decided to install mechanically propelled vehicles, the kw-Ow/tart
Journal continues, there are three distinct types from which to clipose—namely, the petrol vehicle, the steam wagon and the electric truck. Each of these types has its own sphere of utility, but the field of employment: for the steam wagon and the electric is somewhat restricted, owing to their dependency upon water and current supplies, which naturally limits their radius of, action. The electric vehicle can he successfully used for the collection and disposal of garbage, where its slow speed and simple control are an acquisition, but outside this sphere of use it is very little used in Australia, as it cannot compete with petrol-driven wagons, even with the cost of current at a minimum rate.
The steam wagon is useful where heavy towing work has to be done, but
its use is influenced by many factors. The .roads must be capable of carrying heavy vehicles, for the tare weight of a steam wagon is nearly double that of a petrol lorry, and it must not be forgotten that the -steam wagon alsohae a. very low clearance. It is generally driven by chains, which are only a few -inches above the road surface, so that gelid roads are absolutely. necessary. An abundance of good-quality • fresh water must always be at hand—a 5-6-ton steamer may use 100-150 gallons on a 16-mile to 20-mile trip, and to use water not of the best is only courting boiler troubles.
• There has been considerable controversy in Australia as to the most suit. able size of lorry to use for road maintenance work. Experience has proved that the larger the load carried the lower the cost per ton-mile {other things being equal). The most popular size of motor lorry for carting road metal appears to be the 4-5-tonner. The total running costs,including all overhead ,tharges of this size of lorry, work out at from ls. 6d. to 2s, per mile. A 2-tonner under the same conditions and doing similar mileage would cost from 1s. 3d. to is. 7d per mile all-in {a saving of only about 20 per cent.), while the larger lorry has an earning capacity of 100 per cent. more. There are no tractor-lorries running in Australia yet, although it is believed that the use of such vehicles for the transport of heavy loads would be most economical.
In choosing a chassis for 'heavy transport Work in Australia there are many pitfalls to be avoided. It is most important that a vehicle which is to be marketed " down under !.' should be backed by direct representation of the manufacturing company, and neglect of this factor is said to have caused more failures with mechanical transport vehicles in the past than anything else.
The main points to observe in connection with the application of motor vehicles to municipal work in Australia are as follow i—Sufficientlyepowerful engines, about 45 hp. being found necessary for a.4-5-ton vehicle, eukstantial and efficient brakes, strong frames, of deep section, four-speed gearboxes, strong springs,steel wheels with twin solid tyres at the rear, etc. Chaindriven vehicles are not suitable for use in districts where mud and sand abonnd.
Although the illustrations which accompany this article do not show municipal vehicles in use in Auetralia, they serve to introduce a little local colour and to give some idea of the conditions under which such machines may be called upon to operate.