1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180 
Out of six Dennis 4-ton vans which are normally employed
Page 118
Page 119
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
on grocerysupply work, two have been specially constructed to be suitable for furniture removal. They are of large capacity and can be sent out on long runs.
There is another special furniture van, an A.E.C. 'Monarch forward-control outfit, which is illustrated herewith. This impressive machine has a total loading capacity of 1,000 cubic ft. A pair of Albion 2-ton lorries is used principally for the transport of building materials, etc.
The delivery ef confectionery is a large undertaking, over 28,000,000 fancy cakes annually being delivered in trays to shops belonging to the Society and to private shops, besides many thousands of slab, wedding and birthday-cakes, and so on. The vehicles employed are, therefore, equipped with bodywork especially adapted to suit the requirements of the business.
In an Albion 2-ton van, for example, provision is made for carrying 280 trays of cakes in racks. Eleven MorrisCommercial 1-tonners are similarly equipped, whilst six Ford A-type machines purchased around 1981 are continually in use for confectionerydelivery.
In connection with bread deliveries, which are made chiefly by horsed carts (450,000 2-lb. loaves are delivered each week), motors are used for certain bulk supplies to shops. Furthermore, there are eight motor vehicles, each covering about 70 miles per day, delivering bread to customer in scattered areas.
Laundry Transport.
Recently a laundry has been built by the Society, and to cope with the collection and delivery work involved a fleet of nine Morris-Commercial 20-cwt. vans has been acquired. . Nine Dennis zi0-cwt. and 20 Chevrolet 30-cwt. vans are used for general purposes, whilst five Austin 7 h.p. vans deal with various special work.
• Finally, an EIectricar 1-tonner has been acquired for a milk round. Mr. Woolley has investigated very carefully the matter of costs in connection with milk deliVery and his findings should be of general interest.
Running 154 miles weekly with 3,500 stops for deliveries, the all-in cost of operation of the Pectsicar is £3•.8s. Per week. Current to keep the batteries fully charged works out at .75d. per mile, equivalent to a consumption of approximately unit per mile. The vehicle in question has a cruising • radius of 33 miles when fully loaded, • but this distance is reduced to 23 miles, owing to the fact that at least 500 stops daily are necessary.
Time is saved as compared with a horse-drawn dray ; the vehicle in question, with its 18 m.p.h. maximum cruis ing sped, actually saves 45 minutes on each of the outward and homeward journeys, whilst the time occupied to complete the round is just about equal to that of a horse-drawn vehicle. On a pure cost basis, one electric vehicle cannot compete against one horse, but where distances from the depot are considerable and two horses are required, mechanical transport is superior.
This question of costs raises another . point. Although practically the whole of the activities of the fleet are concentrated on city work, an all-round fuel consumption at the rate of about 10 m.p.g. is obtained. Individual tests of vehicles are occasionally made to ensure that no wastage occurs, but, while the overall consumption of petrol— measured accurately week by week— remains constant, it is considered to be a waste of time to check the amount used every week by each Vehicle. • The figure of 10 m.p.g.. may be cciasidered a good one, for although such outlying districts as Oldbury, Coleshill, Solihull anclIYarclley are covered, the main part. of the activity is concentrated in the thickly populated part of the city, where stops are frequent and travelling Is rather slow and difficult.
Bulk Milk Conveyance.
The bulk transport of milk fonas part of the activities of the Society in Birmingham, for 725,000 pint bottles are carried each week. Although most of the house-to-house calls are made by horsed carts, quite a large proportion of the inter-depot work is carried out by mechanical means.