SYDNEY TO MELBOURNE

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 141, 10 March 1920, Page 2

SYDNEY TO MELBOURNE

MOTOR FREIGHTER'S PIONEER- 1 . :• -:' ..; TRIP.- . With the coming of the strong, reliable, eiiduriiip motor lorry, the highroads have attained new importance as arteries of traffic. Foremost among the "locomotives of the highway" is the.Leyland Lorry, which recently accomplished a great achievement by niakihp; a pioneer journey between' Sydney and Melbourne; » distance of five hundred miles. Laden with'fivo tons'of merchandise, valued at over .£4OOO, the bin 4-ton freighter negotiated the trip in 64 hours' driving time,, without disclosing a fault. The roads were in bad condition throughout the route. i ' The primary reason fori the journey was that the lorry had to be delivered to the agents in Melbourne: the railway freight was in the region of and de- -, livery could not bo promised under threo weeks. Steamer carriage was impossible' owinpr to the strike "hold-up." It was therefore, decided to "deliver" tho. lorry by road. .':'"-■ '. .■ ■ I The cost of carrying its load was wES 10s. per'ton, as'against the railway chargeof £7 12s. Sd". Tjie consumption of petrol for the trip was 96 gallons. ' . . Another remarkable record was recently put! up by the Lorry, this time in New Zealand!«a>«ne boiler weighing 25 tons was placed on the Wellington wharf from an overseas steamer. It was necessary to haul the boiler «J miles. The huge load .was craned on to a trailer, and twoLcylauds bclmißinir to Messrs. Muut, Cottrcll, and Co., Ltd., were brought into action. One of the lorries was afour-tonner, which has been in service for 6 years; the other wasra new model of the same capacity, the new Levland started the 25 tons from its stationary position, and hauled it, 6010, -for 200 yards; then the tandem accom-. plished' the-2i-mile journey without any 6ign of over-strain. The load for the one lorrv'was's2s per cent, in excess of scheduled capacity, and the excess when both were on tho job was over 200 per cent. This test proves- the solid strength and reliability of tho Leyland Britishmade- lorry.-d'ublished by arrangement;)' ■';"