MODERN ROAD-MAKING.

Taranaki Daily News, 8 October 1920, Page 6

MODERN ROAD-MAKING.

.. USE OF LEYLAND LORRY. DEMONSTRATION AT ELTHAM. An interesting demonstration of the value of the Leyland motor lorry for modern road making was given at Elthain yesterday afternoon, when there were present the chairman, members, and engineer of the Waimate West County Council, and Mr. L. B. Campbell, Public Works Engineer, of Stratford. The demonstration was made with an "1" model, four ton, Leyland lorry fitted with steel body and Wooldridge tip, having a horsepower of 3S-40 English rating, which is. life; equivalent of 05-h.p. American fating. 'This lorry has been sold to the Eltham County Council by C. L. Wilson and Co., of' Eltham, the Taranaki agents for the Leyland, and delivery was made only yesterday morning. Un the arrival of the party at the County Council yards, Mr. R. S. Wooldridge, of New Plymouth', the inventor of the Wooldridge tip, demonstrated the working of his invention in , front of the party, and proved the great simplicity and efficiency of the attachment. I!y means of the attachment the bodv vf the truck was tipped to an angle o"f ■\3 degrees, this being accomplished bv utilising about one-tenth horse-power from tha main engine. The whole operation of raising and lowering the body was controlled by Mr. Wooldridge without having to leave his scat, uii'd absolute safety was ensured in the tperation by means "of a cut-out. which released the clutch automatically when the body was tipped to its fulThcight. The time occupied in tipping the load was only a few seconds.

After the visitors had made a close inspection of the lorry and its tip attachment, they proceeded by motor cars about six miles along the Rawhitiroa Road, where road making operations are being carried out by "the County Council. Here a further demonstration of the practical advantages of the r.eyland, together with the Wooldridge tip attachment, was given. The lorry loaded to the capacity of about four tons, proceeded along the road in front of tiie party, travelling at an average speed of approximately 15 miles an hour. On arrival at the point in the road .vhere the metal was required, the driver released the clutch and the body was tipped to its full height of 4:> degrees. He then moved the truck forward slowly, and the metal was spread evenly along the road over a distance of about eight yards, the whole operation taking only a little more than a minute. All that the workmen then had to do was to even up the metal and a few minutes later it was ready to be sprinkled with clay, the roller following soon afterwards.

With three lorries working and by metalling firmer a width of 10 feet, a distance of about nine' chains is made each working day, the keynote of the whole of the work being the efficiency obtained by the best of labor saving machinery.

Yesterday morning, after the arrival of the Leyland, a competition was held by the driver of it and the two other makes of lorries owned by the Eltham County Council, and although the Leyland started three-quarters of an hour behind the other lorry of a similar size, it overtook that lorry and was ha!f-an-hour ahead on the fourth load, winning by more than an hour on the fifth load, in spite of the fact that a good deal of time was taken up by the demonstration.

The- Leyland lorry is being very largely adopted by County Council's throughout New Zealand, and one which was recently purchased by the Stratford County Council is at present in' New Plymouth being fitted with the tip attachment. Numbers have been purchased by other Countv Councils throughout the North Island, and as proof of its value for all round work, it should be stated that many of the leading carrying firms in the Dominion are going in exclusively for Leylands. It is British built and is sold at practically the same price as inferior American trucks, and during the war, thousands of Leylands were used by the Royal Air Force and found to be efficient and reliable in every particular}—' Published by Arrangement.