Modern Steam Road Wagons

MODERN STEAM ROAD WAGONS - 1906 - PREFACE - ARE has been taken to include in this book particulars of C the latest, and-by reason of the board of Trade Regulations-important modifications and designs of heavy steam road wagons and to give an accurate and impartial analytical account of past and present practice. With this object, illustrations and drawings necessary to ex- plain the text are extensively made use of and it is hoped that the publication may serve a purpose alike useful to manu- facturers and users-present or prospective-as an intelligent aid to manufacturers to design and as a medium for users to enable them to select the best possible vehicles to fit their par- ticular requirements. Particular attention has been devoted to constructional details to show what has been attempted in the past, the shortcomings which experience manifested, and how and what improvenents have, from time to time, been made to overcome, one by one, the difficulties and deficiencies as they arose. The majority of the outline technical drawings have been made under the authors own supervision and are new, and it is to be hoped will be found serviceable to the end he has in view. This is the first publication which has in any way attempted to deal exclusively with the.. subject of heavy steam motor wagons. It is difficult at such a relatively early stage in the industry to collect what is, generally, fragmentary and widely diffused data and my thanks are tendered to the various nlanu- facturers and users included. Willing response has been accorded ine from the majority. The principles underlying steam for road haulage are better appreciated and understood than any other power. Traction- engineperformances have, of course, been of enormous assistance in the development of the lighter, faster, and modern road wagons, and the types now existing have, in their essential features, been little departed from in the past few years. Standard and well-proved lines are becoming more evident. So much, indeed, has the modern heavy steam road wagon proved success- ful and reliable that it ie anticipated that the products of the more prominent constructors will not for a considerable time- with perhaps immaterial modifications-be departed from. By this it is not implied that finality has been reached or even approximated, but rather that present-day vehicles have attained a thorpughly commercial standard, all essential qualifications to render them so having now been well demonstrated and time- proved. Prospectiye users can be furnished with undeniable evidence of the high degree of reliability reached and of the exact cost of operating heavy steam wagons in comparison with older methods of hulage, to the general advantage of the newer means. For some purposes-very short journeys necessitating numerous calls and stoppages-mechanical wagons have not yet shown a sufficient saving over the horse to warrant their substitution, but for other than this restricted sphere pronounced econoiny can be shown. That such reliable and economic results have been obtained in so short a time-the problem of superseding horse haulage by mechanical power being one of the most difficult yet presented to the engineer-is a highly meritorious achievement, the more striking inasmuch as, in many instances, the pioneers were not previously engaged in allied work, and were until 1896, owing to prohibitive laws, givenno incentive to creative efforts in this direction. The manufacture of transport vehicles is now engaging the attention of a large number of engineering firms, evidence being abundant to show that the industry is fast assuming big pro- portions...