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Swinefleet Warping Drain
The modern outlet sluice where the Drain enters the River Ouse
History
Principal engineerR Crewke
Date of act1821

Swinefleet Warping Drain is an artificial waterway in the English county of East Yorkshire, which was constucted to allow silt to be deposited on the peat moors, but now functions as a land drainage channel. It was constructed by Ralph Crewke, and the first section was completed in 1821.

Milk floats

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Metrovick

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In 1939, the Metrovick range consisted of a 7-9 cwt model, a 10-14 cwt model and an 18-22 cwt model. All three models were fitted with a drum controller, mounted on the cab floor, which provided six steps of series-parallel control. A safety interlock was provided, to reduce the likelihood of the motor being damaged by careless driving, and brakes manufactured by Lockhead or Girling were fitted to all four wheels. It was also possible to swap the batteries for another fully-charged set, for situations where the range required exceeded that obtainable from a single battery.[1] A feature in Commercial Motor magazine in 1939 on the Manchester and Salford Equitable Co-operative Society noted that the company was probably the largest user of electric road vehicles in the north of England, with 62 vehicles involved in milk delivery and 20 in bread rounds. The bread rounds were handled by a mixture of Metrovicks and Morrisons, with vehicles covering around 4,500 miles (7,200 km) each year. All were powered by Tudor batteries, and the ease of operation meant that skilled sales staff who were used to having a horse and cart could transfer to an electric vehicle without difficulty. Although drivers worked a 48-hour week, they only worked for six days a week, which was unusual in the milk and bread retail sector at the time.[2] In 1940, Metrovick also produced a 25-30 cwt van.[3]

In 1943, the company supplied nine vans to the General Post Office in Manchester, for the delivery of mail. With a crew of two, and an average load of 4 cwt, they could cover a distance of 42 miles (68 km) per charge.[4]

A more modern design of cab was introduced from 1939, and as the Second World War ended, Metrovick sold its designs to Brush, and ceased to make battery electric road vehicles. Consequently, early Brush designs are virtually indistinguishable from later Metrovick designs.[5]

Northern Coachbuilders Ltd

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Northern Coachbuilders were founded in 1920, and were based in Newcastle. They manufactured trams and trolley buses, but in 1949, as the demand for milk floats took off, they turned to making battery electric road vehicles, and became Smith's Vehicles. In 1959 they changed the name to Smith Delivery Vehicles, and moved to a new site in Team Valley, Gateshead. As well as making milk floats and commerial vehicles, they held the UK rights to the Mr Softee ice-cream brand, and made Mr Softee ice-cream vans, with the ice-cream supplied by Glacier Foods Ltd, a subsidiary of J Lyons & Co. In the early 1960s, they collaborated with Boyertown and Exide Batteries to build electric ice-cream trucks for the American market. Boyertown was a coach builder making Mr Softee vans in Eastern Pennsylvania, and together, they formed the Battronic Truck Corporation. The first vehicles were sold in March 1964, but Smiths withdrew from the partnership in 1966, and Exide in 1969. Boyertown then collaborated with General Electric, to produce a more efficient battery system, but sales volumes were always low, and the company had sold just 175 vans by the time production stopped in 1983.[6]

In 1949, Northern Coachbuilders (NCB) rationalised their operation, and the manufacture of battery electric vehicles was transferred to Smiths Electric Vehicles at Gateshead.[7] The company changed its name to Smiths Delivery Vehicles in 1953, when they started to market mobile food shops with petrol engines, although the NCB vehicles remained their main focus.[8]

Smith

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In 1957, Smith's Electric Vehicles (Canada) Ltd was formed, to handle the sale and maintenance of the Smith-NCB range in Canada. An initial order worth $100,000 was received from Paulger's Dairy, Toronto for 20 Commuter vehicles.[9]

Ross

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Note: The location of Ross is given as 30a Zetland Road, in Southport (1956), Southbourne, near Bournemouth (1958) and Scunthorpe (1959). WebCheck and Georgano both suggest Southport.

Ross Auto Engineering Ltd was established in 1949 and were based in Southport.[10]

In 1956 they launched the Ross Auto 25, which could carry a payload of 25 cwt when fitted with a milk float body, but with a low frame height of just 1.5 feet (0.46 m), could also be fitted with a refuse collection body, or could be used as a tractor unit, when it could carry 1 ton and pull a 1-ton trailer. It was 4 feet 1.5 inches (1.257 m) wide, and came fitted with a 2.6 hp (1.9 kW) motor, which was mounted on Metalastic rubber bushes, to reduce shock loads to the transmission system. Two racks of batteries were mounted either side of the chassis, and battery capacities of 161 Amp-hours to 240 Amp-hours could be accommodated, depending on the use to which the vehicle would be put. The batteries were designed so that they could easily be replaced with fully charged batteries if they became flat. Control was by a two or three speed fully automatic controller and contactor assembly. The vehicle was extremely manoeuvrable, having a turning circle of only 20 feet (6.1 m), and depending on the gear ratio of the back axle, had a top speed of 8 or 16 miles per hour (13 or 26 km/h).[11]

Ross exhibited a four-wheel ride-on float with a vertical steering wheel at the 1958 Dairy Show. It was the first time they had attended the show, and the 20 cwt vehicle had a range of 12 - 20 miles and a speed of 10-12 mph.[12] (I suspect this was a Help-Mate, which was very similar to the Electruk RIder, but the cab was much narrower than the vehicle.)

In 1963, Express Dairies had 168 Helics, made by Ross, in their fleet.[13]

Ross Auto and Engineering was formed in 1949, and made industrial vehicles and milk floats, but then diversified into mobility services, and began trading as Ross Care.[14] Electric vehicle production ceased in the late 1980s.[15]

W&E

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W&E produced the Tonner model in 1957. Suitable for a payload of 20 cwt, it was lighter than the 25 cwt model, had a top speed of 15 mph and a range of 25-30 miles.[16]

Summary

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In 1939, Commercial Motor listed the following manufacturers of BERVs.[17]

Graces Guide has a list of all models by Brush, Cleco, Douglas, Electruk, Graiseley, Harbilt, Midland, Morrison, NCB, Q, Smiths, Tilling-Stevens, Tomlinson, Walker NCB, and Wilson for 1950. They also mention that full specs for these vehicles are available in the Trader Handbook, which was published in 1940, 1950, 1952, 1956, 1960, 1962 and 1969.[18]

The 1956 directory included[19]

In 1960, Commercial Motor listed ten companies producing battery electric road vehicles. These were:[20]

On 9 July 1971 Commercial Motor produced a complete list of all the models available from electric vehicle manufacturers. Morrison Electricars produced many models with variations of each. Gough Industrial Trucks Ltd, based in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent had a range of Graiseley industrial trucks, pedestrian-operated refuse vehicles, and hospital service vehicles. Harbilt produced five ranges of dairy vehicles, and also built a number of vehicle types for other industries. Ross Auto Engineering Ltd, of Southport, produced the Stallion, with a range of payloads. Beaver Vehicles produced a variety of vehicles, but their location was not given. Smiths produced the Cabac 75 and Cabac 85 for milk delivery and three other ranges. W&E produced five ranges.[21]

Pre-war companies

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Prior to the Second World War, the four best-known manufacturers of light electric vehicles were Morrisons, Midland, Victor and Wilson.[22]

Commercial Motor published an article in 1939 listing nearly 20 manufacturers, and also listed the models available from each. Manufacturers were Wingrove & Rogers, Electricar, Erewash Electric Traction, Graiseley, Greenwood and Batley, T H Lewis, Metrovick, Midland Vehicles, Morrisons, Murphy Cars and Trucks, Q (Battery Traction), Ransomes, Slingsby Electrics, Sunbeam COmmercial Vehicles, Tilling-Stevens, Victor Electrics and Wilson Electrics.[23]

Vehicles on roads

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There were 4,674 battery electric road vehicles registed in early 1939, according to figures from the Ministry of Transport.[24]

Clyde HEP

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The idea of using the Falls of Clyde to generate electricity was first suggested in 1909 by Sir Charles Ross. The scheme did not proceed, because it would have generated more power than local markets would need. The Clyde Valley Electric Power Company built coal-fired power stations at Yoker, Clyde's Mill and Motherwell, which were sufficiently successful that they had become the largest producer and distributor of electricity in Scotland by the end of the First World War. As the system grew, it needed rationalising, and G T Goslin moved from the Glasgow Corporation Electricity Department to become the General Manager. He had previously worked with Edward MacColl from the Corporation's Tramway Department, and convinced him to become the technical engineer for the company. MacColl devoted his energy to designing equipment to control high voltage transmission systems, generators and transformers. This work was sufficiently successful that fuel costs for the existing stations were reduced considerably.[25]

In the early 1920s, the Power and Traction Finance Company looked again at the possibility of hydro-electric power from the Falls of Clyde. This was a consortium, consisting of the civil engineers Sir William Arrol & Co., steelmakers John Brown, shipbuilders Cammell Laird, industrialists English Electric and Prudential Insurance. They tried to address the issues of how to store water in case there was a drought, and where to sell the electricity that would be generated. For the second problem, they contacted the Clyde Valley Company, who were the 'authorised undertakers' for the sale of electricity in the region. MacColl looked at issues of water rights, and ensuring that the beauty of the scenery was not spoiled. He also investigated flows on the Clyde, and decided that a run-of-the-river scheme could be built, which would not need reservoirs to store the water. The catchment for the river was over 400 square miles (1,000 km2) and he was convinced that there would be adequate flow throughout the year.[25]

Bibliography

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  • Burton, Nigel (2013). History of Electric Cars. Crowood Press. ISBN 978-1-84797-461-7.
  • Georgano, Nick (1996). Electric Vehicles. Shire Publications. ISBN 978-0-7478-0316-4.
  • Hakewill, Bob (2011). Harbilt Electric Trucks. Bob Hakewill for Harborough Museum. ISBN 978-0-9565046-4-7.
  • Hakewill, Bob (2012). "Harbilt Refuse Trucks". Classic Refuse Trucks.
  • Roberts, Keith (2010). Electric Avenue - The story of Morrison-Electricar. Bryngold Books. ISBN 978-1-905900-16-9.
  • Ward, Rod (2008). Electric Vehicles. Auto Review. Zeteo Publishing. ISBN 978-1-900482-41-7.

References

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  1. ^ "London Stages Electric Vehicle Display". Commercial Motor. 21 April 1939. p. 88.
  2. ^ "A Co-op Finds Electrics Fill the Bill". Commercial Motor. 21 April 1939. p. 85.
  3. ^ "Encouraging Road Transport Electrification". Commercial Motor. 17 February 1940. p. 33.
  4. ^ "One Hears". Commercial Motor. 5 March 1943. p. 15.
  5. ^ Signage on Metrovick FWB 784. The Transport Museum, Wythall.
  6. ^ Burton 2013, pp. 72, 74.
  7. ^ "NCB Production to be Segregated". Commercial Motor. 5 August 1949.
  8. ^ "Smith's Change Name". Commercial Motor. 20 November 1953.
  9. ^ "New Canadian Offshoot". Commercial Motor. 7 June 1957.
  10. ^ "Search Results". Companies House.
  11. ^ "New 25 Cwt Batteryelectric". Commercial Motor. 21 December 1956. p. 56.
  12. ^ "Battery Electrics Unchallenged". Commercial Motor. 24 October 1958. p. 60.
  13. ^ "On Time Seven Days a Week". Commercial Motor. 1 March 1963. p. 56.
  14. ^ "Making Life Easier". Ross Care. Retrieved 9 July 2016.
  15. ^ Georgano 1996, p. 26.
  16. ^ "New Electrics". Commercial Motor. 25 October 1957. p. 41.
  17. ^ "Makers of Battery Electric Vehicles". Commercial Motor. 22 September 1939. p. 40.
  18. ^ "1950 Makes and Models of Road Vehicles". Graces Guide.
  19. ^ "Directory of Vehicle Manufacturers". Commercial Motor. 1 June 1956. p. 113.
  20. ^ "Directory of Vehicle Makers". Commercial Motor. 6 May 1960.
  21. ^ "British Electric Vehicles Model by Model". Commercial Motor. 9 July 1971.
  22. ^ Georgano 1996, p. 21.
  23. ^ "Pointers for Potential Purchasers of Electric Vehicles". Commercial Motor. 21 April 1939. p. 50.
  24. ^ "Why not try a Battery Electric". Commercial Motor. 21 April 1939. p. 46.
  25. ^ a b Payne 1988, p. 24.

Poem

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A poem can be delineated as follows:

This is the first line
Of a mighty fine ditty
But now's not the time
At which to take pity

This is the text after it. 5 kilometres (3.1 mi)

Tree structure trial

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Test replacing Ahnentafel-compact6 with Ahnentafel

Test of Ahnentafel-Compact5

Bibliography

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  • Hancock, Celia (2006). Conglog Slate Quarry. Adit Publications. ISBN 0-9522979-4-9.
  • Richards, Alun John (1991). A Gazeteer of the Welsh Slate Industry. Gwasg Carreg Gwalch. ISBN 0-86381-196-5.
  • Potter, Hugh (September 2011). "Entrepreneurs with shovels". Waterways World. ISSN 0309-1422.
  • Squires, Roger (2008). Britain's restored canals. Landmark Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84306-331-5.

Books by Joseph Whitaker of Rainworth

  • Descriptive List of the Deer-Parks and Paddocks of England
  • A Descriptive List of the Mediæval Dovecotes in Nottinghamshire.
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