THE SIX-WHEELER.

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXV, Issue 18286, 8 June 1929, Page 15

THE SIX-WHEELER.

PLACE IN MOTOR WORLD. THREE DIFFERENT TYPES. The six-wheeler type of vehicle forms the subject of an article in “The Times" special British Motor Number by that paper’s commercial motoring correspondent. He says:— “The British six-wheel motor vehicle continues to increase in popularity and in its scope of usefulness. There are really three types—namely, the flexible or articulated six-wheeler, the rigid frame machine suitable for road use, and a class of vehicle that can be run across country as well as on roadways. “The last type has the greatest potentialities in view of possible development in the Dominions, colonies, and protectorates. The flexible six-wheeler, however, is doing good service at Home with heavy and bulky loads; and an outcome of the principle is an eightwheeler which can carry up to 15 tons, and has a better load distribution than a two-axled machine. In this particular design the two sets of wheels at the back are arranged to have full contact with the road irrespective of the camber. “The second kind of six-wheeler mentioned above has not been greatly developed in Great Britain for goods conveyance, but its use has been expanded in passenger carrying services, especially in replacement of tramcars. The advantages of the greater tractive effort by distributing the drive equally over four wheels instead of two, the facility for breaking on the four driving wheels, the halving of the frame displacement for a given rise or fall in the road surface as l compared with a four-wheeled machine, the increased stability and freedom from skid and side-slip, and the better load distribution, are all factors which influence road transport users. The possibility of carrying augmented loads has also its attraction. This class of motor is being used throughout Europe and in America; in this country it is mainly employed on double-deck omnibus work. Speed and Safety. “There is little doubt, however, that in the future the multi-axled chassis with six or eight-cylinder engine—possibly with a free-wheel device to simplify gear changing, to afford quieter running, and to assist more economical operation—with four or six-wheeled breaking, will be mainly used for longdistance high-speed coach work if the authorities can be persuaded that speed is not dangerous provided a vehicle’s controls are satisfactory. “The motor which can be run across country and can also be operated upon roads as a paying proposition marks one of the greatest advances that have yet been achieved in motor transport, and it affords the most complete method that has yet been devised of exploiting overseas areas which have not yet been tapped. “The War Department was instrumental in bringing this type of vehicle into effective use. It is to be hoped that the Department’s interest in this development will be sustained, and that its influence will carry full weight in any decisions which are taken for the economic development of the oversea Empire by motor transport. “The rigid frame six-wheeler has not yet reached finality of design, but it has passed out of the experimental stage, and there are a number of makes and models which can justly be regarded as a good investment. Machines of this class have already been used in regular service as feeders to railways overseas and there is now ample proof that one means of haulage can be complementary to another, for the railways report that traffic has increased, and that areas hitherto practically untouched are being opened up, with beneficial trade results. Pioneer Work. “These six-wheelers are doing pioneer work in many parts of the world. Indeed, journeys are continually being successfully undertaken, under the most arduous conditions, in areas where four-wheeled vehicles have never been tried, and probably could not go. Most of our British commercial motor manufacturers are now engaged in the production of sixwheelers which can be used on roads and across country, and the most healthy sign of progress is the enlargement of the types which are obtainable. “With only medium sized machines available, the scope for their use must necessarily be limited, but with the introduction of smaller and bigger load capacity vehicles expansion is bound to follow. There is one point of great Importance which should be watched by those responsible, and especially by any Government committee or board interested in oversea transport—this is suitability for general purposes. For example, it would be a mistake to develop classes of machines the size of which would perhaps be suitable for use in some parts of the world but not in others. “The War Department overcame almost insuperable difficulties in assisting designs which, while fulfilling their particular demands, complied with those of the commercial world, and it should not be impossible to meet the future needs of transport users oversea without dislocating the industry and the home markets.”