New-York tribune., 1912-01-14
UNUSUAL COAL HAULAGE.
CONNER Truck Makes Record in
Pittsburgh's Hill Section.
STRIKING SAVING is SHOWN
One Company Says That Deliv-
ery by Horses Costs II Gents
a Ton More.

. .necial representative OF leading coal
,rode publication recently visited the city
Of pittsburgh with view to learning what
success II any, the motor truck was hav-
inc IN III. matter Of delivering coal. Pitts
burgh is. perhaps. the most notoriousiy
hulv city in the entire United States, ana
:, uas for this reason that II was selected
for n special investigation. The railroads
entsrjng the city use the lowest natural
grades so that the coal yards are generally
found in the lowest parts Of the city. Thus
practically every delivery means an upn'i
,.n,I loaded. and down Hill coast, empty
rbe investigation began following
snows,orm. which gave an excellent oppor-
,unitv to Judge the hills under most au-
verse conditions. After a genera e"'Fey
and asking numerous questions ne caneu
op the Pittsburgh Coal Company WINCH 10
one OF the two coal dealers eihpioSh"e
motor trucks. This company lnslaiieu a
four and a half ton CONNER truck ""0'
ha found had been meeting the trying con-
5i,iors In n manner which proved aston
thing n had easily outdone anythihs
which could be accomplished with horses'
IN. savinz In transportation expense on an
average being about II cents ton
One DAVIS record showed seventy-one
miles travelled, with nine trips hauiiis
forty tons. During four days the uucn
made round trips to a certain point oei'-
erinq $50 tons OF coal, nine trips day'
u,i,h the sreateat variation between the
| fastest and slowest time OF any TRIP ho'
- .,an ,bree minutes. This is remark
| ahIe consistency. considering the oostacles
encountered, and unusual emciency as I.
quantity delivered, because of the fact tha'
| during this try-out fiat bed oooy "a1
,;sed on the chassis. which made IL heces'
sarv TO shovel out the greater part Oh 'h'
load on each trip.
with the new body, which when uppeo
has an angle Of 81 degrees, the truck :.
rop,,,arIv unloaded in one and one-auai
r,Inutes Some figures showed that tn'
.ruoL had covered fifty-one miles, denver
Ing fortv-hve tons in ten trips Anotne'
dev showed sixty-one miles and over my
tons This particular day was RAINY ioi
Lowing a snowfall, and the streets wer'
slushy and difficult to travel Mr.. Johnson
| the manager OF the Pittsburgh Compan!
expressed himself as we'll satisfied win .ii'
cost OF maintenance and upkeep' ana sa'
another CONNER truck had lately oeen III
stalled. a.,
I'VE are making one delivery OF from IL
TO r20 bushels in l hour ard 10 minutes
by gasolene, as compared with sixty-nV'
bushels In 3 hours and 30 minutes by morse
over the same route" he said. we mus
always start our delivery from the yaros
which are down in the hollows' and go VI
TO where the people live. We charge I'M
truck 10 the yard using it, in the hrst place
at a fixed amount day. Under TINS sys
| TEN, the saving in time and the increased
! tonnage handled balance this charge OH
so that the yard makes profit over TN
number OF teams it would take to handl
the same quantity Of coal. Every cost IN
cidental TO the upkeep and operation OF TN
truck is charged against the truck itself
Such items as gasolene, oil, tires, chauf
feurs, repairs, interest on investment de
probation, etc. are thus checked agains
the performance OF the truck and the prom
i. 1t makes"