The Glasgow courier. [volume] (Glasgow, Mont.) 1913-current, 1915-07-23
SURVEYING WITH AN AUTO.
Motor Truck More Economical Than
Horse Drawn Vehicle.

Motor Truck More Economical Than
Horse Drawn Vehicle.
C. V. Hodgson Of the coast. and
geodetic survey. department of com
merce. has recently left Washington
for the southwestern part Of the Unit
ed States. where he will have charge
Of a party for the determination OF
the astronomic latitude Of trfangula-
ton stations established by the coast
and geodetic survey and the United
States geological survey, between Bar
stow, Tex. and the Pacific ocean.
Many Of these stations are on noun
tains as much as 10000 feet In height
The results of this work will be used
principally for geodetic purposes-that
is, the determination Of the figure of
the earth and the distribution OF ma
terial in the earth's crust.
The lean Of transportation for this
party will be a n and a half ton
automobile truck which was used auc-
cessfully on similar work between Den
yer, Colo. and the Canadian border In
the al Of 1913. A similar truck
had been employed also in 1912 on the
forty-ninth parallel boundary survey
between the United States and Can
ada. The cost OF the work during the
season of 1918 Is estimated as only
one-half Of what it would have been
If horses and wagons had been used
for transportation. The saving In the
coming season is expected to be even
greater. as the country to be traversed
Is arid or semiarid and the transporter
ton Of water aud forage for stock
would have been a difficult problem.
1t is expected that the work will con-
tinue until late in the autumn.
The conditions in which the truck
was used were such as to require very
frequent transportation Of men and
material between widely separated
points and in a region remote from the
ordinary means of communication.
In the experience with the truck in
1912 it vas found that a field party
and its equipment could owe easily
from seventy-five to 100 miles in a
day owe Indifferent roads. including
stops for gasoline. supplies. etc., en-
route. The machine will haul this load
anywhere that four horses can and in
one-fourth the time. 1t is equipped
with solid rubber tires. dual behind
and with extra tanks for gasoline and
water. The weight Of the truck is
about G,1OO pounds and the weight of
the equipment of all kinds carried, but
excluding the weight of the three pas
sengers, is about 1000 pounds, thus
bringing the weight Of the entire out
fit to more than four tons. On the
average one gallon of gasoline was
used for every 80 miles and one gallon
of oil for every sixty-one miles.
The chief limitation in the use Of the
truck for surveying work arises from
it's weight. but a lighter truck would
answer in some classes of work. Green
poles were carried to place in front Of
the dual tired rea wheels in passing
through deep sand or mud and heavy
planks were carried for reinforcing
the flooring of weak bridges. Fol use
in mud or sand the dual tire possesses
a great advantage over the single tire.
but on the deeply rutted prairie roads
the duals were found to wedge and
bind in the ruts. so that 1t was neces-
sary to take to the prairie alongside
the road. For a skid chain a heavy.
close linked, rather fat chain about
seventeen feet long was used. This
was wound about six times round the
rim and tires of each rear wheel and
the ends fastened by heavy buckled
straps by which the slack could be
taken up.