The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1920-02-29
MOTOR TRUCKS AND THEIR VALUE TO RICHMOND
Rasltngs

/ Motor trucks for heavy hauling have
practically entirely displaced teams on
the streets or Richmond and the horse .
drawn vehicle Is almost an much of q
seven days wonder as tho automobile
use 10 be in the early days.
| The motor truck has passed from the
experimental stage and In now \ stage
lof nee essity. without II business would
he at a standstill to q great extent,
because there would not be enough
horses 10 MI the demand for trans
portatfcr In the cities. Further. the
room required for housing horses in
cities afd their feed is q very serious
item.
The coal man finds that he can de-
Ever bis coal more promptly In all
sorts of weather and more OF It with
a meteor truck The farmer in the
vicinity OF Petersbrfg findx that he
can market his produce In Richmond
as weii as he can in Petersburg. or
vice versa depending upon the advan-
tagcous market, and can be delivered
more promptly and more quickly In
either case
re the farmer the passenger car is
la real luxury whereas ct also is an
advantage. whereas with motor
truck he can go to town as he use to
20 ON his wagon. and take q supply Of
produce and bring back building ma
tcrials farm supplies and fertilizer
further, he does not have to haul back
the concentrated feeds he use to haul
back which required about one-halr
the time OF his team either in hauiin &
IL from town or in producing il for
their own consumption.
NJ NJ. West, resident Of Chester
field, who uses motor trucks for haul
Ing lumber, reports that he use to pay
teams $40 a thousand to haul lumber
eighteen miles one way or thirty-aix
miles round trip. He now finds with "A
four ton motor truck with sand and
mud roads he can haul 5000 feet OF
igmber a day which he has done durins 2
the past mine months without losing
any time except from bad days. aversr
ing 1s5, 900 feet month winter and
summer. which makes "A total OF $1.2se
which teams would have cost. Fills cost
to dc this han been two men at 81
per day. gasoline and oil SIS dav, or n
fetal or s1e per day hauling 5000 feet
daily or 81 per thousand, or about
1850 per month, saving 81. 600 per
month. He has paid for his four ton
Day Elder truck. he says. which cost
him around sa,T0o. nearly twice over
in the saving he has made over the cost
of teams in the eight months he has
had the truck. Mr.. West further says
that right after rains no loans this
track 10 the county authorities OF Cum
befland county. N. G.. and hauls their
th.rty feet steel drag as they have noc
sufficient facilities for dragging all the
roads Authorities do not oppose the
use Of his truck over the roads. but
tlMnk he is great help to the com
munity.
On the other hand r. r Stoufrs OF
Richmond Va. who does log ring at
Richlands, onsiow county near Will
mington. n e. has recently used a
truck after considering 1t for a long
time He Ftates that in loading the
freight cars. rolling the logs up on
the sides with the truck is much more
dependable than mules they cannot
s'ways stop the logs in the proper point
when they get 10 the top of the nat
eur. Mules are always unruiy when
they are dragging n heavy load and Are
hard 10 stop up short as logging men
have to do when they are loading
freight cars with heavy logs Mr..
Stouffs says that his Day-EIder three
and one-half ton truck takes away a
lot which is an eye opener to the resi-
dents OF the county He drove this
IL uck. right after heavy rains in Janu
airy. through to Rlchlands and says n
never fails to negotiate the mud any
where and that no one need fear bad
road conditions If they have a good
track
When he started or to get this truck
to Richlands the freiehts were indie
pcndable, he having had freight cars
tied M "a month in transit to Richmond
He reached EichlandR, distance OF
a bout 900 miles. within three DAYS from
the time he left Richmond He says
tnn motor truck has come to stay and
Is the lumberman's salvation.
A motor express route has been rur
by tho Petersburg and Richmond
Transfer company during tho past
eighteen rnonths-this route has con.
sistentsy made money and the trucks
practically paid for themselves the first
year. charging tho prevailing express
rates of City c.pts a hundred. which
means that the, goods are delivered
tho same day without rrhandIing. This
special delivery is a great advantage tc
produce men who market perishahis
products. There are six or eight mo.
ter truck express lines out Of Rich.
mond, reaching points that could no.
be reached previously by train. prac.
tically all OF them seen on regula,
schedule and arc carrying both passcn.
gers and freight. These lines radiats
in practically every direction and are
operated on small capital as a rule
ihe great advantage OF motor trucks
IN establishing 4 motor truck line j,
that the initial investment Is not neces
sarily high A party with honest hab
its and whose note is not discounta biz
at n bank for several thousand dol
lars. but who has third of the cash
price can buy a motor truck and
usually the truck win earn sufficient
to pay the other two-thirds within this
| first year. Numerous routes have beer
established on this basis and more ART
| in the making all the time.
l The rates Of handling merchandise
b" motor truck exceed those OF freight
/ but are usually about the same Of
| handling express. For example, thu
rate 10 ePtersburg on frst-clas freight
! 10 something like twenty cents a hun.
Y sfssGs sst israfius &tt$ss ~ q sytAfa xsnS'
seven and one-half cents a hundred II
rGto TO Petersburg on nrst-class freight
lsiations. at point of delivery and a.
shipping point. this would make thu
/ cost thirty Ave cents by freight TIL,
ieSpress rate is AftY cents II IL un.
cerstood that the parties operating thu
I Petersburg and Richmond motor true
line have done very well, having prac,
i llkc9llS- Ra ta,v LIZ &c thirds of tha 1nitia
feost Of the trucks out OF the earning.
Of the line.
\ The cost OF hauling merchandise with
motor truck depends to a great ex
tent upon theNsjze Of the truck In us.
y n "A &ws .4f 4 n.