Waggoner Posted 30 November , 2011 Share Posted 30 November , 2011 A colleague has been transcribing a War Diary and has come across a reference to a "short lock waggon". So far, he has been unable to find out what this term means. Based on information found on other internet sites, it appears that short lock refers to the method of fastening the upper frame or box frame to the lower carriage frame. It seems that the Canadian short lock version was more prone to roll over on sharp turns and rough ground. Are there any experts who can shed some light on this question? All the best, Gary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squirrel Posted 30 November , 2011 Share Posted 30 November , 2011 "With the type of underlock wagon used before the introduction of the GS Wagon MkV11 the body was rigidly attached to the fore and hind carriage. Connection between fore and hind carriages was made by a vertical pin passing through the centre of the forecarriage, contact between the bodywork and undercarriage being in the form of wheel plates. The construction required heavy bodywork and addtional stress of weight thrown between hind and fore parts of the vehicle. A more flexible vehicle was later preferred which had a short lock and strong underperch, ensuring greater steadiness when travelling over rough surfaces under load. The perch joined fore and hind carriages together as a single carriage or underframe......." From: Horsedrawn Transport of the British Army by D J Smith Shire Publications ISBN 978 0 85263 403 5 Hope it is of some help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waggoner Posted 30 November , 2011 Author Share Posted 30 November , 2011 Squirrel, Thank you. This seems to answer the question nicely! All the best, Gary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squirrel Posted 30 November , 2011 Share Posted 30 November , 2011 Glad to be of help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Tom Posted 1 December , 2011 Share Posted 1 December , 2011 An interesting quote. I had thought that the term 'lock' when applied to vehicles described the degree to which the front (steering) wheels could be turned. My only experience of horse drawn waggons was as a child leading the horse at harvest time. However as the front suspension, carriage, turns as a complete unit i.e, the front axle does not allow only the wheels to turned when cornering, hence the greater the lock the greater the instability. Does the publication include a diagram? I am not quite clear. And, just to be silly, I suppose the perch was as long as a rod or pole i.e. a quarter of a chain - for the benefit of young soldiers about 5.3 m. That would be a big waggon! Old Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now