Page 52 - It's a Rum Life Book 3 "Ivy House Tales 1970 to 1984"

CHAPTER 10

THE BUS AND THE AUGER

My Tyre collection business had been running for a few months alongside my work for
Firestone. Following a few raised eyebrows and a long talk to Henry Offiler my then boss, I
eventually left the company, but now the new business needed a boost. It was not yet
paying sufficiently to live on and we had invested in a second-hand Volkswagen
transporter pick up that was not, in use all day every day.
Our neighbours, John H. Rundle were local agricultural engineers, well respected in the
County and suppliers to farmers for miles around.

AUGERS
From time to time they used my newly inspired small transport service to back up their one
lorry.
On this memorable occasion I was using faithful old Volkswagen to transport an auger.
For those that may not be aware of the vagaries of agricultural equipment, an auger is like
a huge archimedian screw in a long tube. They are used to move grain from one place to
another.
In fact if you stick one end into a “grain mountain” on the floor and place the top end over a
lorry body it will fill the lorry in double quick time with only minimum shovelling necessary
to keep the open end of the auger at the bottom filled with grain.

The screw down the centre is powered by an electric motor mounted on one end and
driving the screw with a belt and pulleys. The lengths of tube varied enormously; the width
too come to that!
When they are particularly long they have supporting steel rods running the length of the
outside of the tube. These rods prevent the tube buckling and bending the auger inside.
Once in position and suitably secured, the internal screw revolves rapidly and spews grain
out at a tremendous speed and pressure.

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