Trucking has a long history. In the beginning, the transportation devices were not large in size and there were definitely no automatics in them, however, they greatly simplified the work and allowed to transport heavy and voluminous objects for a considerable distance.
How were the wheel and cart invented?
The wheel is a round, fixed on an axle or freely rotating disc. The exact date of the invention is unknown. After the invention of the wheel, it began to be widely used in various tools and mechanisms. It was the wheels that made it possible to create vehicles to help transport goods.
A four-wheeled freight wagon
designed to transport people and goods is called a cart. Carts were propelled by a mule or horse. In the past, all devices were made entirely of wood. Today the wheels are often made of modern synthetic materials instead of wood and are equipped with pneumatic tires.
The cart was built with drawbar or shaft-type harnesses. Although the cart looked very simple on the outside, it was a complex technical construction, which consisted of a large number of parts. It took a master and his assistant at least a month to build one cart.
Its main characteristics were:
capacity – about 750 kg;
dimensions – 1.5 x 2 m
weight – 250-300 kg;
diameter of the front wheel – 60-70 centimeters;
diameter of the rear wheel – 70-100 centimeters.
In addition to the standard carts, heavy wagons were also produced. On such a cart, up to 2 tons of cargo could be transported at a time.
Manufacturing of carts for cargo transportation
In the USSR, as many as 12 cart-building factories were functioning! The largest of them was the Smena plant, which was located in Borovichi. In the 1980s, this plant produced up to 2,000 carts a month. They were used to transport goods in all regions of the country. The cost of a cart in those days was two hundred rubles. The design on a rubber running gear cost four hundred and fifty rubles. Nowadays, the cost of an ordinary cart is ten thousand rubles.
History of trucking
People have been transporting goods for thousands of years. Without transportation and the movement of goods, the development of civilization would be impossible. The process of development of technology and industry also had an impact on cargo transportation, which is constantly being improved. Nowadays, the process of cargo transportation is like a very complicated operation with the use of cargo platforms, heavy lifting equipment, escorted by special vehicles of the traffic police, etc.