Dusty Old Slides #19 by escafeld
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Description
Steamrollers or more correctly roadrollers were the last type of steam engine to be used commercially on the roads before giving way to diesel. In fact it was the internal combustion engine that led to the proliferation of steamrollers to smooth and compact the road before tar was applied to road surfaces. By 1910 motor cars were becoming so popular that local authorities and councils had to attend to local road making and surfacing. Horse or steam powered vehicles, travelled at slow speeds generating little dust but cars travelled at well over twice the speed making dust a great problem. Also, the first car owners were generally people of influence and wealth who no doubt put pressure where it was needed to have roads tarred.
The first successful road rollers were developed in France by Lemoine and later Gelleret whose machine was an adaptation of the railway engine. In 1867 the progressive Thomas Aveling of Rochester in Kent, England, supplied a massive 30-ton (30.5 tonne) machine to the Liverpool Corporation. Aveling and Porter continued research and development and in 1870, the final form of the roller emerged. This was a simple portable or horizontal type boiler, with a single or compound cylinders behind a chimney with chain or geared-drive to the rear wheels, similar to the fast-developing traction engine of the day. Steering was by worm gear and chain attached to the protruding front roll spindle. The roller itself had a kingpin that swiveled through a plate bracket in an iron saddle well froward of the smokebox door. This became the standard pattern for all three-wheeled rollers. The company
Comments (20)
jocko500
real good look I like old things
Beemer
Thank You so much for these wonderful pictures and stories, they realy make one appreciate machine advancement!
DJB
Fascinating bit of history accompanied by the images.
Sekadhar
WOW! This one I really like! Nice old time machine! Excellent shot!*****!
Tedz
And yet...they do not Roll Steam :]
b2amphot
An especially good one. Got to drive an old Galion "roadroller" as a kid working for my uncle's construction company... but nothing this impressive. BTW, the restoration and coloring on this pic is most impressive.
kimariehere
i can certainally relate to your business.. another wonderful piece of the past.. love your interest in it - like me - i am a big sucker for old anything - historical tranportation and machnery had always intrigued me!
marybelgium
amazing and interesting ! Well done!
Onslow
HE he run out and throw a halfpenny in the road ;)
thesymphonyofthelife
the tones and the details are very good. it's an excellent photography. have a good day
Zacko
COOOOOOL RIDE!!! That stallion in the front makes ya wonder if this isnt a Ferrari after all....ooooh soooo coooool!!!!! Great quality as well. Have a great day #:O)
sossy
what a stunner and beautiful oldie! very enjoying to look at! ;o)
soulofharmony
awesome quality of slide stull has its sharpness.. excelllent pov and detail... superb dave :)...)))))))))))
Enmos
Wow cool lookoing contraption, you can actually steer this thing ?? ;o) Superb work here again !! :o)
Haeberle
Horsepower again...Fantastic machine, so interesting, have to show this to my fellow workers (office for civil engineering) They certainly will love it too ! Thx for sharing this !
Lledeline
Wonderful machine.
ebsmooth
that's awesome!!! like something out of the Willy Wonka movie! excellent tone! nicely done!!!
cynlee
so much classier & fine looking then the roadrollers of today!! :] these are an enjoyable flash from the past to see
Akinom
It's incredible how life has changed so much in just a short time, eh? What a fine time witness! A pleasure to look at! You should print a book with this amazing series!
Hesbe
Tr beau toignage du pass