Road Making Demonstration and Road Roller Exhibits |
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This display recreated a typical country roadmaking scene from the period between 1920 and 1950, when now obsolete labour intensive methods were still in use. Below right is Aveling & Porter Steam Roller No.7385, which worked for the City of Oxford from 1911 to 1938 - it is unusually small for a steamroller and was used for light patching work and hauling a tar boiler between sites. | ||
| Most of the other rollers exhibited over the weekend were more conventional, with two speeds and a large flywheel mounted outside the horn plates, although the Luton Corporation Tandem roller (pictured left) is an example of a different approach to steam rolling design. |
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Aveling & Porter of Rochester built more rollers than other manufacturers, but examples by Burrell, Fowler, Ruston & Hornsby and Wallis & Steevens present. Most rollers weigh about 10 tons, and apart from the Wallis 'Advance' model the basic design changed very little over the years until production finally stopped soon after the last war. During this period roads were rebuilt by first preparing the surface by scarifying, then spreading the new stone. Roadstone was normally broken down to a suitable size by a stone crusher, a Marsden example of 1920 is pictured left. | ||
| Steam tractors were used to haul the stone from the railway station or quarry to the roadside, pictured above centre is an Aveling & Porter Steam Tractor Makers No. 12152 which did exactly this job with Edinburgh Corporation from 1928 to 1958. The surface would be watered by horse drawn water cart to help bind the material. These water carts could also be hauled behind a steamroller when travelling between sites to provide extra water supplies. If the steamroller was provided by a contractor, a living van would also normally be hauled from site to site, where the driver would live for the duration of the contract, sometimes with his wife. Comforts were limited in these vans to a stove, a few cupboards and the bunks. In later years road surfaces would normally be tarred and covered with chippings. This solved the problem of winter potholes and clouds of dust in the summer that was typical of the waterbound road. A coal fired tar boiler heated the tar ready for application by spray cans. Also seen top left are typical road signs of the day. | |||
| The demonstration was organised by S. & D. Ross. The Road Roller Association encourages the preservation and operation of historic roadmaking equipment. Their membership secretary is: Dave Crampton of 6, Norwood Close, Mackworth, Derby. |
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