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A steamroller (or steam roller) is a form of
road roller A road roller (sometimes called a roller-compactor, or just roller) is a compactor-type engineering vehicle used to compact soil, gravel, concrete, or asphalt in the construction of roads and foundations. Similar rollers are used also at la ...
– a type of heavy construction machinery used for leveling surfaces, such as roads or airfields – that is powered by a
steam engine A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force can be ...
. The leveling/flattening action is achieved through a combination of the size and weight of the vehicle and the ''rolls'': the smooth wheels and the large cylinder or drum fitted in place of treaded road wheels. The majority of steam rollers are outwardly similar to traction engines as many traction engine manufacturers later produced rollers based on their existing designs, and the patents owned by certain roller manufacturers tended to influence the general arrangements used by others. The key difference between the two vehicles is that on a roller the main roll replaces the front wheels and axle that would be fitted to a traction engine, and the driving wheels are smooth-tired. The word ''steamroller'' frequently refers to road rollers in general, regardless of the method of propulsion.


History

Before about 1850, the word steamroller meant a fixed machine for rolling and curving steel plates for boilers and ships. From then on, it also meant a vehicle. An early steamroller was patented by Louis Lemoine in France in 1859 and demonstrated sometime before February 1861. In Britain a 30 ton steamroller was designed in 1863 by William Clark and partner W.F. Batho. Having failed to impress the British municipal road authorities it was transferred to
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where it continued to work. The company Aveling & Porter was the first to successfully sell the product commercially and subsequently became the largest manufacturer in Britain. In 1866 they produced a prototype roller with 3 foot-wide rollers fitted to the rear of a standard 12
nominal horsepower Horsepower (hp) is a unit of measurement of power, or the rate at which work is done, usually in reference to the output of engines or motors. There are many different standards and types of horsepower. Two common definitions used today are the ...
traction engine. This experimental machine was described by local papers as 'the world's first steamroller' and it caused a public spectacle. In 1867 the steam road roller was patented and the company began production of the first practical steam roller – the new machine's rollers were mounted at the front instead of the back and it weighed in excess of 30 tons. It was tested on the Military Road in Chatham, Star Hill in Rochester and in Hyde Park,
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
and the machine proved a huge success. Within a year, they were being exported around the world, including to France,
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and the United States. A
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chief engineer said of one of these, that "in one day's rolling at a cost of 10 dollars, as much work was accomplished as in two days' rolling with a 7 ton roller drawn by eight horses at a cost of 20 dollars a day." The heavier rollers were found to be hard to handle and the weight of the machines was reduced to around 10 tons. Aveling & Porter refined their product continuously over the following decades, introducing fully steerable front rollers and compound steam engines at the 1881
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. The move to asphalt for road construction resulted in the demand for steamrollers that could rapidly reverse so they could roll the tar while still hot. Machines that could do this were introduced in the first decade of the 20th century. Production ended around 1950.


Configurations

The majority of rollers were of the same basic 3-roll configuration, gear-driven, with two large smooth wheels (rolls) at the back and a single wide roll at the front. (Actually, the wide roll usually consisted of two narrower rolls on the same axle, to make steering easier.) However, there was also a distinctive variant, the "tandem", which had two wide rolls, one front, one rear. Those made by Robey & Co. used their standard steam wagon engine and
pistol boiler A pistol boiler is a design of steam boiler used in light steam tractors and overtype steam wagons. It is noted for the unusual shape of the firebox, a circular design intended to be self-supporting without the use of firebox stays. The name " ...
fitted in a girder frame with rolls and a chain drive to produce a quick-reversing roller suitable for modern road surfaces such as tarmacadam and bituminous
asphalt Asphalt, also known as bitumen (, ), is a sticky, black, highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum. It may be found in natural deposits or may be a refined product, and is classed as a pitch. Before the 20th century, the term ...
. A number of Robey & Co. tandem rollers were modified to make a further variant, the tri-tandem, which was a tandem with a third roll, mounted directly behind the rear one. Robey supplied the parts, but the modification was undertaken by Goodes of Royston. Ten tandem and two tri-tandem Robey rollers survive in preservation, and one of the tri-tandems is known to have been used to construct parts of the
M1 motorway The M1 motorway connects London to Leeds, where it joins the A1(M) near Aberford, to connect to Newcastle. It was the first inter-urban motorway to be completed in the UK; the first motorway in the country was the Preston By-pass, which ...
. A variation of the basic configuration was the "convertible": an engine which could be either a steam roller or a traction engine and could be changed from one form to the other in a relatively short time – ''i.e.'', less than half a day. Convertible engines were liked by local authorities, since the same machine could be used for haulage in the winter and road-mending in the summer.


Design features

Although most steam roller designs are derived from traction engines, and were manufactured by the same companies, there are a number of features that set them apart.


Wheels

The most obvious difference is in the wheels. Traction engines were generally built with large fabricated spoked steel wheels with wide rims. Those intended for road use would have continuous solid rubber tyres bolted around the rims, to improve traction on tarmac. Engines intended for agricultural use would have a series of strakes bolted diagonally across the rims, like the tread on a modern pneumatic tractor tyre, and the wheels were typically wider to spread the load more evenly. Steam rollers, on the other hand, had smooth rear wheels and a roller at the front. The roller consisted of a pair of adjacent wide cylinders supported at both ends. This replaced the separate wheels and axle of a traction engine.


Smokebox

In the conventional arrangement, the front roller is mounted centrally, forward of the chimney. In order to allow enough clearance from the boiler (and hence a larger front roll), the smokebox is extended forward substantially at the top to incorporate a support plate on which to mount the bearing for the roller assembly. This gives the distinctive, hooded look to the front of a steam roller. It also necessitates a different design of smokebox door – it has to hinge up or down, rather than opening sideways, due to the limited access available. Access to the boiler tubes for cleaning is limited and the brush usually has to be inserted through the small gap between the top of the roll and the fork.


Special equipment

The front and rear rolls were usually fitted with scraper bars. As the vehicle moved along, these removed any surface material that had become stuck to the roll, to prevent a build-up of material and ensure a flat finish was maintained. Some steam rollers were fitted with a scarifier mounted on the tender box at the rear. They could be swung down to road level and used to rip up the old surface before a road was remade. Another accessory was a tar sprayer – a bar mounted on the back of the roller. This was not a common fixture.


Manufacturers

Britain was a major exporter of steam rollers over the years, with the firm of Aveling and Porter probably being the most famous and the most prolific. Many other traction engine manufacturers built steam rollers, but after Aveling and Porter, the most popular were Marshall, Sons & Co., John Fowler & Co., and
Wallis & Steevens Wallis & Steevens of Basingstoke, Hampshire, England produced agricultural equipment, traction engines and steam and diesel road rollers. History The company was founded in 1856 by Arthur Wallis and Charles Haslam in newly built premises ...
. In America, the Buffalo-Springfield Roller Company was a large builder. J. I. Case made a roller variant of their farm engines, but had a small market share. Other nations had makers including the Czechs, Swiss, Swedes, Germans (notably Kemna) and Dutch which produced steam rollers. > File:1924 blue Buffalo Springfield steam roller left side.JPG, United States-built 1924
Buffalo Springfield Buffalo Springfield was a rock band formed in Los Angeles by Canadian musicians Neil Young, Bruce Palmer and Dewey Martin and American musicians Stephen Stills and Richie Furay. The group, widely known for the song " For What It's Worth", r ...
steam roller: a vertical boiler design with tandem rolls. Note position of firebox door, facing out of frames. File:1924 blue Buffalo Springfield steam roller right side 1.JPG, Other side of same roller showing offset driving position: driver faces boiler controls (i.e. 'backwards') and steers with right hand File:Kemna Bau Pinneberg Fahrzeug.jpg, An early "Kemna" Steamroller


Usage

In the UK, a number of companies owned fleets of steam rollers and contracted them out to local authorities. Many were still in use into the 1960s, and part of the
M1 motorway The M1 motorway connects London to Leeds, where it joins the A1(M) near Aberford, to connect to Newcastle. It was the first inter-urban motorway to be completed in the UK; the first motorway in the country was the Preston By-pass, which ...
was made using steam rollers. A few steam rollers were being used for road maintenance in the early 1970s, and this may go some way to explaining why diesel-powered rollers are still colloquially known as ''steam'' rollers today.


Preservation

Many steam rollers are preserved in working order, and can be seen in operation during special
live steam Live steam is steam under pressure, obtained by heating water in a boiler. The steam is used to operate stationary or moving equipment. A live steam machine or device is one powered by steam, but the term is usually reserved for those that ar ...
festivals, where operating
scale model A scale model is a physical model which is geometrically similar to an object (known as the prototype). Scale models are generally smaller than large prototypes such as vehicles, buildings, or people; but may be larger than small prototypes ...
s may also be displayed. At some of the UK steam fairs and rallies, demonstrations of road building using the old techniques, tools and machines are re-enacted by 'Road Gangs' in authentic dress. Steam rollers feature prominently in these demonstrations. The annual
Great Dorset Steam Fair The Great Dorset Steam Fair (abbreviated GDSF, and since 2010 also known as The National Heritage Show) is an annual show featuring steam-powered vehicles and machinery. It now covers and runs for five days. This used to be from the Wednesday ...
has a section dedicated to road-making machinery, including a line-up of working steam rollers. A number of steamrollers ended their working lives in children’s playgrounds to provide something for children to play on.


Popular culture

Two popular American bands were named for steamrollers,
Buffalo Springfield Buffalo Springfield was a rock band formed in Los Angeles by Canadian musicians Neil Young, Bruce Palmer and Dewey Martin and American musicians Stephen Stills and Richie Furay. The group, widely known for the song " For What It's Worth", r ...
and Mannheim Steamroller. British steeplejack and engineering enthusiast
Fred Dibnah Frederick Travis Dibnah, (29 April 1938 – 6 November 2004) was an English steeplejack and television personality, with a keen interest in mechanical engineering, who described himself as a "backstreet mechanic". When Dibnah ...
was known as a national institution in Great Britain for the conservation of steam rollers and traction engines. The first engine he restored to working order was an Aveling & Porter steam roller, registration no. DM3079. Built in 1912, it was a 10-ton slide-valve, single-cylinder, 4-shaft, road roller.Fred Dibnahs roller 'Betsy'
Originally named "Allison", after his first wife, Fred renamed the engine "Betsy" (his mother's name) following his divorce – Fred's view being "wives may change but your mother remains your mother!" This roller was featured in many of Fred's early television programmes. It may still be seen at steam rallies in Britain and was in steam at the
Great Dorset Steam Fair The Great Dorset Steam Fair (abbreviated GDSF, and since 2010 also known as The National Heritage Show) is an annual show featuring steam-powered vehicles and machinery. It now covers and runs for five days. This used to be from the Wednesday ...
in 2011. In the Japanese manga and anime series '' JoJo's Bizarre Adventure'', Dio the vampire infamously attempted to crush Jotaro by dropping a steamroller on top of him.