Road Rollers by Anthony Coulls

Road Rollers by Anthony Coulls

The need to improve the UK road system saw a number of developments in the nineteenth century. To allow people to travel more safely and faster, smoother roads were needed and engineers began to develop and devise the tools to make this possible. The road roller began as a horse drawn device, followed by the favourite, the steam roller, seen on British roads for over a century. Several manufacturers including Fowler built hundreds, but no company could challenge Aveling and Porter of Rochester for its dominance of the market. As technology changed, rollers began to get lighter and new ways of propulsion - petrol and diesel came in - and whilst these continue to this day, the term steam roller has entered popular culture, even though motor roller is what the machine will usually be these days. The basic function of a deadweight compacting device remains, but the appeal of the steam roller is far greater - and hundreds survive to this day in the hands enthusiasts, who present them to the public at steam rallies up and down the country. Even diesel and petrol rollers now have their following as they are a very accessible way into the vintage restoration world. This books looks at the past and present of road rollers and the ephemera surrounding the road making scene.

Anthony Coulls is Senior Curator of Rail Transport and Technology at the National Railway Museum, York. The author of several books and articles, he lives in County Durham with his family and vintage road roller.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781445675800
ISBN 10	1445675803
Title	Road Rollers
Author	Anthony Coulls
Series	Britain's Heritage
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Amberley Publishing
Year published	2018-07-15
Number of pages	64
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.