A ROAD ROLLER

Hokitika Guardian, 22 April 1921, Page 4

A ROAD ROLLER

While the Wellington city engineer Mr W. H. Morton, was on his recent tour of inspection throughout America, lie was impressed with a special type of steam road roller used exclusively for tar macadam and bitumen roads. He made tentative arrangements for purchasing one of these machines, which are manufactured in the United States of America, but on arriving in London was pleased to see numbers of Britishmade rollers working on the same principle and doing the same class of work. On investigation, Mr Morton found that the English machines were of superior design and workmanship, and the result is that on Monday an Aveling and Porter roller was delivered under steam to the City Council by Audersons, Ltd., of Christchurch. The “Dominion” says the roller differs from the ordinary type in that the engine is mounted vertically oil the side of the boiler, the drive is by bevel pinion on crankshaft direct to bevel spur ring on rear roller and the reverse is actuated by a spiral key on eccentric shaft. This arrangement eliminates the usual link motion, and enables the direction of the engine to bo instantly changed »o that the idler will work backwards and forwards without any perceptible stop. This is an essential condition for the efficient consolidating of tar macadam or bitumen, and, what is most important, enables the roller to work backwards and forwards across the road, thus obviating the usual tendency to roll the soft load into waves. To save cutting the tarred surfaces when manoeuvring, the front roller is built in four sections, while a water spray system to keep tar from adhering to the rollers is fitted. The fork is fitted with a swivel to allow the front rollers to follow the contour of the road. The workmanship is typically British.