When Steam Ruled the Roads: A Traction Engine Archive

The period between the late 1800s and the late 1920s was the heyday of the road steam traction engine, with portable steam engines pulled by horses, self-moving traction engines, fairground operators, ploughing engines, threshing engines, road hauliers, and steam rollers. However, the availability of cheap surplus First World War petrol vehicles saw road hauliers and fairground showmen dispense with the 'hassle of operating steam vehicles, yet there were still manufacturers making steam wagons until the late 1930s and several councils carried on operating true steam rollers right into the 1960s.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 96 pages
Publication date: 15 March 2025
Publisher: Amberley Publishing

The period between the late 1800s and the late 1920s was a golden age for road steam traction engines. Before that, portable steam engines were used to power machinery on farms, but the invention of the self-moving traction engine revolutionized the industry. Fairground operators hauled their huge road trains of rides to the next fair, ploughing engines and threshing engines traveled from farm to farm, road hauliers carried huge loads, and steam rollers laid and mended the roads. The availability of cheap surplus First World War petrol vehicles led to the decline of steam vehicles, but there were still manufacturers making steam wagons until the late 1930s and several councils carried on operating true steam rollers right into the 1960s. Colin Tyson presents a vibrant selection of images celebrating traction engines in all their many and varied forms when 'steam ruled the roads.

Weight: 302g
Dimension: 164 x 234 x 10 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781398119666