Majorman - A Question About Steam Trucks

Majorman, first I appreciate your picture postings! You and KCM are both great! My question is having seen a huge number and variety of steam trucks (lorries???) it seems to me the U.S. made very few, especially in comparison. Do you have any idea why there were so many steamers in Great Britian? Thanks again for your postings. kelly

Hi Kelly, I suppose it was because we did not have the railways and the petrol engine was not a reliable unit back in the late 1800's. We were also the world leaders in steam engine production. My first boss used to run a transport business, carrying fresh vegetables from Norfolk to London markets with a Sentinel Steam lorry on solid tyres. It was 100 miles each way at around 15 mph, and it took all day there and back.

In my early childhood the roads in the village were tar and gravel. A local contractor had a fleet of steam Sentinel tar lorries that used to spray hot tar which was then covered with gravel chippings then rolled into place by an Avelin Barford steam roller. And, of course, what local railways we had were all powered by steam.

We had some of the large steam engine builders like Burrells and Savages locally and most small towns had steam engine manufactures making stationary engines for farm power of the threshing, grinding and chopping side of food production and most villages had a steam powered saw mill up until the 1940's.

Yes Majorman I really appreciate your posing's also. Good to see machinery and locations from your part of the world. Interesting re the early road paving's you mention. Indiana has rediscovered that method of tar and chips for resurfacing state highways.

So what fuelled those steem trucks. I could never figure out how they would carry enough fuell to carry a payload?

I wonder if the abundance of coal in the UK vs. the lack of easy onshore oil might also have been why steam stuck around so long?

its really not tar-road building uses sc,mc,and rc type oils

It was coaland they will go quite a distance on half a ton.

(quoted from post at 13:03:57 10/29/22) its really not tar-road building uses sc,mc,and rc type oils

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And probably to most of us they were all "tar" LOL.

The township road Commissioner I worked for in western Illinois, 20 miles east and a little south used heavy Bituminous oil to seal their dirt roads, and they spread limestone chips on the roads to dry up the oil and give the surface strength and volume. We had our own oil heater, the oil in the rail cars we got in was 70 degrees, barely flowed out of the cars, the heater got it up to 150 to 170 degrees, very fluid so it sprayed well, and we had the oiler too. First year I was the poor guy on the back of the oiler, turn the oil on & off, raise the boom end for narrow bridges. My ratty old coveralls could stand by themselves they had so much oil in/on them, had a hand towel I wiped the Vasoline off I smeared all over my face, had Mom sew a hand towel onto the sweat band of a solid cloth cap to keep oil out of my ears & hair. I burned my work shoes, cap, coveralls, couple towels, used an entire BIG jar of Vaseline. The next year I sanded & chipped the roads.
It costs a LOT of money to pave blacktop roads thru all these rural areas. Between the 1st & 2nd year I worked oiling, the cost of oil went from a Penny or two per gallon to a DIME. WE didn't oil near as much that 2nd year. I'd to know what the oil costs now!