Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1895-08-15
A STEAM ROAD ROLLER
Has Been Contracted for by the Board
Of Public Works.
The Order for the Machine was
Sent Last Night, by Telegraph,
and It Win be Here Next Monday,
Ready to be Put to Work-The
Contract an Advantageous Cne.

1
( ideas on the part of Council as was
abundanly demonstrated at Tuesday
nights session. when the steam road
roller proposition was before that body,
The city Will have such a machine here
within a very few days.
Yesterday the Board OF Public
Works. recognizing the situation and
the great 1N.d of the machine, deter
mined to put an end to further foolish
ness. and last night the contract being
closed and signed. The order was sent
to the manufacturers by telegraph, and
The roller viii be here on Monday next,
+ ready 10 be put 10 work.
The price TO be paid is 81, 400, and the
terms are very advantageous for the
I city An allowance of 500 will be
made for the alleged roller now owned
: by the city. and 500 will be payable
! January LIST next, $500 July /. 1896, and
/ the remaining $500 July list, 1897. The
roller is manufactured by the Enter
prise Manufacturing Company, OF Co.
lumbi3na. d.. and weighs eighteen tons
This Will give q compression under the
rollers of zoo pounds per square inch.
I The rollers proper have wide and
smooth faces. and consist OF two driv-
ing wheels and two steering wheels all
of equal widths. The driving wheels
are placed wide enough apart 10 carry
the rear end of the boiler between
/ them whilst the steering wheels, carry
ing the front end of boiler, are placed
together SO as 10 make one continuous
drum. covering the whole space left be-
/ tween the driving wheels and over
tapping ON each side to the extent OF
/ five inches Built on this plan the
driving wheels are always capable OF
proDelliug the machine under the most
exactiug conditions.
The diameter Of the driving wheels
is Us inches, whilst the faces are 70
inches. The rear rollers or driving
wheels. when i'm position, determine
the entire width OF the machine, being
g4 inches for a $4,000 pound roller.
Nothing projects beyond the rims OF
these wheels. consequently these ma
chimes can roll and thoroughly consol-
fdate the material close up to the curb
Ing or any obstruction. such as lamp
post, telegraph poles, etc.
One Of the greatest points about the
roller. and which is very properly ap-
! nr5ciated. is the face Of the driving
wheels. These patented beveled wheels
are great advance over any machine
fitted with flat wheels, especially on
roads that are highly crowned. When
rolling a highly crowned road only the
dlner part Of the fac driving wheel vii
be I'm contact with the surface of the
rcqd.a and as One-third of the whole
weight of the machine Us concentrated
on each driving wheel, Il follows that
an excessive pressure is brought TO bear
uDon a very limited area. This excess
i've pressure naturally produces sharp
depre ssion of the loose material directly
under the inner edge of the wheels and
an elevation 10 the sides between them,
or I'm Other words. the newly laid mate
rial IS displaced. and ridges appear,
breaking up the Curv.ng contour which
IS so necessary tO,a good road. With
the beyeled wheel, however, the inside
edge does not break all until the
whole width Of the wheel is in contact
with the loose material Thus the COM
preston under any one part Of the
wheel cannot be excessive; the material
IS not displaced ridging 3 avoided, and
7 -le contour is preserved. And as the
material becomes more and more con-
s1iia-ej by continued rolling, the bey-
elej wheel continues to diminish its
contact with the surface both in length
and width. giving rapidly increasing
d q
ton of The material in three-fOurths of
the time consumed when fiat wheels are
used.
On the $4,000 pounds roller the driy-
Ing wheels have a face Of twenty-six
/ inches. SIX inches of which on their in
side edges are sharply beveled one inch
I'D six. The remaining twenty inches
have q bevel Ou-W3rds Of one-fourtA
inch I'm twenty-four inches. On the
/ first passage Of the roller over the
! ,ccsa material the whole face OF the
wheel viii De i'm contact, and the width
of -a.s contact strip VIII vary from ,wo
% three inches. Now. as the rolling IS
continued. the surface becomes harder
and more compact by each passage of
the roller over il. also the contact sur
+ face of the wheel rapidly diminishes,
beth In width and length. giving doubly
/ increased compression on each cons5c-
Utiye passage. til finally the road IS -
hard that il no logger yields TO the
/ pressure of the roller. At this stage
I the contact strip VIII be only one inch
I wide and twenty inches long and the
compression per square inch, to which
the read has been subjected viii be
$4,000 pounds, divided by 20, or 700
| pounds per square inch
Each driving wheel is pierced with
tweny-eigh, inch holes. placed zigzag,
I 10 receive as many spikes, which pro
/ jcct AZ inches from the face of the
wheel. these spikes break I'D the top
surface of the hardas. road quickly and
most effectively. leaving 1t SO loose that
the material may be Sh0veled up and
clrted away, or rs is generally done.
narrowed mp. fresh material mixed with
it. and re-rolled with the roller. the
whole forming a smooth road again at
small expense. Six hundred square
yards Of che very hardest road can be
readily broken up IN one hour. The
whole if-y-siX spikes can be used at
one time. e e.. In both wheels When
rollins the spike holes are filled win
suitable plugs. making the faces Of ne
wheels smooth.