Green wheel, red wheel, black bowler

I can still remember steam rollers being used on roads, which either shows my great age, long memory or the longevity of these fabulous machines. Often erroneously called traction engines, they have the same heritage. This particular example was constructed as late as 1922 in Leiston, Suffolk by Richard Garrett & Sons.

Garretts started making agricultural machinery in 1778 and the factory only closed in 1981, albeit by then, under different ownership. Apparently, over 90% of the road rollers they produced were exported, so this is one of the 10% that stayed in the UK.

The Clacton Queen, as this is, weighs in at 10 tons and can often be seen at various events in and around the Tendring peninsula in Essex.