Ask Andy

Dear Andy, "Why do they call Steam Rollers, Steam Rollers? They don't produce, get rid of or have anything to do with steam." Regards, Cam


Cam, you have been blinded by the bright lights of the future my man. Sometime it is necessary to look into the past for our answers, and although I don't have a Delorean I do have the knowledge you seek.

You see before we had all these petrol guzzling contraptions to roll things that we needed rolling, we had rolling machines that were run on, believe it or not, steam. These bad boys had what was called a "steam" engine.

Now many of you young bucks are probably baffled by the thought of a Steam Engine so here is a little info for you. Steam engines (heat engines using boiling water to produce mechanical motion) have a long history, going back at least 2000 years. Early devices were not practical power producers, but more advanced designs producing usable power have become a major source of mechanical power over the last 300 years, enabling the industrial revolution. Amazing?... Yes.

But why do we still call our modern Rollers "Steam Rollers"? We'll Cam, old habits are hard to break, and I should know took me up till high school to stop biting my nails, and don't get me started on pinching that's a habit that I just won't break... ever.

My favourite Steam Engine which in is fact diesel powered is none other than Roley the Steamroller from Bob the Builder.

As always make sure you and most of the people you know are keeping it real like a lemon peel.