latest project - a Walker Model Service Road Roller

[jon grant]

I bought a metal kit of an HO road roller at a swap meet last year and finally got round to it this week. The kit is by Walker Model Service and I am totally unaware of both the vintage of the kit/manufacturer and the prototype it represents.

First I sorted the parts out by number. Typically, a couple of pieces were missing - the steam valve chests (part 17)- but thankfully these were easily fabricated from bits of plastic. Here's a pic with a Quarter, for scale.







I started off by making each sub-assembly and setting aside. Here's the 4 sub-assemblies prior to painting, with a Canadian cent for scale this time.




I painted the difficult to reach parts before assembly but left the main colours until after they had been fitted together.


Jon

[jon grant]

I got a bit carried away with the detailling and painting, so there are no intermediate shots. Here's the finished article...














Perhaps someone can enlighten me about the vintage of the model and of the vehicle


Jon

[cacole]

That sure is a nice looking model. A Google search turned up a Walker Model Service in DeKalb, Illinois, founded by Bob Walker in 1982. They are still in business, and make resin cast model buildings. Isn't there an address at the top of that sheet of instructions you show? It looks to me like there is an address in Downer's Grove, Illinois on that paper.

The vintage of the road roller would be maybe late 1800's to early 1900's. My home town in southern Illinois was still using a steam roller similar to that in the 1940's.

[jon grant]

Last few pics






I decided to dump the roller behind the auto shop for now, until I can find sufficient vehicles and models to make a road repair gang at work.








PS, I thoroughly enjoyed building this kit, and it only cost a fiver (that's £5, or about $9)

Jon

[ereimer]

nice work and great photo article !

[jeffshultz]

I don't think you want to leave that sitting on an unfinished (aka dirt) surface Jon... it might just embed itself. :)

[Anonymous]

Great work. It is things like that that could make me start thinking about changing to HO.

I have been going to antique machinery shows for over thirty years and have never seen anything like it. Tiller steering controlled by the wheels next to the seat. Judging by the size of the wheels there is not much mechanical advantage. Steam pistons turn the drive shaft which directly turns the drive wheel/front roller. Could it get any simpler?

Now that I am done raving about the prototype, you did some great work there.

[Anonymous]

Great looking model, now I know where the term "steam roller" came from, much like the Steam shovel and Steam engine! My guess on the vintage would be the early 1900's through the '20's when road building got to be more than just scrapping the ruts to level the roads for the horse drawn carts and wagons, about the same time as the automobiles popularity required paved roads to take us down the slippery slope toward high oil prices and global warming.[;)][;)]
A "fiver" well spent!
Will

[edkowal]

I just got done doing some reading up on early 20th Century farm machinery, so I can confirm that a steam road roller like that one would be from the late 1800's through about 1920 or so. At least as far as manufacture is concerned. But don't forget, once that equipment was bought and put into service, it's going to be used for a long time, especially if it's been maintained, and the town is fiscally conservative. They're not necessarily going to buy any new fangled internal combustion powered roller when the one they've already got works fine, thank you for asking...

As an example of what I mean, there's a picture of a horse drawn carriage waiting at the depot at a railroad station in Maine in 1945. People didn't seem to be giving it a second thought, either. Clearly, the frugal owner was using his "Yankee ingenuity" to keep both the carriage and the horse going happily along at that date.

Walker Model Service sold excellent white metal kits like the one you've found. The company is not listed in a 1996 Walther's HO catalog, although it was at one time. It was a frequent advertiser in Model Railroader and RMC. Bob Walker, the owner, currently writes the "Scratchbuilder's Corner" monthly column in Railroad Model Craftsman, if I'm not mistaken.

-Ed