Road Locomotive Society

The Road Locomotive Society as part of its educational remit publishes a Journal, available to members. It also publishes books and reprints from original material. A summary of items published are shown below.

Available from the Sales Officer:

John Dickinson, 54 Moorland Rise, Meltham, West Yorkshire, HD9 5NA

shop@roadlocosociety.org.uk (John Dickinson – RLS sales officer)

You can order online and pay using PayPal or order via post. If you want to ask us a question before you order, you can send an email to John Dickinson – RLS sales officer at the email above.

For postal orders please make cheques payable to The Road Locomotive Society

OVERSEAS BUYERS Please contact us via email at shop@roadlocosociety.org.uk to get an accurate postage cost BEFORE ORDERING.

All Orders – Please allow 14 days for delivery.

The Major R.J.W. Ind Collection of Historical Photographs

By Jeffrey Shackell, Trevor Smallbone and Andrew Smith

The Road Locomotive Society have been working on the production of a book covering the Historical Photographs of Major R.J.W. Ind.

This new book will offer high quality digital scans of the original glass plate negatives that were donated to the Society in 1959 when Major Ind passed away. Additional unpublished images are included and some wider based captions covering the history of the engines and where possible the owners.

A limited production run has been printed.

We are confident this book will find an enthusiastic home for the discerning collector of the vast collection of images held by the Society and will be in the same format as the earlier Traction Engine Archive volumes.

Priced at £30 plus £5 post and packing per copy in UK

If ordering more than one copy please email shop@roadlocosociety.org.uk for a quote.

The Story of Ruston Traction Engines 1877 to 1937 Including Steam Road Rollers and Steam Tractors

By Michael Thexton

This extensively researched book by Michael Thexton fills a gap in the record of the traction engine industry and describes the development of Ruston traction engines, steam road rollers and steam tractors manufactured by the major British engineering companies Ruston, Proctor & Co. Ltd and Ruston & Hornsby Ltd.

Michael has owned a Ruston- Proctor traction engine since 1968. This stimulated research into Rustons and their traction engine activities which, with the help of former staff, including the Ruston archivist, contributed to the preparation of this 176 page book.

The book contains over 60 illustrations, principal dimensions, performance data and lists by class of engine produced. It also reflects the impact on Rustons’ engine production of specialist markets and the dominance of the export trade.

If ordering more than one copy please email shop@roadlocosociety.org.uk for a quote.

Price £30 + £6 p&p

Traction Engine Archive Volume Five

By Trevor Smallbone and Andrew Smith

The photographs for the fifth publication in this series have been selected from the extensive photographic collection held in the Society’s photographic archive and the personal collections of the authors. In the last few years we have been able to further add to our archive and some of these photographs have come from this new material.

The Society plans further albums in the future enabling these images to reach a much wider audience.

Many of the photographs have been selected as they show not just the engine but the period scene with workers and associated loads or equipment. This gives us a flavour of the conditions that were worked under when road steam was still a major source of power on our roads, farms and industrial landscape.

A4 landscape format with hard back cover and 202 monochrome photographs, all full page.

Priced at £30 + £5 p&p

Traction Engine Archive Volume Four

By Richard Willcox

The photographs for the fourth publication in this series have been selected from the extensive photographic collection held in the Society’s photographic archive. In the last few years we have been able to add three major collections from the late John Crawley, the late John Williams and the late Michael Lane to our archive and many of the photographs for this album have been drawn from this new material.

The Society plans further albums in the future enabling these images to reach a much wider audience.

Many of the photographs have been selected as they show not just the engine but the period scene with workers and associated loads or equipment. This gives us a flavour of the conditions that were worked under when road steam was still a major source of power on our roads, farms and industrial landscape.

A4 landscape format with hard back cover and 170 monochrome photographs, all full page.

Price £25 + £5 p&p

The Traction Engine Archive. Volumes One, Two and Three

By Richard Wilcox & J. H. Meredith

Volumes 1, 2 and 3 of the Traction Engine Archive for details of the contents scroll down to read the individual title descriptions.

Price £30 + £10 p&p

The Traction Engine Archive Volume Three – The Transitional Years

by John H. Meredith

This book describes and illustrates the period following World War II when the last commercial users of steam road vehicles gradually abandoned them. At the same time the preservation era began and blossomed. John Meredith and some of his friends photographed many engines engaged in haulage and road maintenance, also those at the fairground and in industry and agriculture, as well as those cast aside in yards and in depots. Among the last examples were some unique engines which failed to avoid the scrap men.

The record then continues through the earliest attempts at preservation, the engine races at Appleford and Nettlebed, the first rallies with fun events and later rallies with demonstration workings. A number of engines are featured in their transformation from derelict hulks to resplendent restorations and there is a series of rally photographs illustrating engines from the principal manufacturers. Each of these is accompanied by a synopsis of the builder’s history. The final chapter is devoted to more recent trends to bring the story up to date.

ISBN No. 978-0-9508480-4-4

Price £12 + £5 p&p

The Traction Engine Archive Volume Two

By Richard Wilcox

As a companion to The Traction Engine Archive published in 2004, this is a further selection of period photographs from the unique archive of the Road Locomotive Society. It contains 170 black and white pictures, most of them previously unpublished and includes many rare items, all reproduced one to a page. This work is the same A4 landscape format as the previous book and has 176 pages on high quality paper and a hard back cover with full colour illustration.

Published July 2007: A4 176 Pages

Price £12 + £5 p&p

THE TRACTION ENGINE ARCHIVE VOLUME ONE

By Richard Wilcox

Preface – Traction engines in Britain arranged in alphabetical order

The Lyonshall Engines – An account of the first self-propelled traction engine in Herefordshire and later companions.

Traction Engines in the Boer War – the story behind traction engines during the campaign.

A Cavalcade of Showman’s Engines – assortment of engines at the fairground and on the road

Published 2004; A4 160 Pages

Price £12 + £5 p&p

BARRETT, EXALL & ANDREWES The Reading Iron Works – THE FIRM AND ITS PRODUCTS

Research by Roy Green, Written by Jonathan Brown

25cm x 17 cm portrait format 56 pages with 45 monochrome illustrations + colour cover.

Price £5 + £2 p&p

THE FALLS OF BURBAGE WHARF

Steam Thrashing and Ploughing Contractors of Wiltshire

by J. L. Newton

A chronicle of the rise and decline of a family business of ploughing and threshing contractors

Published 1995; A5 80 Pages

Price £2 + £2 p&p

Yorkshire Patent Steam Wagon Co.

A very well illustrated catalogue showing the Yorkshire Wagon in a number of configurations, including descriptions of Tipping Gear. Sizes 3 to 4 and 5 to 6 Ton loads. 10 Tons with Trailer. Descriptions of the Boiler, Engine, Chassis, Axle and Wheels. Illustrated with photographs including Tanker, Flat Platform, Tipping and Gully Emptier.

Price £5 + £2 p&p

Ransomes Sims and Jefferies

Illustrated catalogue of Traction Engines, Road Locomotives, Wagons, etc.

Includes sections on Medals, Prizes, Traction Engines, Engines for Export, Compound Traction Engines, Compound Road Locomotives, Special Traction Engines for Foreign Countries, combined Traction Engine and Crane.

25 cm x 19 cm 24 pages plus card covers.

Price £4 + £2 p&p

J &H McLaren Ltd. Catalogue 34

Illustrated catalogue of Traction Engines, Road Locomotives, Wagons, etc.

Facsimile. 4 Pages 22cm x 28cm Tall.

Price £5 + £2 p&p

W. Tasker & Sons, Ltd. Catalogue of Little Giant Steam Tractors, Little Giant Steam Wagons, Light Traction Engines & Road Rollers

The Catalogue from which this reprint is taken is just post World War I. Photos cover the B2 Compounds in chain and gear driven road versions, showman, ploughing and colonial disguises, the Single Cylinder A2 builders view and thrashing, 2 rollers, 2 light traction engines and 7 wagons, including a side fired steam watering van. Plus drawings of Hoare’s Patent Spring Gear for Gear Driven Engines and of Springing, etc, of Hoare’s Patent Chain-Drive Tractor”.

28 Landscape pages card covers

Facsimile. 4 Pages 22cm x 28cm Tall.

Price £4 + £2 p&p

Wallis and Steevens Catalogue Road Locomotives Traction Engines

A well illustrated catalogue of the ‘Wallis’ patent expansion and simple cylinder road locomotive and general purpose traction engine and road rollers etc. Includes the ‘Wallis’ Traction Engine, Patent Expansion Gear Traction Engine, Road Locomotive, traction Wagons Steam Road Rollers. Description and illustration of the ‘Wallis’ Patent Patent Expansion Valve Gear. Thashing Machines, Portable and Semi-Fixed Engine. May 1898 Price list included as Separate Sheet.

28.5 cm x 21 cm 24 pages plus card covers.

Price £4 + £2 p&p

1 x RLS Journal (Published in the last 5 years)
Price £6.00 + £2.50 p&p
Please Specify Volume and Issue Number in PayPal comments when ordering