Editing Traction engine (section)

===Road locomotive===
[[File:Showman's Engine at the Great Dorset Steam Fair.JPG|thumb|left|A ''Showman's Engine'' at the [[Great Dorset Steam Fair]]]]
[[File:SteamTractionF5-3034.jpg|thumb|Steam traction heavy haulage]]
[[File:Fowlers Monarch of the Road 01.JPG|thumb|right|Fowler's ''Monarch of the Road'' showman's engine]]

Designed for haulage of heavy loads on public highways, it was common for two or even three to be coupled together to allow heavier loads to be handled.

The characteristic features of these engines are very large rear driving wheels fitted with solid [[rubber]] [[Tire|tyres]], three-speed gearing (most traction engine types have only two gears), rear suspension, and belly tanks to provide a greater range between the stops needed to replenish water. All these features are to improve the ride and performance of the engine, which were used for journeys of hundreds of miles. Most road locomotives are fitted with a winch drum on the back axle. This can be used by removing the driving pins from the rear wheels, allowing the drive train to power the winch drum instead of the wheels.

[[James Boydell]] worked with the British steam traction engine manufacturer [[Charles Burrell & Sons]] to produce road haulage engines from 1856 that used his [[dreadnaught wheel]]s which were particularly suited to bad roads or off-road use.<ref name="gracesguide">{{cite web|title=Charles Burrell and Sons: Road Locomotive|url=http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Charles_Burrell_and_Sons:_Road_Locomotive|work=Steam Locomotion on Common Roads |first=William |last=Fletcher |year=1891}}</ref>

One place where road locomotives found a significant amount of use was in hauling timber from where it was felled to timber yards.<ref name=Burton55 />  Once the timber had been moved to a road the road movements were carried out hauling the trunks on [[pole wagon]]s.<ref name=Burton55>{{cite book |last=Burton |first=Anthony |date=2000 |title=Traction Engines Two Centuries of Steam Power| publisher=Silverdale Books |pages=55–59 |isbn=1856055337}}</ref> In France road locomotives were used to move mail in the 1880s.<ref name=Burton68>{{cite book |last=Burton |first=Anthony |date=2000 |title=Traction Engines Two Centuries of Steam Power| publisher=Silverdale Books |pages=68–70 |isbn=1856055337}}</ref>

A number of road locomotives are fitted with a [[crane (machine)|crane]] boom on the front. The boom pivot is mounted on the front axle assembly and a small [[winch]] is mounted on an extension to the smokebox in front of the chimney, the cable passing over a [[sheave]] at the top of the boom arm. The winch is powered by bevel gears on a shaft driven directly from the engine, with some form of clutch providing raise/lower control. These road locomotives can be used to load a trailer as well as to haul it to a new location. They are often referred to as 'crane engines'.

A particularly distinctive form of road locomotive was the [[showman's road locomotive|showman's engine]].<ref name=Ranieri105>{{cite book |last=Ranieri |first=Malcolm |date=2005 |title=Traction Engine Album |publisher=Crowood Press |page=105|isbn=1861267940}}</ref> These were operated by travelling showmen both to tow fairground equipment and to power it when set up, either directly or by running a generator.<ref name=Ranieri105 /> These could be highly decorated and formed part of the spectacle of the fair.<ref name=Ranieri105 /> Some were fitted with a small crane that could be used when assembling the ride.<ref name=Ranieri106>{{cite book |last=Ranieri |first=Malcolm |date=2005 |title=Traction Engine Album |publisher=Crowood Press |page=106|isbn=1861267940}}</ref> About 400 were built with 107 surviving into preservation.<ref name=Ranieri106 />

The poor state of the roads and the larger distances involved meant road locomotives (including showman's engines) were less used in the US.<ref name=Burton70>{{cite book |last=Burton |first=Anthony |date=2000 |title=Traction Engines Two Centuries of Steam Power| publisher=Silverdale Books |page=70 |isbn=1856055337}}</ref><ref name=Burton104>{{cite book |last=Burton |first=Anthony |date=2000 |title=Traction Engines Two Centuries of Steam Power| publisher=Silverdale Books |pages=104–105 |isbn=1856055337}}</ref>

====History====
In Britain the rise of the use of road locomotives was held back by high tolls charged by turnpike roads.<ref name=Burton54 /> The tolls were eventually limited by the [[Locomotive Act 1861]].<ref name=Burton54>{{cite book |last=Burton |first=Anthony |date=2000 |title=Traction Engines: Two Centuries of Steam Power| publisher=Silverdale Books |page=54 |isbn=1856055337}}</ref> Four years later, the [[Locomotives Act 1865]] was passed limiting engines to 4&nbsp;mph and requiring that they preceded by a person carrying a red flag.<ref name=Burton54 /> The first traction engine focused on road haulage was offered for sale by [[Charles Burrell & Sons]] in 1856 and tyres were introduced around the same time.<ref name=Burton62>{{cite book |last=Burton |first=Anthony |date=2000 |title=Traction Engines: Two Centuries of Steam Power| publisher=Silverdale Books |pages=62–63 |isbn=1856055337}}</ref> In 1896 the speed limit in the UK was raised to 6MPH and the red flag carrier requirement was dropped.<ref name=Burton73>{{cite book |last=Burton |first=Anthony |date=2000 |title=Traction Engines Two Centuries of Steam Power| publisher=Silverdale Books |page=73 |isbn=1856055337}}</ref>

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