Burrell Steam Roller 1925 View 2
| Charles Burrell and Sons Ltd were a respected engineering company
founded in the 19th Century in Thetford, Norfolk. They had initially
been in the business of repairing agricultural equipment, but in due
course begun producing their own designs. The company produced
their first steam engine in 1848, this was a ‘portable’
type designed for operating belt driven farm machinery such as threshing
machines. They entered the market with a self- propelled engines
quite early on and went on to produce engines that were held in very
high esteem and which were often termed the "Rolls-Royce"
of traction engines. They were a small volume producer when compared
with other traction engine and steam roller makers, employing around
300 people at peak production.
The first Burrell produced Steam Roller appeared in December 1891, around 26 years after Aveling's first. By this time the Rochester firms range of Steam Rollers were dominating the United Kingdom market and Burrell's never really managed to obtain a significant part of the domestic market. For this reason, Burrell's did not make many road rollers, the majority of those constructed were built for export both within the Empire and to Overseas markets. The company never produced internal combustion powered engines. They became a casualty of the depression and ceased trading on June 4th 1928. By this time, the steam engine had been replaced in many of its traditional roles, but the high quality of the engineering and the substantial construction of Burrell Steam Rollers resulted in many working for their living into the 1960’s. |