Metalled Roads?
Rhino
I regularly see mention of "metalled roads" in WW II histories written by
British historians, most often in a context like "The lack of metalled roads
slowed the advance of the German invasion of the Soviet Union."
What exactly is a "metalled road" and what metal does it contain?
>From common sense and a slight acquaintance with Europe - although not
during WW II - I'm guessing that a "metalled" road is a concrete or asphalt
road, as opposed to a dirt or gravel road. I'm just a bit confused by the
use of the adjective "metalled" though since, so far as I know, neither
asphalt nor concrete are actually considered metals. Still, I suppose
asphalt or concrete roads could be reinforced with metal just as buildings
are; perhaps that is what the reason for the "metalled" adjective.
--
Rhino
Tronscend
That's in Wiki:
( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Road_surface )
" ...The term road metal refers to the broken stone or cinders used in the
construction or repair of roads or railways,[1] and is derived from the
Latin metallum, which means both "mine" and "quarry".[2] Metalling is known
to have been used extensively in the construction of roads by soldiers of
the Roman Empire (see Roman road) but a limestone-surfaced road, thought to
date back to the Bronze Age, has been found in Britain.[3] Metalling has had
two distinct usages in road surfacing. The term originally referred to the
process of creating a gravel roadway. The route of the roadway would first
be dug down several feet and, depending on local conditions, French drains
may or may not have been added. Next, large stones were placed and
compacted, followed by successive layers of smaller stones, until the road
surface was composed of small stones compacted into a hard, durable surface.
"Road metal" later became the name of stone chippings mixed with tar to form
the road surfacing material tarmac. A road of such material is called a
"metalled road" in Britain, a "paved road" in the USA, or a "sealed road" in
Australia.[4] ..."
HTH,
T
William Black
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Road_surface#Metalling
--
William Black
Free men have open minds
If you want loyalty, buy a dog...
Lloyd Olson
news:i6e3to$1qv$1...@news.datemas.de...
>
> What exactly is a "metalled road" and what metal does it contain?
> Rhino
>
No metal. Crushed rock, a paved or sealed road for vehicles.
Bill Shatzer
> A small question that I've been meaning to ask for some time....
>
> I regularly see mention of "metalled roads" in WW II histories written by
> British historians, most often in a context like "The lack of metalled roads
> slowed the advance of the German invasion of the Soviet Union."
>
> What exactly is a "metalled road" and what metal does it contain?
The term is mostly a Britishism I believe and refers to an improved
roadway of compacted crushed rock, gravel, and/or cinders.
>>From common sense and a slight acquaintance with Europe - although not
> during WW II - I'm guessing that a "metalled" road is a concrete or asphalt
> road, as opposed to a dirt or gravel road. I'm just a bit confused by the
> use of the adjective "metalled" though since, so far as I know, neither
> asphalt nor concrete are actually considered metals. Still, I suppose
> asphalt or concrete roads could be reinforced with metal just as buildings
> are; perhaps that is what the reason for the "metalled" adjective.
A metalled road contains no metal at all. According to wiki, the term
derives for the Latin "metallum" meaning "mine" or "quarry".
ken...@cix.compulink.co.uk
no.offline.c...@example.com (Rhino) wrote:
> What exactly is a "metalled road" and what metal does it contain?
No metal at all. The term dates from the late 18th century when Telford
and McAdam were building roads. It refers to a road that has a solid
construction of stone instead of just being a graded over the original
surface wihict tends to end up being called "dirt roads". The use of tar
a surface treatment did not come in until motor vehicles with rubber
tyres became common.
A McAdam road relied on the iron or steel tyres of the day grinding the
surface to dust which filled the gaps between the stones used as top
dressing. Motor cars just lifted the dust out of the road surface. At
high speeds this could result in a dust cloud that was visible for over
half a mile.
Preparing stone for repairs was a job that could be given to the
elderly or partly disabled as all it involved was breaking stone up with
a light hammer to a size that would weigh around six ounces.
Ken Young
Mario
> "Rhino" <no.offline.c...@example.com> wrote in
>>
>> What exactly is a "metalled road" and what metal does it
>> contain? --
>
> No metal. Crushed rock, a paved or sealed road for vehicles.
I've read that in ancient Russia some city had some road paved
with timber.
Russian muddy roads after rains aren't good to advance fast.
That's the reason Germans attacked in Summer, not in Spring.
--
H
euno...@yahoo.com.au
wrote:
> A small question that I've been meaning to ask for some time....
>
> I regularly see mention of "metalled roads" in WW II histories written by
> British historians, most often in a context like "The lack of metalled roads
> slowed the advance of the German invasion of the Soviet Union."
Blue metal is the name of the volcanic basalt used as a filler in
asphalt sealed roads, the term is used in the UK and Australia.
Jim H.
> Lloyd Olson, 05:05, sabato 11 settembre 2010:
>
>
> >> What exactly is a "metalled road" and what metal does it
> >> contain? --
>
> > No metal. Crushed rock, a paved or sealed road for vehicles.
>
> I've read that in ancient Russia some city had some road paved
> with timber.
>
> Russian muddy roads after rains aren't good to advance fast.
> That's the reason Germans attacked in Summer, not in Spring.
>
> --
> H
"Plank roads" were quite common in the US (south, anyway) in the
1700's & 1800's, both from city to city and for in-town 'paving'.
Sometimes they were even built as elevated roads to maintain a gentle
and consistent grade in rough terrain. I gather from Wiki that they
were used in other countries as well.
There's also the usually less-expensive 'corduroy road', consisting of
small logs covered with a layer of dirt, instead of sawn or riven
planks. None of the above would stand up to tracked vehicles for
long, but corduroying seems to have sometimes been used by the Germans
in WW II for wheeled traffic over really bad stretches in the East.
Jim H.
William Black
> Lloyd Olson, 05:05, sabato 11 settembre 2010:
>
>> "Rhino"<no.offline.c...@example.com> wrote in
>>>
>>> What exactly is a "metalled road" and what metal does it
>>> contain? --
>>
>> No metal. Crushed rock, a paved or sealed road for vehicles.
>
>
> I've read that in ancient Russia some city had some road paved
> with timber.
I can remember the old Hull High Street in England having wooden 'sets'
(cobbles) in my childhood.
Don Phillipson
news:i6ieok$pbt$5...@news.eternal-september.org...
>>>> What exactly is a "metalled road" and what metal does it
>>>> contain? --
>>>
>>> No metal. Crushed rock, a paved or sealed road for vehicles.
>
> I can remember the old Hull High Street in England having wooden 'sets'
> (cobbles) in my childhood.
Many major streets in central London were "paved" by wood blocks set
in tar with a few mm of tar on top. (These must have burned horribly in
the Blitz 1940-41 but I dare say were cheap to replace.) Modern paving
replaced wood blocks only after summer temperatures approx. 1950 became
hot enough to melt the tar surface. Children were happy to make footprints
in the soft tar.
--
Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs
(Ottawa, Canada)
ken...@cix.compulink.co.uk
Phillipson) wrote:
> (These must have burned horribly in
> the Blitz 1940-41 but I dare say were cheap to replace.)
From memory I believe that the wood blocks were actually more expensive
than using cobbles. However when they were laid most vehicles were horse
drawn with metal tyres. The noise they made on cobbles was extreme. The
use of wood blocks date from 1838 when they were first used in Oxford
Street.
Ken Young
Space Captain Kurt Kosmic
can still see the occasional warning sign in rural areas.