rolling roadn.
/ˈrəʊlɪŋ rəʊd/, U.S. /ˈroʊlɪŋ ˌroʊd/ 1. U.S. A flat road along which casks of tobacco are rolled. Now historical.
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society > travel > means of travel > route or way > way, path, or track > road > [noun] > for transport of tobacco
rolling road1715
1715 in Laws of Maryland (1723) iv. 10 His Excellency..hath caused Four Rolling Roads to be made and cleared for the Rolling or Transporting Tobacco or Goods by Land.
1803 Maryland Gaz. 13 Jan. 1/2 An act to lay out and open a road from the Delaware line to intersect the rolling road in Queen-Anne's county.
1884 Cent. Mag. Jan. 447/1 The road, which went round about to avoid hills, was called a ‘rolling-road’.
1942 T. J. Wertenbaker Golden Age Colonial Culture 2 Even in Virginia and Maryland it was common to see children,..riding over the rolling roads to the ‘old-field’ schoolhouse.
2004 J. K. McGaughy R. H. Lee of Virginia iii. 65 The hogsheads would be turned on their sides, and slaves would begin pushing them down the ‘rolling roads’.
2. U.S. A large conveyor belt functioning as a moving roadway for carrying horses, freight, etc., up an incline. Now historical.Chiefly with reference a roadway opened for use in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1905 and demolished in 1927.
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society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > other means of conveyance > [noun] > conveyor > types of
rolling road1905
conveyor belt1906
tilting bucket conveyor1911
slat conveyor1916
carousel1961
1905 Sci. Amer. 11 Mar. 200/1 (heading) A rolling road for horses and wagons.
1911 D. F. Wilcox Munic. Franchises II. xxxvi. 611 The rolling road was to be twelve feet wide, located in the center of the street and extending a distance of 424 feet.
1971 J. M. Tough & C. A. O'Flaherty Passenger Conveyors 58 The rolling road was constructed on the shortest and most direct line from the flats to the city level.
2004 T. G. Becker Cleveland, 1796–1929 ii. 29 The Rolling Road was used by business and shipping companies to carry heavy loads and livestock from Canal Road in the Flats up to the Ontario Avenue street level.
3. A dynamometer on which the horsepower of a vehicle is tested by driving rollers which provide friction similar to that of actual driving conditions.
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the world > matter > physics > mechanics > force > [noun] > instrument measuring > specific
hydraulic brake1874
rolling road1962
1962 Guardian 18 Dec. 12/5 We have introduced the Heenan Rolling Road which is a high quality vehicle test equipment for measuring the power capabilities of both small and large cars.
1970 Daily Tel. 11 Feb. 14/5 A full diagnostic centre, including such refinements as a ‘rolling road’, to give engine and brake tests under simulated high speeds, involves considerable investment.
2009 Hobart (Austral.) Mercury (Nexis) 18 Apr. 14 Every engine also underwent a ‘hot test’, either in the dyno room or on a rolling road, where it is run up to 120km/h.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, November 2010; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1715