Hello ODK History Lovers This is the History Record for the large post-war reel-roller mowers made by the British firm Ransomes. It is also a tribute to a lawnmower design concept that lasted for over half-a-century.
This article discusses the Ransomes 40-inch reel-Roller mowers in Mk1 and Mk2 variants that were made by the great firm of Ransomes post WWII. The MK2 would survive to see the 1960s, but would be, ultimately, replaced by the wider, powered triplex mowers of that decade.
The world had changed forever after WWII. New war-driven technology, new 'modern' styling, new materials, new suburban designs (with greater parklands), new sports grounds, new class wealth, new ideas about horticulture, labour expectations - all these things played a part in lawnmower design, and these once- great cutting and rolling mowers were now living on borrowed time.
This does not mean the 40 Inch machines should not be acknowledged and understood. They are the most fascinating of machines - forever trapped in amber (the history of the lawnmower), as it were. Few survive today.
The most significant changes between the MK1 and Mk2 must go to styling - the Mk1 with its interwar temple radiator grill, the Mk2 with its simplified and angular cowling. There would be other technical changes too. Here they are ...
