Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1858-08-14
Cleveland manufactures

Cleveland Manufactures
G. W SIzgR's C,R WHEEL NASUFAcToRY-
The Car Wheel Nanuiaetory Of C. ". SIzER,
lately G. W. SIzER L Co, is located few steps
east Of the Cleveland and Erie Railroad Machine
Shops, and keeps in employment some twenty
to twenty five men. Railroad castings Of every
description are manufactured at these Works
but principally car wheels. The main building
is eighty feet in length and sixty in width, and
built Of brick There are also the necessary
smaller buildings for finishing, polishing and
storing castings. The business office, a few
steps from the main building, is convenient
ly located. Sixteen car wheels are cast daily
together with other railroad. work, which
make an aggregate Of about six tons Of iron
manufactured every day into railroad castings
The manufacture Of locomotive driving wheels
is branch of business 10 which Mr.. SIzEa has
devoted considerable attention, and lac has sue
ceeded by long experimenting in producing
very superior driver. His ordinary car wheels
are also Of the very best quality-equal, If not
superior, to those Of most other manufacturers
/ Ia this connection, a brief sketch of the pro
/ gress made in the manufacture of railroad cal
wheels will not prove uninteresting.
The idea of the original ear wheel was takeI
doubtless from the ordinary wagon wheel, anC
the method of casting and the quality of irOr
used, were precisely as in ordinary iron work
The iron in every part of the wheel was of th'
same hardness and quality Experience sOOr
showed that wheels thus made, were unfit fol
any extensive service they wore out after run
ming sometimes not over thousand miles, an,
were thea usually thrown aside to make wal
for new wheels.
1t had been accidentally discovered that mol
ten iron, coming in contact with cold iron sur
faces, became chrystalized to certain depths
always in proportion ts the hardness OF the irol
used The result of this discovery was, tha
mods were invented and the wheels east il
them, thus securing to the periphery or trea
Of the wheel the exact degree Of hardnes
wanted Iron thus ehrystalized is fully as har
as steel, and capable of sustaining muc
wear But new difficulty arose 1t wa
found that the periphery, after casting, gre'
cold so much faster than the hub and arms {
the wheel that the iron in these pats eontrscte
and broke. The eIPedient Of avoiding lheI
accidents by casting the hub in segments va
hit upon-and by this means the contraction {
the hub and arms during the cooling prOcei
only resulted in drawing the sesments apar
End leaving slots between them perhaps half q
inch in width. These, slots. were filed vii
Iinc and strong wrought iron bands driven oy'
eleh end of the hub, giving it great strengi
but at much cost of time aud labor. To ObS
ate this, the inventive genius of several PersOI
! was put TO work; aud ere long wheel entire
different in construction and appearance W!
, produced IL was now cast without any arm
two Hat or level discs with hollow betwe
But it was found that in casting the same 7
suit obtained as iOrmeriy-that the oOntraetiC
ofthe iron during cooling broke or split the dii
4 between the tread and the hub This difficult
was only suImounted by giving the discs
4 curved or conc.lved surface, so that while COO
n Au5lGa4 Vi SAAAAlASA4big ~ SAN~
they only Strengthened to degree which st
left a coneave surface to the disc, and at Il
same time left the wheel whole and strong
This style of casting was improved upon
R various persons in variety Of ways-by brae
= citing, &c, &c, in each sufficiently alta
in ing the form to secure patent for the alleg
= improvement.
I The wheels as at present manufactured
!: Mr. SIzER are entirely solid from the tread
T the hub, except that there is a hollow in t
center of the hub extending toward the pc
7 phey. The processes Ofeasiing and cooling
: so arranged as to produce wheel as near p
. feet perhaps as it is possibletO arrive. tn
&c are capable Of an immense degree of wear, a
j. are in universal favor with Railroad Conn
MES.
We should have stated above that Mr.. SIz
. does not at this time employ SO many hands
l ordinarily, owing of course to the press
: which has affected nearly every kind of bC
le ness