The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1880-06-23
Paper Car Wheels.

A New York correspondent OF the
Holyoke (Mass.) Paper World says:
The increased manufacture and adop-
ton of paper car wheels is making quite
an important addition to the many in
dustries in which paper figures as an
ever-growing and almost unlimited ele-
ment of strength and utility. These
wheels are in much more common use
than is generally supposed. They are
used to a greater or less extent (tllat is
have been generally adopted or are be-
ing given a triaD or nearlyall the prln-
cipal railroads of the country, among
them being the Boston and Albany and
the Connecticut River roads, the latter
of which has used them for the last six
years. The Pullman Palace Car COM
pany are putting them under all of their
new cars. The entire equipment of the
Metropoli an Elevated railroad, engines
and cars, are running on paper wheels,
so thatit can safely be said that the roll
ing stock of this company (whose stock
has figured so conspicuously OF late in
Wall strcct) is having 9 n run" wholly
g on paper" 1t is reported that not one
of these paper wheels has as yet given
out on this road. The wheels are man.
ufactured by the Allen Paper Car Wheel
company, whose works are ut Hudso
The producing capacity ofthese works is
about five hundred wheels per month,
end the company are to start additional
works at Chicago next fall, the capac-
ity of which will be about double that
OF the Hudson works. Paper car wheels
were invented by a practical railroad
---. .-l r-o,,o e rcf n11f tn 0ntl1QI
use in 1863, since which time many I'M
provements have been made. They are
made of a combination of paper, steel
and iron, the hub being made OF cast
iron, the central portion or body, of the
wheel of compressed paper, and the tire
of cast-stcel. In looking at the wheel
one would not suppose that there was
any paper about it, the paper not being
visible, as it is completely encesed be-
tween wrought iron plates strongly rlv-
eted by numerous bolts, and this with
the iron hub and steel tire leaves no
paper surface exposed. Strawboard is
used for this purpose. A good quality
is necessary and it must be thoroughly
dried; a very important consideration.
It may be of any thickness, the thicker
the better, provided it is thoroughly
dried. The strawboard is otsubjected
to any change in its character either by
chemical CO other process, though paste
is used TO unite the layers and a power
full pressure is applied. The wheel is
"built up" by placing n thickness OF
strawboard over another and after sew
eral layers are put together applying
the pressure. This forms a section.
Each section has to be thoroughly dried:
Then the sections are put together and
pressed rs were the layers OF straw
board. The process is a long n ow-
ing to the time required for drying the
layers and sections, the building up OF
a wheel requiring several weeks. The
pressure applied is something wonder
full; for instance, q wheel forty inches
in diameter will be submitted to q pres
sure Of from eight hundred to n thou
sand tons. The result is a solid OF
about the consistency Of a hard, fine
grained wood, the seams, hardly percep-
tible, formed by the union OF the sec
tions resembling fine wood grain, A
paper weight made ofthe car wheel pa.
per is on my desk before me as | write,
and it appears to be about as heavy as
q piece of ebony Of the same size would
be, while it's color is more like that of a
pine knot. The strawboard used at the
Hudson works is made at Cohoes and
Waterford, N. Y. 1t is cutinto circular
form, of the diameter wanted for the
wheels before shipping from the mill,
thus avoiding the handling Of waste.
About a ton of strawboard is used ut the
Hudson works daily. The utility of
paper wheels seems TO have been pretty
thoroughly proved. 1t is not clai med
for them that the price is as low as that
of ordinary iron wheels; in fact on an
average it is more than twice as high.
The price of a fGrty-two inch coach
wheel, broad thread, of this makes
weighing nine hundred and twenty-five
pounds, is ninety dollars. But it i,
claimed for them that they will: give a
service offrom nine to sixteen times that
of iron wheels; the mileage of a paper
wheel being estimated rs high rs from
$50, 600 to 500, 600 miles with the first
tire, and when n tire is worn out it
can be replaced by another. The paper
center is not affected by neat or cold,
rain or sum- and it's non-ductive nature
prevents the heating OF the journal from
the application Of the brakes which is
an important consideration on such
roads as the elevated where the brakes
are in such almost constant use. The
steel tire is so secured to the center AS to
makei it apparently an inp1ssibility for
it to be torn whilei use from the body
of the wheels, and therefore a great
guaranty is given against accidents from
q broken wheel throwing the car from
the track. Durability and safety then
are the merits claimed for the paper
wheel. The material of which the pa
per boats are made at Troy is put to-
gether in a way somewhat similar to
that used in the manufacture of the
car wheels, though for the boats MANILA
paper is used instead Of strawboard.
Paper shoes, paper boats, paper wheels!
Surely, surely paper must be the lever
that the philosopher has been seeking,
for til moving the world.
A man delivers a single brutal good
bye," and that is the end of it. Not 50
with the gentle sex-I ay it in thei
49,