Eureka daily sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1871-1887, 1881-11-03
PAPER CAR WHEELS.
Something New in n Rolling
stock OF Railroads.

something new IN Inc hkoihhhS
stock of Railroads.
At q given place on each division Of the
Central Pacific Railroad a man appears and
goes about the work Of tapping the car
wheels with a hammer. The man is usu-
ally an expert machinist, and can tell in
an instant by the sound whether a wheel
possesses a flaw or not. This p~recaution
is taken to prevent accidents by a wheel
going to pieces while the train is in mo-
ton. Coming up the road the other day
we took in the tapping process with some
interest. Finally a car was reached where
the tap of the hammer echoed back a
dull thud. Being close at hand we said to
the taper. ''those wheels have flaws"
"Not much" said the man Of the hammer.
ssThose wheels are manufactured out Of pa
per; Pullman is now putting them under
all Of his palace sleepers; they don't have
the clear ringing sound of the old iron
wheels when you tackle them with the
hammer, but they are better and more
durable and ride easier and make less
noise" 1t was q new wrinkle to us, and
the conductor shouting "all aboard y
we skipped into the car, pom
dering over the marvellous improve.
ments Of this wonderful age OF progress.
Since reaching home a scientific journal
has fallen under our observation, giving
the annexed account of how paper cal
wheels are made. The description may be
as interesting to the average reader as il
was to US, and hence we reproduce it AZ
follows:
The paper is strawboard OF rather fine
texture. 1t is received in the ordinary
broad sheets, differing in no par ticular
from those used for strawboard boxes OF
| other similar work. These sheets, as they
| come from the mill, are square, and mus
| first of all be cut into a circular pattern
| This is rapidly done on q large table with
a knife that is guided by a radial arm tina,
| SWING freely over the surface Of the table
from 8 pivot at the center. A small dish
is also cut from the center OF the sheet tC
allow for the iron hub. Being thus re
duced to the required shape and dimen
sions, the paper must now be converted
from a mass Of loose sheets into q com
pact dense body, capable of withstandint
the tremendous crushing force to which i
will be subjected in the wheels. This il
accomplished in the following manner
Ten sheets are pasted together, one upor
the other, making a disk about one-eightl
Of an inch thick. Enough Of these disk
have been prepared to fill a powerful by
draulic press. They are subjected to
pressure of 1880 pounds to a square inch
When removed the disks are hung on pole
in a steam-heated loft and left six days Il
dry. Thicker disks are then made
each formed by FASTING togethe
two or three Of those already fin
ished. These are pressed and dried a
before, and the process is repeated until
block is built four inches thick and o
about the specific gravity Of lignum vita
After each pasting and pressing, six day
are allowed for drying, aud when a blocl
is complete it is left in a drying-room unit
thoroughly seasoned. The next operation
Is that Of turning the paper blocks to q
the steel tires and iron hubs. This is don,
With as much accuracy and in exactly tn
same n as il the material worked OF
were iron or wood. The circumference /
turned to q perfect circle Of the precise di
ameter required, q bed or recess is WORKED
out for the web Of the tire to rest in, ant
the edges sharply defined. The block /
then painted. and is ready for its place il
the wheel.