Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1886-03-26
TWO BLAZING CIRCLES.
An Improved Method for Removing
Tires from Engine wheels.
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Tuesday reporter went to the
| shops of the Air Line railroad to witness
the new process OF removing tires from
engine wheels. This process is the joint
invention of Mr., George w. O'Brien, gen.
eral foreman, and Mr.. Thomas w. Gen.
try, master machlnist of the shops, and
was gotten up to supersede toe old
method of laying the wheel on it's side
| and building a wood fire around the tire.
| An engine wheel is made In two parts
! 1t consists OF core or centre of cast
! iron, surrounded by cast steel tire. The
core is made fraction greater than the
| inside measurement of the tire, which is
! heated to make it expand and then put on
the core. When it cools, the tire is firmly
! fastened on.
! In changing the gauge it will be neces-
! sary to move each wheel an inch and a
half to lessen the gauge three inches,
making il four feet nine inches instead OF
the present i've feet, and the problem has
| been given to the ioremen OF the different
railroad shops to solve as to what is the
! cheapest and quickest way to do this, as
! it involves much time. labor, and money.
Messrs. Gentry and O'Brien answered the
question by inventing the method about
TO be described:
| In the first place, new cores and aXles
have been cut and fitted to the engine, the
cores being ~ inches wider than before
used, the extra width being on the inside.
| When the gauge is altered the tires will
| be moved from the outer to the inner edge
of the core. and the surplus iron on the
| outer rim Will be knocked of. TO move
these tires something had TO be cOntrived
that would do the work cheaper and
more rapidly than by using wood, or gas
! from the city works. Mr.. O'Brien's
method is very simple and very cheap,
and, by its use, tire can be taken from
| a wheel in ten minutes; when the opera
| tion formerly required nearly two hours.
! His apparatus consists OF an ordinary
Westinghouse pump, which supplies air
to an oil tank filed with the most crude
| kerosene to be obtained in the market, as
the commoner the oil used the better will
be the gas generated. The air, in passing
| through the tank. forces the oil through a
pipe into which 1t drips drop at time,
| from point feeder, and runs into gen.
orator which is kept supplied with cold
| air, which acts on the bl0wpipe principle,
causing the gas to burn freely.
This generator is also furnished with
! an escape pipe to let of the surplus air.
! From the generator, the gas passes into
a super-heater, and thence to the two
/ large circles OF pipe fitted with jets,
which SURF Ound the wheels, the axle
of which is laid across two trestIes. The
! current OF air kept up all the time, causes
! the gas to burn with terrific heat, and, in
a short while the tire has expanded sufi-
GENTLY to insure it's removal by pair of
clamps suspended from the. Gel ling.
| These catch the tire when 1t has been ham,
mered sufficiently to make 1t drop from
| the cote. When the gauge is changed,
the tires will be moved on the wheels
without taking them from the engine.
The happy results attained by Mr..
OBrien owes its growth to a series OF
laboriOus experim ntal tests, covering a
period of two weeks. Mr.. w. r. Board,
secretary OF the K. r. .M.C.A., witnessed
the demonstration with much pleasure
He is an old machinist himself, and
says be considers the invention a tri-
umph of mechanical skill.