Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1890-03-15
INCREASE OF TRACTIvE POWER
In DRIVING WHEELS.

Numerous and persistent efforts
have been made 10 increase the
-ractive power Of driving wheels on
railways, but long and uubrOkeu
series Of failures has been recorded.
When electricity was made practical
Use Of in motors for the propulsion
Il cars, it was claimed that a means
had been discovered whereby n
greater traction was obtained; but
careful experiment proved that such
was not the fact. Locomotive
wheels continued to slip ami lose
power with heavy loads or while
going up grades, and the expense Of
JTOvidiDg additional power was as
heavy as ever on the railroads. But
now comes a new suggestion which
seems to have the merits claimed
Tor it. and to open the way, to
great extent, for relief. This il
Iothing less than pOlygOnal
Wheel. This substitution for n cyl
ndric3l surface Of a driving wheel
II 4 many sided prism i
radical departure from the
.heorIes hitherto acted upon.
The new invention is called tht
Swinerton wheel, and its claim To
,btain greater traction seems to lie
veil substautiated. The first test
-ngine was completed December l.
1887, with drivers five feet six inches
diameter. With the new feature.
his gives q polygOn with sides ont
nch long-2l0 sides for the entire
circumference. To n casual Ob
.erver these sides are hardly notice
,hle; but with the light shining at q
light angle upon the periphery OF
he wheel they can be clearly dis
iuguished. a short strait-edge dis
loses the existence of facets by the
'pcking or oscillation As it passes
from one to the other.
Numerous tests have been made,
lnd all with the most satisfactory
'esults in the way OF increased trac-
live power. The locomotive used
lad but a SINCE pair Of drivers, bur
hauled, from Boston to Lowell.
OF several days, 65 to 20 cars o.
-Oal-a feat equal 10 that of four
river engines with cylindrica!
wheels. Then for several months il
vas used in drawing the Portland.
.iaine, express over ll5-mile trips.
With the same success that attended
he other trials. Last July another
cries Of tests was begun. a gradient
4 81 feet to the mile being So
-cte1. The experiments werl
made with and without sand.
With sand the weight OF cars ana
uad drawn was 2,32S, 345 pounds:
Eith sand it was $50, $50 pounds.
Then the wheel tires were planed |
Il round and the trials repeated.
The result was that without sand /
go, 500 pounds were drawn, and with
and $50, $50 pounds. This proved
ieyond doubt that the tractive power
lad been largely increased by tn,
JolygOnal tires, which, when used
sand, enabled the locomo-
i've to draw over one hundred and
iXty-six per cent above that of the
'mooth wheels. while with sand the
Increase was about sixty per cent.
In practical use il is found that
he engine runs as quietly rs any
'ther, the departure from the circle
'eing too slight TO cause rafting.
n the first experiments two-inch |
acets were tried, and were found to
un quietly. In wearing, the facets
% not disappear. a flat spot upon
tire does not wear off; and in 2
wear of 10000 miles the
olygonal tires wore down three
ighth's Of an inch from their peri
hery, but the fiat surfaces were
lily preserved. If the success that
as attended the Swinerton patent
maintained in future practice, IL
i'll make quite n revolution In
ind Of surface for tires on driving S
heels.