Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1891-07-15

| wheel shall De placed fange downward on
| an anvil block weighing 100 pounds, SET on
| rubble masonry two feet deep AMI having
! three supports not more five inches wide for
! the wheel to lest upon. II snail be struck
| centrally on the hub by ! weight of Ia
! pounds, falling from a height of twelve
/ feet. Should the wheel break in two or
| more pieces after eight blows, or less, the
| fifty wheels represented by il will
| be rejected; il, however, the wheel
! stands eight blows without breaking in two
| or more pieces the fifty wheels will be ac-
| cepted. The wheel for test to be furnished
! by the manufacturer in addition TO the fifty
! wheels ordered. The body of the wheels
: must be smooth and free from Stag or blow
| holes: the tread and throat of wheel must
| be smooth and free from deep ana irregular
| wrinkles, sand wash, Stag ami chill cracks,
J and throat must be practically free from
| sweat The wheels tested and broken must
| show Il soft clean gray iron. free from de-
! fects, such as holes containing Sl&g or dirt
| more than one-qUarter inch in diameter o.
| clusters of such holes. The depth of clear
| white iron must not exceed seyen-cighthS
| inch ut throat or one inch at middle Of
| tread. not be less than one-quartcr inch NJ
! throat or thrce-eighths inch IT middle OF
tread. The blending of the white iron and
the gray iron behind it must be without
any clear line of demarkation.
1t will be seen from the above specifca-
| tons. the wheels tested must be placed on
the projections on the anvil block with the
bracket side of the wheel down ana resist
the shock of l40-pOund drop falling twelve
feet in the clear from the bottom OF tie
drop to the hub of the wheel eight times,
and for every order of fifty wheels, tifty-oHe
wheels must be shipped. where the test is
to be made at the railroad cOmpany's shops,
leaving fifty for the order after one wheel
has been selected for test. Should the
-h,aal and NOD l,A
wheels selected for tie test are held subject
to the order of the manufacturer
Master mechanics generally say this IS
the fairest and most reliable test for car
wheels that they have yet seen. The old
system Of testing bars for transverse break
ing strain, that IS, placing an inch or two
inch square bar of iron, twelve or twenty
four inches long, on two points of bea. lng
and putting a steady pressure on the center
Of the bar to obtain how many pounds pres
sure i will take 10 break II, is rot test for
car wheels. This transverse breaking
strain is very essential in cast-iron struct-
ural castings, such as lintleS, etc, but car
wheels are never subjected 20 a steady
strain on the transverse breaking order. IL
service all the strain that comes on car
wheels is in the nature of 4 shock. and this
is just exactly what this drop testing ma
chine is intended to demonstrate, that is, if
they will resist the shock that careful eX-
pSFlIueHLS nave SHOWN IndJ car NuCtlS G.t
subjected to In service before they are re-
ceiveC by the railroads. 1t has been proved
Ill actual practice that iron cast into 1 bar,
and showing an excessively high transverse
breaking strain, viii not begin to resist the
requirements of this drop when cast into I
car wheel.
This was very clearly demons rated on
the Texas, St. Louis and Arkansas railway
Cotton Belt route. This railroad has put
up two OF these machines one at each of
their shops at Pine Bluff. Ark, and Tyler,
Tex. They have been using Al their Tyler
shops for the Texas ends of their roads car
wheels from concern using an IRON that
showed astonishiugly high figures for trans
verse breaking strain, and the iron has
frequently been spoken of as possessing eX I
traOrdinary strength and marvellous chill
ing properties, and said to be the very thing
for car wheels without the admiXture of
any other kind OF iron. The wheels were,
judging from general appearance, an appar
emily good wheel, but after the drop test
was erected at Tyler, and wheels made
wholly of this iron submitted for test. they
utterly failed to stand over One-haf what
was required by the specifications, and the
wheels We're rejected The Marshall car
wheel and foundry company's wheels We're
then introduced on the Texas end OF this
roGd, and in Il number of tests none of them
have failed. Mr.. w B. Doddridge, general
manager, and MIR r. NJ Galbraith. master
mechanic at Tyler, state the Marshall
wheels stands between thirty and forty
blows Of the drop, that is. five times what
is required by the test specifications, and
speak of them as a trst-clasS wheel Gen
eral Manager John \. Grant and Superin-
tendent of the motive power NJ. w.
Elliott, say they are as good as and cast
iron car wheel made in the United States,
and that they seem to tear apart rather |
than break under the Pennsylvania drop |
test The Marshall car wheel and foundry
company is under the management Of Rob |
ert +. Masters, well-knOwn rs an expert on |
mixtures of iron and general foundry prac- |
tee, and shows the ACCESSIBILITY of having Il |
practical man to manage manufacturing !
establishment.
The Cotton Belt route is the first railroad |
in the South TO put in this drop testing ma |
chanic, Mr.. D. 5. Marshall, but they will |
shortly be followed by other roads, as the |
machine is inexpensive and simple in con-
styuctiou, and railroad companies re !
ceiving car wheels under the |
drop test specifications are sure
of obtaining = strong, tough wheel |
and an almost certain guarantee against |
breakage in service, as car wheels made of |
inferior irons will not stand the test, and p!
the manufacturer, TO avoid having his |
wheels rejected and freight to pay on the /
shipment both ways, is forced to use first |
class material, even il he was not inclined |
to do 50.
Besides the roads mentioned the Union |
Pacific, Louisville and Nashville Chicago, |
Burlington and Quincy, Texas and Pacific !
and several other roads are now using drop |
test machines. The Missouri Pacific, ST. |
Louis. Iron Mountain and Southern, Inter
national and Great Northern and :, number |
of leading lines intend putting them in.