Waterbury evening Democrat., 1891-04-08
PAPER GAR WHEELS.
Their Life and Some of Their Character
 istic Defects.

aXleS used by one of our western rail- roads, the writer learned a great deal about them, and found the subject an interesting one. Persons who never have any business with railroad ex- cept to ride on it's cars occasionally have an idea that paper car wheels are en- tirely made of that substance. This is a mistaken idea, as the only portion of a so-called paper wheel, made of paper, is the inside or filling of the wheel
 This paper is held in place by steel
 plates which are bolted together
 through the paper. The tire is then
 put on and the wheel is finished. Of
 Course there is good deal of work in-
 cluded in the making, but this is the
 sum and substance of a paper wheel.
 There are several sizes of paper wheels
 made, for instance, 42-inch wheels, S3-
 .nch, 30-inch. 2S-inch and 26-inch. The
 last two sizes are locomotive truck
 wheels. Our road" said the clerk,
 fuses paper wheels exclusively under
 It's passenger equipment and cast iron
 ones under the freight equipment.
 These paper wheels are made by Chi cago company. Tires for paper wheels are made in Europe and in this country
 also. The Krupps, of Essen, Germany,
 manufacture the best tire that is turned out.
 The weight of 42-inch paper wheel
 is 1,150 pounds, and an axle $50 pounds,
 so that the weight of a pair mounted on
 an axle is 2,650 pounds. There are two
 pair in each truck and two trucks under
 a car, so that the combined weight of
 the wheels and axles placed under each
 car is 1O,600 pounds. The value of
 pair of 42-inch paper wheels is in the
 neighborhoodo of $50, the tire alone be-
 ing valued at S56. The wheel center
 will be worth about S17 itself.
 ''When We receive a wheel" said the
 railroad man, ''it is marked with the
 date and given a number and letter by
 which we are able to learn at any time
 where and when it was placed in serv ice. All wheels are guaranteed to do certain amount of work. Our 30-inch
 wheels have a guarantee of 50,000, the
 2S-inch guarantee of 10000, and the
 26-inch of 80, 900 miles. This guarantee
 covers the wheels used under both cars and locomotives. If these wheels fail to perform the guaranteed service, un-
 der fair usage, they are replaced by the
 makers free of expense to our com pany. We, of course, have an agree ment to give them so much credit for the old wheels, or else ship them back to the makers. They are responsible for the failure of a wheel if it is re-
 moved for any of the following reasons,
 unless it has made the required mile age: Cracked plate,' 'shelled out, 'honeycombed,' worn through chill, or cracked brackets
 "A wheel with cracked plate,' or cracked between plates outside, is one l that is cracked on account of a flaw in | casting or in the material used in mal1- | ing it. We are not responsible for such | a defect and can hold the makers liable | for it. 'Shelled-out spots are little cir cular pieces which shell out, leaving | round, flat spots, deepest at the edge. with a raised center on the tread of the wheel. We do not condemn the wheel | for this cause unless the spots are over two and half inches in length o1 | diameter, or are so numerous as to en-
 danger the safety of the wheels.
 'Honeycombed spots are places found | on the tread with a collection of small l holes similar to the shelled-out spots
 only great deal smaller, causing the l tread to be weak at that point and | therefore dangerous. Worn through 1 chill means spots or portions of the l tread that are worn or have flat spots 1 over two and half inches in length or l diameter. Particular care is taken to
 distinguish this defect from slid flat
 spots or those caused by the grinding ot
 the brakes. Cracked brackets are the
 fracturing of the stays of the wheel, the part which strengthens the tread.
 'Some of the defects which cause
 the removal of paper wheels are as fol
 lows: A wheel may become loose on the
 axle, which does not injure the wheel
 but of, course, necessitates the removal
 of the pair of wheels. They are put ir
 a press and the loose wheel is refitteG
 and pressed back on the axle and they are again ready for service. Frequently the wheels wear flat or are slid flat as it is called. Such wheels are removed
 at the earliest opportunity, and placed ! in lathe and turned up. By turning a pair of wheels mean that enough O. the surface metal is removed to obliter ! ate all signs of the spots that were sliC !, flat. This may mean one-eighth of ar inch of the surface metal or perhap: one-quarter of an inch, according to the . depths of the slide The f1anges wear very thin. and are another cause of the  ) removal of wheels. Their being thi1 naturally makes them sharp and makes ] the wheels to climb the rail wher , going around curves and is apt to cause disastrous results. The amount O pressure employed in pressing a pair O , wheels on the axle is estimated at iron twenty to sixty tons. This varies, O , course, some requiring more pressure 7 than others. The axles frequently ge , bent or broken, or the journals are GU } or burned. A defective axle does no 7 injure the wheels, and they are pressed on another axle and are ready for serv } ice again. A burnt journal is caused b. l insufficient packing of the oil boxes O ] hot boxes, as they are called.
 "Cast-iron wheels are, as have said } used under freight cars. We have some 3 where in the neighborhood of 100, 900 O