IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF RAILWAY WHEELS
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Baillie, of Vienna, in the Empire of Austria,
Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION
OF RAILWAY WHEELS."
Sealed the 20th May 1859, and dated the 2nd December 858.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Baillie at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
2nd December 1858.
I, JOHN BAILLIE, of Vienna, in the Empire of Austria, Engineer, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CON-
STRUCTION OF RAILWAY WHEELS," to be as follows:-
The object of this Invention is to make railway wheels which shall have the
advantages either of chilled cast-iron wheels, as far as the durability of their
peripheries is concerned, without the defects of such wheels when cast in one
piece, or which (for brake wheels) shall have the advantages of a wrought-
iron or steel tyre without the risk attendant on the putting on and fixing of
such tyres. To this end I make a tyre or ring of chilled cast iron, or of
wrought iron, or steel, with a ring of bolt holes formed therein; and to these
rings I apply discs of flat or dish-shaped iron or steel, and secure them
together by a ring of bolts. The nave may be made either of a separate piece
of cast iron and connected to the discs by screw bolts, or the discs may be

page_text: formed with a suitable thickening of metal at their central opening to con-
stitute a compound nave. By this mode of constructing wheels it will be
understood that when the tyre is worn out it can easily be changed for another
without sacrificing the whole body of the wheel, as is the case with chilled
cast-iron wheels cast in one piece when their peripheries are worn out.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Baillie in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
2nd June 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
BAILLIE, of Vienna, in the Empire of Austria, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Second day of December, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, in the twenty-second year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said John Baillie, Her special license that I, the said John
Baillie, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I;
the said John Baillie, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should
at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all
times thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might
make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF RAILWAY WHEELS," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said John Baillie, by an instrument in writing
under my hand and seal, should particularly describe and ascertain the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be per-
formed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office
within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said
Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Baillie, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the Drawing hereunto annexed, and to the
letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):―
It is well known that the conservation or keeping in repair of the wrought-
iron or steel tyres of wheels used for railway carriages and all rolling stock is
very expensive in consequence of their rapid deterioration by wear. The

page_text: manner of attaching the tyre to the body of the wheel, namely, by shrinking
on the tyre while red hot and securing it with rivets through the cross section
of the tyre, is also very defective, the breaking of the tyres often ensuing
thereby, and causing dangerous accidents. By the use of chilled cast-iron
wheels the first-named objection against the wrought-iron or steel tyres,
namely, the expense of keeping them in repair, is in a great measure obviated;
but they are dangerous when cast in one piece, as their stability is not
altogether to be relied on, and their use is therefore generally avoided on
railroads devoted to passenger traffic. A further objection against them is
that they are not suitable for the application of the brakes in general use
because of the chilled hard surfaces not allowing them to be turned when
they get flat places on their peripheries caused by breaking.
Now, the object of my Invention is to make a wheel avoiding all the before-
named objections and defects of the chilled cast-iron wheels cast in one piece,
as well as those made against wrought-iron or steel tyres, and to secure the
advantages of the hard and durable chilled surfaces at the tread or periphery
of the wheel, while at the same time the dangerous character of chilled cast-
iron wheels (cast in one piece) is avoided. The manner in which I
attain this end is shewn in the accompanying Drawing.
propose to
Fig 1 is a front view of my improved wheel; Fig. 2 is a section of the
same, taken through the line a, b. A, A, is the tyre, made of chilled cast
iron, it being cast separately (that is, without discs or spokes), so that in
cooling there will be no danger of the casting breaking from the unequal
contraction of the metal, as there is when dealing with a more extended mass.
A mixture of metal can be readily provided, so that the chilling or hardening
effect at the periphery can be made to penetrate to such a depth under the
surface as is found to be necessary. The tyres of those wheels which are
intended to sustain the action of the brake can be made from wrought iron or
steel of the same section as shewn in Fig. 3. B, B, are discs made of cast or
wrought iron or steel, and they are formed with lateral projections at their
edges, which enter rebates formed in the sides of the chilled tyre. The tyre is
firmly secured between the discs by means of screw bolts, as shewn at Fig. 2,
or rivets, as at Fig. 4.
Fig. 5 shews in section a modification of my improved wheel. In this
example I make the nave e, e, of cast iron, and the discs f, f, of wrought iron or
steel, and they are secured together by cross bolts, which pass through holes
cast in the nave, as shewn in the cross section Fig. 6, and through corre-
sponding holes formed in the discs f. f. The discs in either construction of
wheel can be made dish-shaped, or flat and solid, or with openings in them,

page_text: and fastened to the tyre either with screw bolts and nuts or with rivets, as
shewn in the sections.
Fig. 7 is a section of a wheel with flat discs.
By this mode of constructing railway wheels it will be understood that
when a tyre is worn out it can be easily replaced by another without sacrificing
the whole body of the wheel, as is the case with chilled cast-iron wheels.cast
in one piece, when their peripheries are worn out.
Having now set forth the nature of my Invention of improvements in
the construction of railway wheels, and explained the manner of carrying the
same into effect, I wish it to be understood that under the above in part
recited Letters Patent I claim, making railway wheels by the combination of
parts as herein described, whereby the advantages derivable from the use of
chilled cast iron without its hitherto attendant disadvantages are secured.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Baillie, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, the Twenty-eighth day of May, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine.
JOHN BAILLIE.
(L.S.)