IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF RAILWAY WHEELS, AND IN APPARATUS TO BE USED
Year: 1861

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Martin Rowan, of Glasgow, in the County
of Lanark, North Britain, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE MANUFACTURE OF RAILWAY WHEELS, AND IN APPARATUS TO BE USED
Sealed the 20th May 1862, and dated the 28th November 1861.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Martin Rowan at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
28th November 1861.
I, JOHN MARTIN ROWAN, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North
Britain, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF RAILWAY WHEELS, AND IN APPARATUS TO
BE USED THEREIN," to be as follows, that is to say :-
This Invention relates to the class of railway wheels, of which the spokes
and inner frame or rim are composed of bars formed into open triangles or
sectors, and has for object generally to improve, simplify, and cheapen the
manufacture.
A first part of the Invention relates to improved provisions for fixing the tire
on the spokes, these being such that the tire may be rolled in its circular
form.
According to one modification the tire is formed with-a-dovetail flange-
projecting slightly inwards at the inner edge of its inside face, the spoke rim'

page_text: being shaped to correspond, whilst an outwardly projecting dovetail is formed
on the spoke rim at its outer edge a corresponding dovetail groove being
'formed in the tire. To hold the tire in its place a further groove is formed
in its inside face near its outer edge to receive a dovetail key, the flange on
the outer side of the groove being closed over the key after it is inserted.
According to another modification the key is dispensed with and the groove
in the tire to receive the outer projecting dovetail of the spoke rim is made to
cover the latter, but is cut away at intervals for spaces at least equal to the
dovetails to permit of these being entered, after which the tire is turned round
so as to cover and hold the dovetails. In both modifications the dovetails are 1
formed partly by rolling, the undercut angular parts being subsequently cut
out.
A second part of the Invention consists in 'forming the boss of cast steel or
of a mixture of cast steel and cast iron. The boss is cast in the usual way so
as to embed the inner ends of the spokes, but in the case of cast steel it is
requisite to apply pressure to the boss when in a heated state.
A third part of the Invention relates to the apparatus for bending the spoke
bars into the triangular form. The bar is held upon a slide and forced by it
between two rollers which cause two hinged side dies to bend the ends round
into shape. The slide is moved by means of a screw, but according to this
Invention the screw acts through a lever jointed to the slide, whilst its other end
nips and presses the rim part of the spoke bar against the inside die formed or
fixed upon the slide. A roller is fixed in such a position that the slide carries
the spoke bar under it,, whereby, the edge of the bar is, rolled and kept true to
its plane. On the slide reaching the end of its traverse it throws over a
tumbling lever which causes a reversal of the motion, and whilst returning the
slide brings a combination of levers in contact with, a fixed stop, whereby the
levers are made to throw off the spoke bar. Finally, on the slide reaching the
end of its return traverse it throws the tumbling lever into a position putting
the machine out of gear, but in readiness to be started as soon as a fresh spoke
bar is placed in it. The dies are shaped in such a way as to.force up project-
ing parts at the corners to provide for the subsequent welding of the sectors
together with solid continuous joints.
A fourth part of the Invention relates to the welding together and finishing
of the outer parts of the spoke triangles; and in practising this part, after the
spokes are united in the boss they are heated and fixed upon a species of chuck
provided with accurate centering contrivances, and by means of which the
whole is made to revolve between rolls, acting two at opposite points upon the
Cinential curface and one or two pairs upon both edges. The welding is
6

page_text: efficiently effected at the joints in consequence of projections having been
formed on the bars, these parts having to be forced in to the general circum-
ference by the rolling and welding action. The spoke rims of wheels formed
and united in the ordinary way may be rendered truly circular by being heated
and subjected to the same machine.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Martin Rowan in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 27th May 1862.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
MARTIN ROWAN, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North Britain,
Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-eighth day of November, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, in the twenty-fifth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said John Martin Rowan, Her special licence that I, the said John Martin
Rowan, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said John Martin Rowan, 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 "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF RAILWAY WHEELS, AND IN APPARATUS
TO BE USED THEREIN," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
John Martin Rowan, my executors .or administrators, by an instrument in
writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should par-
ticularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention and in
what manner the same was to be performed, 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 Martin Rowan, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what mauner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement in writing, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings and
to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say:
My said Invention relates to the class of railway wheel of which the spokes

page_text: and inner frame or rim are composed of bars formed into open triangles or
sectors, and has for object generally to improve, simplify, and cheapen the
manufacture.
"
And in order that the nature of the same and the manner of performing it
may be properly understood, I have hereunto annexed two Sheets of ex-
planatory Drawings, to which reference is made in the following particular
description of my improvements. In these Drawings the same reference
letters and figures mark the same or like parts in all the Figures in which
they occur.
A first part of the Invention relates to improved provisions for fixing the
tyre on the spokes, these being such that the tyre may be rolled in its circular
form.
Figure 1, Sheet 1, of the Drawings is a full size section of a tyre and rim
as united according to one modification. The tyre A is formed with a dove-
tail flange B projecting inwards at the inner edge of its inside face, the spoke
rim C being shaped to correspond, whilst an outwardly projecting dovetail D
is formed on the spoke rim C at its outer edge, a corresponding dovetail
groove E being formed in the tyre A. To hold the tyre A in its place a
further groove F is formed in its outside face near its outer edge to receive a
dovetail key G, the flange H on the outer side of the groove F being closed
over the key after it is inserted. Figure 2 is a section of the complete wheel
fixed on this plan.
According to another modification. shown in section in Figures 3 and 4, the
groove E in the tyre A for the outer dovetail flange D of the rim C'is formed
with an outer flange I, fitting and enclosing the rim flange D. The rim
flange D and the outer tyre flange I are both cut away at intervals, as shown
in face view in Figure 5, so that the projecting portions of the dovetail flange
D can be entered at the cut-away parts of the tyre flange I, after which the
tyre is turned round so as to cover and hold the dovetails D. The tyre may
be prevented from slipping round back again by various simple means, thus
the flanges I, being made longer than the dovetails D, may be slightly closed
down at the corners after the dovetails are in their places.
A further modification combining the features of the two described is shown
in section in Figures 6 and 7, and in face view in Figure 8. In this case a
series of keys G formed with duplex dovetails is substituted-for-the-dovetail-
rim flange (D), these keys being introduced under the covering flange I at a
single cut-away part thereof. The outer part of the key G fits the dovetail
groove E in the tyre, whilst the inner part of the key fits a dovetail or angular
groove K formed round the outer edge of the rim C. This improved mode of

page_text: fixing the tyre is applicable in renewing the tyres of old wheels as well as in
the manufacture of entirely new wheels. In the various modifications the
dovetails are formed partly by rolling, the under cut angular parts being
subsequently cut out.
A second part of the Invention consists in forming the boss (I, Figures 2,
4; 5, 7 or 8, Sheet: 1,) of cast steel, or of a mixture of cast steel and cast iron.
The. boss is cut in the usual way, so as to embed the inner ends of the
spokes M, but in the case of cast steel it is requisite to apply pressure to the
boss when in a heated state.
1.
A third part of the Invention relates to the apparatus for bending the spoke
bars M (Figures 9 and 10), into the triangular form (Figures 11 and 8).
Figure 12, Sheet 2, is a front elevation, and Figure 13 is a vertical section
at right angles to Figure 1, of a machine embodying the improvements. The
framing of the machine comprises a vertical front open frame piece N, com-
bined with two back wings or inclined standards P, upon which last are
mounted the details Q of a small steam engine for driving the machine, which
is thus rendered completely self-contained. The front frame piece N is formed
with vertical guides R, between which there fits and works a slide S formed
to receive the spoke bar M. The slide is moved by means of a vertical screw
T, and in descending passes between a pair of rollers U running on studs on
the frame piece N, these rollers causing two die pieces V hinged to the
slidé S to turn over and bend the ends of the spoke bar M round into shape.
The screw T mounted in bearings at the back of the frame piece N is driven
by means of a bevil wheel W fixed upon its upper end, and this bevil wheel
has two rings of teeth gearing with separate bevil pinions X, Y, the slow speed
one X by which the slide is carried down being on a tubular shaft, having fast
on it the driving pulley Z, whilst the quick speed one Y is fast on the shaft a,
passing through the other, and having fast on it the driving pulley b, the loose
pulley c being between the other two. The screw T does not act directly on
the slide S, but it acts through a nut d upon a lever e jointed upon the slide;
and with its opposite end f entered into a block g, capable of a slight move-
ment on the slide S; this block g is arranged to nip the rim part of the spoke
bar M against the inside die h' fixed upon the slide. When the screw Tis
set in motion its first action is by the, lever e, f, to cause the spoke bar to be -
firmly held, the accomplishment of which as it were fixes the lever and the
slide is then drawn down. Similarly on the return movement the first action
is to release the grip of the spoke bar. In addition to the rollers U between
which the slide. S descends, there is a third roller i mounted in a box-fixed-to-
the studs of the rollers U, and the slide carries the spoke bar under this third

page_text: P
roller i, whereby the edge of the bar is rolled and kept true to its plane. On
the slide S reaching the bottom end of its traverse, it by means of a lever k
throws over a tumbling lever l, which causes a reversal of the motion through
the connection of this lever with the guide fork m of the driving belt. Whilst
returning upwards the slide brings a combination of levers n which are
mounted upon the back of it in contact with a fixed stop, whereby these levers
are made to thrust out pins p. which throw off the spoke bar M. The opening
outwards of the hinged side dies V is insured by levers q with antifriction
rollers upon their ends, in contact with which the dies V are brought in
descending, the other ends of the levers q being acted upon by springs by
which they are made to start the dies outwards. On the slide S reaching 'the
top end of its return traverse it acts on a lever t, whereby the driving belt is
thrown upon the loose pulley c, so as to stop the machine until a fresh spoke
bar is placed in it. The block g and side dies V are shaped in such a way as
to force up projecting parts at the corners of the spoke bar or triangular
frame M, as shown in Figure 11, Sheet 1, to provide for the subsequent
welding of the sectors together with solid continuous joints. And to further
facilitate this part of the operation the spoke bars M may, in being rolled,
have projections v formed upon them at proper positions, as shown in Figure 9,
Sheet 1, or, they may be rolled with projections v on one side and hollows w
on the other, as shown in Figure 10.
.
تہ
A fourth part of the Invention relates to the welding together and finishing
of the outer parts of the spoke triangles (M), and a machine for effecting
these, embodying, the improvements, is represented in vertical section and in
plan in Figures 14 and 15, Sheet 2. The framing 1 of this machine is of a
rectangular box-like form, and is fitted near the middle with massive bearings
for a stout, vertical shaft 2, driven by means of a bevil, wheel 3, in gear with a
bevil pinion on a horizontal shaft 4. This shaft 4 is connected by spur gearing
5, 6, and clutches for two different speeds, with a shaft 7, driven by a steam
cylinder Q, which, forming part of the machine, renders it self-contained. The
upper end of the shaft 2 is formed with a socket to 'receive a mandril 8, which
is coned to fit an adjustable expanding bush; this bush being cylindrical on
its outside to fit the eye of the wheel boss 9. There is also fixed upon the
upper end of the shaft 2 a chuck 10, formed with segments which project
between the spokes M, and cause the wheel-to-rotate-with-the-shaft. The
rotation of the wheel M causes it to be acted upon by two rolls 11, on vertical
spindles, and by two pairs of rolls 12 on horizontal spindles, the former acting
on the circumferential surface, and the latter on the face edges. The rolls 11
are mounted upon slides 13, adjustable by means of screw spindles 14 upon

page_text: intermediate slides 15, which again work upon guide brackets 16; fixed to the
framing. To move the rolls 11 rapidly into and out of position the slides 15
are acted upon by cranks indicated by dotted lines, in Figure 15, upon spindles
17, which are actuated simultaneously through bevil gearing by the-horizontal
hand-wheel shaft 18. The screw spindles 14 are adjusted by means of spur
wheels on their outer ends, in gear with pinions on a horizontal hand-wheel shaft
19 below, and the screws are made right and left handed, so that the adjust-
ment of both may be to or from the centre. The edge rolls 12 are-mounted
upon horizontal studs, formed on : bosses fixed on short vertical spindles 20,
which are mounted in the slides 13. The lower rolls of each pair are not seen
in the plan, Figure 15; being directly below those shown and acting on the
outer edge of the wheel. For the purpose of moving these clear of the wheel
when changing it, the spindles 20 are made to swivel round by means of links
21, jointed to the bosses and to a lever 22, centred on a stud fixed on a slide
23, which last can be adjusted by means of a screw and hand wheel 24, so as
to insure the rollers acting in their proper positions, whatever may be the
adjustment of the slides 13, upon which they are mounted. In using this
machine, after the spokes M of the wheel are united in the boss 9, they are
heated and placed upon the shaft 8, and the rolls 11 and 12 having been put
into their working positions the machine is started, and the welding is effected
by the rolling action, this operation being efficiently performed at the joints in
consequence of projections having been formed on the bars, and having to be
forced in to the general circumference by the rolling and welding action. The
spoke rims of wheels formed and united in the ordinary way may be rendered
truly circular by being heated and subjected to the same machine.
Having thus particularly described my said Invention, and the manner in
which the same is or may be performed, I have to state that I do not restrict
myself to the precise details herein described or delineated, but that what I
consider to be novel and original, and claim as the Invention secured to me by
the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is,―
1. The fitting and fixing of railway wheel tyres upon their spoke rims,
substantially in the modes herein-before described and shown in Figures 1 to
8 of the accompanying Drawings.
2. The forming of the bosses of railway wheels of cast steel, or of a mixture
of cast steel and cast iron, substantially as herein-before described.
3. The constructing, arranging, and combining of apparatus for bending the
spoke bars substantially as herein-before described and shown in Figures 12
and 13 of the accompanying Drawings; and
4. The constructing, arranging, and combining of apparatus for welding and

page_text: shaping the rims of the spoke frames, substantially as herein-before described
and shown in Figures 14 and 15 of the accompanying Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Martin Rowan, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty-sixth day of May, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two.
JNO. M. ROWAN. (L.S.)