Improvements in Bearings for the Axles of Railway Carriages and other Railway Vehicles.
Year: 1897

page_text: Canal
Date of Application, 2nd Sept., 1897
2
Date of Application, 2nd Sept., 1897
Complete Specification Left, 26th May, 1898-Accepted, 2nd July, 1898
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Bearings for the Axles of Railway Carriages and
other Railway Vehicles.
We, ARTHUR WESTLEY, of Price Street, Kate's Hill, Dudley, in the County of
Worcester, Brassfounder, and THOMAS BOWKER, of Tividale Road, near Tipton,
in the County of Stafford, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
to be as follows: :-
Our invention consists of the improvements hereinafter described in the top
bearings or top brasses of the axles of railway carriages and other railway vehicles,
the said improvements having for their object principally to secure the efficient
lubrication of the bearings or brasses and axles of the said carriages or vehicles;
our improvements have also the minor advantages hereinafter pointed out.
Top bearings or top brasses constructed according to our invention are especially
applicable to the axles of six wheel railway carriages and to bogie railway
carriages, but they may be applied to railway vehicles generally.
In constructing a top bearing or top brass according to our invention we form
in the middle of the bearing or brass and near each end thereof a hole or opening
the said holes or openings being in the same line and passing completely through.
the material of the bearing, that is, from the concave face to the opposite face
of the bearing. These holes have in plan a diamond shape and have tapering
or inclined sides; that is, the holes taper from oposite faces of the bearing to
the middle thereof where they are widest.
Instead of a hole near each end of the bearing more than two holes may be
used; but we have found two holes to answer well in practice.
These taper diamond shaped holes are filled or packed with sponge or other
oil or grease absorbing material the shape of the interior of the holes retaining
the said sponge or material in its place.
The lubricant from the axle box is supplied to and is absorbed by or stored in
the sponge or absorbent material in the holes in the bearing, and from the said
sponge or material the oil or lubricant is given out and distributed as required
over the rubbing surfaces of the axle and bearing.
We prefer to combine with the packed holes described in the middle of the
bearing or brass a shallow cross groove or channel at each of the ends of the
bearing for assisting in the lubrication of the surfaces of the axle and bearing.
For keeping cool the ends of the bearing we make in each of the said ends
a series of three or more equi-distant holes arranged in the same line each hole
having a length or depth of about three quarters of an inch and a diameter of
about a quarter of an inch but we do not limit ourselves to these proportions.
The holes described besides keeping the ends of the bearings cool facilitate the
expansion and contraction of the said ends by change of temperature.
Dated this Second day of September 1897.

page_text: Improvements in Bearings for the Axles of Railway Carriages and
other Railway Vehicles.
We, ARTHUR WESTLEY, of Price Street, Kate's Hill, Dudley, in the County of
Worcester, Brassfounder, and THOMAS BOWKER, of Tividale Road, near Tipton,
in the County of Stafford, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of our invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement: -
1
Our invention consists of the improvements hereinafter described in the top
bearings or top brasses of the axles of railway carriages and other railway vehicles,
the said improvements having for their object principally to secure the efficient
lubrication of the bearings or brasses and axles of the said carriages or vehicles;
our improvements have also the minor advantages hereinafter pointed out.
Top bearings or top brasses constructed according to our invention are especially
applicable to the axles of six wheel railway carriages and to bogie railway
carriages, but they may be applied to railway vehicles generally.
In constructing a top bearing or top brass according to our invention we form
in the middle of the bearing or brass and near each end thereof a hole or opening
the said holes or openings being in the same line and passing completely through
the material of the bearing, that is, from the concave face to the opposite face
of the bearing. These holes have in plan a diamond shape and have tapering
or inclined sides, that is, the holes taper from opposite faces of the bearing to
the middle thereof where they are widest.
Instead of a hole near each end of the bearing more than two holes may be
used, but we have found two holes to answer well in practice.
These taper diamond shaped holes are filled or packed with sponge or other
oil or grease absorbing material, the shape of the interior of the holes retaining
the said sponge or material in its place.
The lubricant from the axle box is supplied to and is absorbed by or stored in
the sponge or absorbent material in the holes in the bearing, and from the said
sponge or material the oil or lubricant is given out and distributed as required
over the rubbing surfaces of the axle and bearing.
We prefer to combine with the packed holes described in the middle of the
bearing or brass, a shallow cross groove or channel at each of the ends of the
bearing for assisting in the lubrication of the surfaces of the axle and bearing.
For keeping cool the ends of the bearing we make in each of the said ends
a series of three or more equi-distant holes arranged in the same line each hole
having a length or depth of about three quarters of an inch and a diameter of
about a quarter of an inch but we do not limit ourselves to these proportions.
The holes described besides keeping the ends of the bearings cool facilitate the
expansion and contraction of the said ends by change of temperature.
Figure 1 of the accompanying drawing represents in plan of under or concave
side the top bearing or top brass of a railway carriage or other railway vehicle
constructed according to our invention and Figure 2 is a longitudinal section
of the same taken on the dotted line a, a Figure 1: Figure 3 is a horizontal
section partly in plan, of the said bearing: Figure 4 is an end elevation and

page_text: Figure 5 a cross section of the bearing the said cross section being taken on the
dotted line b, b Figure 1.
The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in the several figures of
the drawing.
c, c are the holes or openings near the ends of and in the middle line of the
bearing. The said holes are situated in the same line and pass completely
through the metal of the bearing from the concave face to the opposite face thereof
as seen in the sections Figure 2 and 5. It will be seen that the said holes or
openings c, have in plan a diamond shape and have internally tapering or
inclined sides the said holes tapering from opposite faces of the bearing to the
middle thereof where they are widest. The diamond shaped and taper holes c, c
are filled and packed by compression with sponge, felt or other oil or grease
absorbing material d, d the shape of the interior of the said holes c, c retaining
the compressed sponge or oil or grease absorbing material in its place as seen
in the sectional views Figures 4 and 5.
Although we have only shown two diamond shaped holes filled with sponge
or oil absorbing material near the ends of the bearing yet three or more of the
same kind of holes may be arranged equi-distantly in the acting surface of the
bearing; and although we prefer to use diamond shaped holes or openings yet
other shaped openings with internal tapering sides to retain the oil or grease
absorbing material compressed in them may be employed.
Our improved top bearing or top brass is supported in the axle box with its
concave surface undermost and in contact with the axle in the same way as
ordinary top bearings are supported and the lubricant from the axle box is
supplied to and is absorbed by or stored in the sponge or oil absorbent material d
in the holes c, c in the bearing and from the said sponge or material the oil or
lubricant is given out and distributed as required to the rubbing surface of the
axle and bearing and the very efficient lubrication of the said axle and bearing
thereby obtained.
At each end of the bearing containing the packed holes c, c we make a shallow
cross groove or depression e for assisting in the lubrication of the axle and
bearing and for keeping the bearing cool; and additional provision for keeping
the ends of the bearing cool is made by means of the series of three (or more)
equi-distant parallel holes or recesses f, f², f having preferably the diameter and
proportions represented. The middle hole fa at each end of the bearing is
longer than the side holes f, f and opens into the diamond shaped packed hole c.
Lubricant from the packed holes e may be conveyed by the said middle holes f³, fa
to the ends of the bearing.
Besides assisting in keeping the ends of the bearing cool the holes f,f,f
facilitate the expansion and contraction of the said ends by change of temperature.
of our
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that
we claim as our invention of "Improvements in bearings for the axles of railway
carriages and other railway "vehicles": -
First Providing the top bearing or top brass of a railway carriage or other
railway vehicle with two (or more) diamond or other shaped tapering holes or
openings filled or packed with sponge or other oil or grease absorbing material
for the purpose and substantially as herein before described and illustrated in
the accompanying drawing.
Secondly: Providing the ends of the top bearing or top brass of a railway
carriage or other railway vehicle with shallow cross grooves or channels marked e, e
for the purpose described; and also forming longitudinal parallel holes or
passages marked f, fs, f in the ends of the bearing for assisting in keeping the
ends of the bearing cool and for facilitating the expansion and contraction of the

page_text: said ends by change of temperature as described and illustrated in the accom-
panying drawing.
Dated this Twentieth day of April 1800
ARTHUR WESTLEY.
T. W. BOWKER.