【MPROVEMENTS IN RAILWAY WHEELS
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Richard Norton Allen, of Hudson, New York,
and Albert Benton Pullman, of Chicago, Illinois, both in the United
States of America, now of No. 8, Southampton Buildings, London,
for the Invention of 【MPROVEMENTS IN RAILWAY WHEELS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Richard Norton Allen
and Albert Benton Pullman at the Office of the Commissioners
of Patents, with their Petition, on the 27th March 1875.
We, RICHARD NORTON ALLEN, of Hudson, New York, and ALBERT
BENTON PULLMAN, of Chicago, Illinois, both in the United States of
America, now of No. 8, Southampton Buildings, London, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN RAILWAY
WHEELS," to be as follows: -

page_text: In the Specification of our former Letters Patent bearing date the
10th day of December, A.D. 1874, No. 4265, we have described a wheel
consisting of a metal tire and boss, an intermediate portion or body of
wood, and side plates or discs of metal; these parts being so fitted and
secured together that the said discs clamp the wood body between them
and are secured to the same by bolts passing through them and through
flanges on the tire and boss; but the said discs do not touch with their
periphery the inner surface of the tire, which is supported entirely by
the wood filling or body in order that the wheel may have the free
benefit of the natural elasticity of the wood.
Railway wheels with a body or filling of wood combined with a metal
tire, and with metal side plates and rings, and other like devices, have
been constructed in a variety of forms, but prior to the date of the said
Letters Patent no wheels have been constructed or known which have
side plates or discs fitted to clamp the wheel laterally without touching
and supporting the tire with their periphery, and therefore in these wheels
the benefit of the elasticity of the wood when such plates were used could
not be obtained.
In some instances rings instead of plates have, been used for uniting
the metal tire to the wood body or filling; such rings have obviously an
advantage over plates fitting tightly and filling the space between the
boss and the tire, and supporting the latter in so far as they permit to
a certain extent the free action of the natural elasticity of the wood.
And in the wheel known as the "Mansell" wheel this method of con-
struction has been carried into practice in a very advantageous manner.
But wheels constructed upon this principle are objectionable, for the
reason that there is no connection between the tire and the boss, except
by the wood filling or body, which in many cases is not strong enough
to resist the tortional or twisting strains to which railway wheels are
subject; and the wood portion of these wheels frequently becomes
detached from the centre or boss of the wheel, the wheel being then
useless and requiring to be replaced by a new one.
According to our present Invention we combine in a railway wheel
the side plates described in our aforesaid former Specification and the
rings for holding the tire, and we carry our said Invention into practise
as follows: We take one of the said "Mansell" wheels, or a similar
wheel, that is to say, a wheel that has a metal tire secured to a wood

page_text: body or filling by means of retaining rings which have flanges or pro-
jections that fit recesses or grooves in the sides of the tire and are
secured by bolts to the wood portion of the wheel; and we combine
therewith sides plates or discs, which clamp the wood body without
touching the tire, as described in our said former Specification.
The body or filling may be of wood and constructed in sections or in
any other suitable manner; or it may be of compressed paper, as
described in former Letters Patent granted to the said Richard Norton
Allen, dated the 14th August, A.D. 1874, No. 2810. The said side
plates or discs are secured to the wood body by screw bolts passed
transversely through the wheel, and are also secured to a flange or
flanges on the boss of the wheel, and the rings are secured to the said
plates by bolts or rivets. The holes in either the rings or plates are
elongated radially to allow the said bolts such freedom as will prevent
an absolutely rigid connection between the plates and rings. The said
metal rings are placed outside of the said plates, and although preferably
formed with flanges or projections, which enter annular grooves or
channels in the sides of the tire, as in the said "Mansell" wheels and
other railway wheels of similar construction, yet we do not confine our-
selves to such flanged rings, but may use any suitable rings in com-
bination with side plates which clamp the wood body of the wheel but
do not touch the tire in its inner surface. And instead of using two of
the aforesaid discs or plates we may construct our improved wheel with
a tire which has an inner flange or rim, as described in the last named
Specification, in combination with the said retaining rings, and with a
disc or plate on one side only of the wheel, the said plate being fitted to
the wheel without touching the tire radially, and being secured by trans-
verse bolts to the body or filling and the said inner flange of the tire, and
also to a flange on the boss of the wheel.
From the above description it will be obvious that the tire is supported
radially entirely by the wood or other elastic body, while the wheel has
great strength to resist tortional or twisting strains by reason of the
combination of the said plate or plates with the retaining rings and
body.

page_text: SPECIFICATION filed in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters
Patent, and of an Order of the Lord Chancellor, by the said
Richard Norton Allen and Albert Benton Pullman in the Great
Seal Patent Office on the 27th October 1875.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, RICHARD
NORTON ALLEN, of Hudson, New York, and ALBERT BENTON PULLMAN,
of Chicago, Illinois, both in the United States of America, now of No. 8,
Southampton Buildings, London, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Seventh day of May, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, in the thirty-
eighth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto us, the said Richard Norton Allen and Albert
Benton Pullman, Her special licence that we, the said Richard Norton
Allen and Albert Benton Pullman, our exccutors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as we, the said Richard Norton Allen and Albert
Benton Pullman, our 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 In-
vention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN RAILWAY WHEELS," upon the condition
(amongst others) that we, the said Richard Norton Allen and Albert
Benton Pullman, our executors or administrators, by an instrument in
writing under our, or their, or one of their hands and scals, 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 on or before the Twenty-seventh
day of October, One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five.
NOW KNOW YE, that we, the said Richard Norton Allen and Albert
Benton Pullman, do hereby declare the nature of our 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 accompanying Drawing forming a part of this
Specification
Our said Invention relates to the construction of wheels which have

page_text: In the Specification of our former Letters Patent bearing date the
10th December, A.D. 1874, No. 4265, we have described a wheel con-
sisting of a metal tire and boss, and intermediate portion or body of wood
and side plates or discs of metal, these parts being so fitted and secured
together, that the said discs clamp the wood body between them, and are
secured to the same by bolts passing through them and through flanges
on the tire and boss; but the said dises do not touch with their periphery
the inner surface of the tire, which is supported entirely by the wood
filling or body in order that the wheel may have the full benefit of the
natural elasticity of the wood.
Railway wheels with a body or filling of wood combined with a metal
tire, and with metal side plates and rings, and other like devices, have
been constructed in a variety of forms, but prior to the date of the said
Letters Patent no wheels have been constructed or known which have
side plates or discs fitted to clamp the wheel laterally without touching
and supporting the tire, and therefore in these wheels the benefit of the
clasticity of the wood when such plates were used could not be
obtained.
In some instances rings instead of plates have been used for uniting
the metal tire to the wood body or filling; such rings have obviously an
advantage over plates fitting tightly and filling the space between the
boss and the tire, and supporting the latter in so far as they permit to
a certain extent the free action of the natural elasticity of the wood.
And in the wheel known as the "Mansell" wheel this method of con-
struction has been carried into practice in a very advantageous manner.
But wheels constructed upon this principle are objectionable for the
reason that there is no connection between the tire and the boss, except
by the wood filling or body, which in many cases is not strong enough
to resist the tortional or twisting strains to which railway wheels are
subjected by the application of the brakes; and the wood portion of
these wheels frequently becomes detached from the centre or boss of the
wheel, the wheel being then useless and requiring to be replaced by a
new one.
According to our present Invention we combine in a railway wheel
the side plates described in our aforesaid former Specification and the
rings for holding the tire, and we carry our said Invention into practice
as follows:-We take one of the said "Mansell" wheels, that is to say, a
wheel that has a metal tire secured to a wood body or filling by means of

page_text: grooves in the sides of the che, and are secured by bolts to the
portion of the wheel; and we combine therewith side plates or discs,
which clamp the wood body without touching the tire, as described in
our said former Specification.
The wood body or filling may be constructed in sections, as described
in the said former Specification of the said Richard Norton Allen and
Albert Benton Pullman, dated 10th December 1874, No. 4265, or in any
other suitable manner.
In the accompanying Drawing Figures 1 and 2 are transverse sections
of wheels constructed according to our said Invention.
Figures 3, 4, and 5 are sections of portions of wheels drawn to an
enlarged scale.
Like letters indicate the same parts throughout the Drawing.
a is the boss or hub of the wheel; is the wood core body or filling;
c, c, are the side plates or discs; d is the tire; and c, e, are the aforesaid
rings. The side plates or discs c are secured to the wood filling 6 by
screw bolts passed transversely through the wheel, and are also secured
to a flange or flanges a¹ on the boss a of the wheel, and the rings e are
secured to the said plates by the bolts for rivets. The holes in
either the rings or plates are clongated radially, as shewn, to allow the
said bolts such freedom as will prevent an absolutely rigid connection
between the plates and rings. In Figures 1, 3, and 5 two metal rings
are placed outside of the side plates, and are shewn formed with flanges
or projections e³, which enter annular grooves or channels in the sides of
the tire d, as in the said "Mansell" wheels and other railway wheels of
similar construction. But we do not confine ourselves to such flanged
rings but may use any suitable rings in combination with side plates
which clamp the wood body of the wheel but do not touch the tire.
In Figures 1 and 3 we have shown the tire formed with an internal
web or flange d' at or near the centre, the bolts f passing through
elongated holes in the said web.
In Figures 2 and 4 we have shewn the said inner flange, rim, or web d',
at or near one side or face of the wheel, in combination with one retaining
ringe on the opposite side of the said wheel, and with discs or plates c
on both sides of the wheel. In some instances we may in this modi-

page_text: fication of our Invention use one disc only, the same being placed on the
opposite side of the wheel to the ring, and being secured by transverse
bolts to the body or filling and the said inner flange of the tire, and also
to a flange on the boss of the wheel. In Figure 5 we have shewn a
wheel with two side plates or discs c, two rings e, and a tire d, without
an inner flange, rim, or web.
From the above description it will be obvious that in all the forms
and modifications of our said Invention the side plates c are secured to
the tired by the rings e, and that the said discs are compressed or
bound laterally upon the wood body or filling b by the bolts or rivets
without touching the inner periphery of the tire, there being a space all
around the wheel between the said dises and the inner periphery of the
tire; the tire is therefore supported radially entirely by the wood body,
and has the full benefit of the natural clasticity of this material, and at
the same time the wheel has great strength to resist tortional or twisting
strains by reason of the combination of the said side plates or discs with
the wood body and the boss or hub of the wheel.
Having thus fully described our said Invention, and the manner of
performing the same, we wish it understood that we claim in a wheel
for railway purposes the combination of parts comprising the tire, the
flanged or other rings, the wood body or core, and the metal disc or discs
secured upon the said wood body and to the tire without touching
the latter through the medium of the said rings by means of bolts or
rivets, and to the flange of the bars, as herein set forth and for the
purposes specified.
In witness whereof, we, the said Richard Norton Allen and Albert
Benton Pullman, have hereunto set our hands and seals, this
Tenth day of April, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight
hundred and seventy-five.