IMPROVE- MENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF RAILWAY AND OTHER WHEELS, AND IN MACHINERY AND FURNACES USED IN THE SAID MANUFACTURE.” MACHINERY And Furnaces USED IN THE SAID MANUFACTURE
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Joseph Strickland, of Wednesbury, in the County
of Stafford, Foreman Boiler Maker, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF RAILWAY AND OTHER WHEELS, AND IN
MACHINERY AND FURNACES USED IN THE SAID MANUFACTURE.”
MACHINERY And Furnaces USED IN THE SAID MANUFACTURE.”
Sealed the 20th June 1873, and dated the 17th March 1873.
ROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Joseph Strickland at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 17th March 1873.
I, JOSEPH STRICKLAND, of Wednesbury, in the County of Stafford,
Foreman Boiler Maker, do hereby declare the nature of the said Inven-
tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF RAILWAY AND OTHER WHEELS,
AND IN MACHINERY AND FURNACES USED IN THE SAID MANUFACTURE," to be as
follows:-
-
My said Invention has reference principally to the manufacture from
iron or steel of the railway wheels commonly called Losh's wheels.
My said Invention is however applicable to the manufacture of other
kinds of railway wheels as well as to iron or steel wheels for other
purposes.

page_text: my.
I will describe my Invention in connection with the manufacture of
the wheel commonly known as a Losh's wheel, and in order that In-
vention may be the better understood, I remark that the spokes of a
Losh's wheel consist of a series of bars of iron, each of which is bent
nearly into the form of a triangle, the height of which considerably
exceeds the length of the base. The apex of each of these triangular
bars is fixed in a central boss, while the several bases of the said
triangular bars form an almost but not quite continuous circle, forming
the support of the tyre of the wheel. As the angles at the base of the
triangular bent bars are not well defined, there are left small triangular
spaces between adjacent spokes, which spaces are filled by welding
therein pieces called V or glut pieces. These pieces are ordinarily
welded in one at a time with the skeleton wheel in a vertical position.
By my Invention these V or glut pieces may be welded in their places
two at a time, or all simultaneously, the skeleton wheel being situated
horizontally during the welding process.
The machinery by which I effect the welding of the V or glut pieces
is constructed, arranged, and worked substantially as follows;-I arrange
horizontally on a cast-iron circular bed plate a number of hydraulic
cylinders corresponding to the number of spokes in the wheel which it
is intended to weld. These cylinders are arranged radially. In the
centre of the aforesaid bed plate is another bed plate on which the wheel
to be operated upon is supported. Underneath the last described bed
plate is a hydraulic cylinder and ram, and on the top of this ram as
many taper mandrils are fixed as there are spokes in the wheel to be
operated upon. To these mandrils I attach moveable blocks which have
a figure proper to act on and support the inner sides of the spokes of the
wheel. After the wheel has been heated it is placed in the machine,
and on the water under pressure being admitted into the vertical
cylinder the ram rises to the height required. The mandrils on the top
of the vertical ram push out the blocks to the inner side of those parts of
the triangular bent bars forming the periphery of the wheel. Bars of
iron previously heated and having in section the figure of the V or glut
pieces having been respectively brought opposite those parts of the wheel
requiring the said V or glut pieces, water under pressure is turned into
the cylinders on the bed plate, and the rams of the said cylinders simul-
taneously converge upon the wheel. Each of these rams carries a tool
having a figure proper to cut off from the heated bar, and to weld in the

page_text: required place a V or glut piece, and by the simultaneous advance of the
several tools, the required number of V or glut pieces are cut off and
welded at the same time into the small triangular spaces between the
adjacent spokes. The wheel is at the same time supported internally by
the moveable blocks described.
The furnace in which I heat the wheel and the V's or gluts, that is
the parts of the skeleton wheel to which the V or glut pieces are to be
welded, is so arranged that the fire space may be open from end to end.
The flame plays mostly upon the part of the spokes to which the V or
glut pieces are to be welded. The said furnace consists of a combination
of fires or furnaces, each having a separate tuyere or tuyeres supplying
either hot or cold blast.
The furnace is so constructed that it may be opened and closed either
by lifting up the upper part, or by lowering the bottom part. The
raising of the upper part of the furnace to permit of the introduction and
removal of the wheel may be effected by hydraulic or other power. The
moving of the wheel itself is effected by a crane.
pended from a crane.
sponding openings in
In heating and applying the V pieces to the wheel I proceed as
follows:-I secure a number of bars of Viron (corresponding to the
number of spokes in the wheel to be welded) to a frame or wheel sus-
The ends of these bars are lowered through corre-
the crown of a furnace and heated simultaneously
to a welding heat; they are then withdrawn from the furnace and con-
veyed by means of the crane to such a position that each bar can readily
be lowered into its place between the spokes of the wheel. The pressure
is then applied to the rams which, as already explained, cut off a portion
from each bar and weld the cut off portions to the spokes.
Although my Invention is especially applicable to the manufacture of
Losh's wheels, yet my said Invention may be applied to the manfacture
of what are known as solid spoke wheels, that is, wheels in which the
rim of the wheel is formed of a separate bar of iron and welded to the
spokes. For these wheels the arrangement of the furnace has to be
modified, but the general arrangement of the machine remains the
same.
The principal novelty of my Invention consists in welding two or

page_text: same time. I do not limit myself to the use of hydraulic power for
welding the wheel, as the pistons or rams may be acted upon by steam
with the same effect.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Joseph Strickland in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 13th September 1873.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOSEPH
STRICKLAND, of Wednesbury, in the County of Stafford, Foreman Boiler
Maker, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her :
Letters Patent, bearing date the Seventeenth day of March, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, in the
thirty-sixth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said Joseph Strickland, Her special
license that I, the said Joseph Strickland, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said Joseph Strickland, 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 MANUFACTURE OF RAILWAY AND OTHER WHEELS, AND IN MACHINERY AND
FURNACES USED IN THE SAID MANUFACTURE," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said Joseph Strickland, my executors or adminis-
trators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of
their hands and seals, should particularly 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 Joseph Strickland, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement thereof, that is to say :-

page_text: My said Invention has reference principally to the manufacture from
iron or steel of the railway wheels commonly called Losh's wheels. My
said Invention is however applicable to the manufacture of other kinds
of railway wheels as well as to iron or steel wheels for other purposes.
I will describe my Invention in connection with the manufacture of a
Losh's wheel, and in order that my Invention may be the better understood
I remark that the spokes of a Losh's wheel consist of a series of bars of
iron, each of which is bent nearly into the form of a triangle, the height
of which considerably exceeds the length of the base. The apex of each
of these triangular bars is fixed in a central boss, while the several bases
of the said triangular bars form an almost but not quite continuous circle
forming the support the tyre of the wheel. As the angles at the base
of the triangular bent bars are not well defined, there are left small
triangular spaces between adjacent spokes, which spaces are filled by
welding therein pieces called V or glut pieces. These pieces are
ordinarily welded in one at a time with the skeleton wheel in a vertical
position. By my Invention these V or glut pieces may be welded in their
places two at a time, or all simultaneously; the skeleton wheel being
situated horizontally during the heating and welding processes.
The machinery by which I effect the welding of the V or glut pieces
is constructed, arranged, and worked, substantially as follows:- I
arrange horizontally on a cast iron circular bed plate a number of
hydraulic cylinders corresponding to the number of spokes in the wheel
which it is intended to weld. These cylinders are arranged radially.
In the centre of the aforesaid bed plate is another bed plate, on which
the wheel to be operated upon is supported. Underneath the last
described bed plate is a hydraulic cylinder and ram, and on the top of
this ram as many taper mandrils are fixed as there are spokes in the
wheel to be operated upon. To these mandrils I attach moveable blocks,
which have a figure proper to act on and support the inner sides of the
spokes of the wheel. After the wheel has been heated it is placed in
the machine, and on the water under pressure being admitted into the
vertical cylinder the ram rises to the height required. The mandrils on
the top of the vertical ram push out the blocks to the inner side of those
parts of the triangular bent bars forming the periphery of the wheel.
Bars of iron previously heated and having in section the figure of the V
or glut pieces, having been respectively brought opposite those parts of

page_text: the wheel requiring the said V or glut pieces, water under pressure is
turned into the cylinders on the bed plate, and the rams of the said
cylinders simultaneously converge upon the wheel. Each of these rams
carries a tool having a figure proper to cut off from the heated bar and
to weld in the required place a V or glut piece, and by the simultaneous
advance of the several tools the required number of V or glut pieces
are cut off and welded at the same time into the small triangular
spaces between the adjacent spokes. The wheel is at the same time
supported internally by the moveable blocks described.
The furnace in which I heat the skeleton wheel and the V's or glut
pieces is so constructed that there are as many fire spaces or com-
partments in it as there are spokes in the wheel. Each fire space has a
separate tuyere supplying either hot or cold blast. The arrangement of
the furnace is such that the fire plays mostly on the parts of the spokes
to which the V or glut pieces are to be welded. The furnace may be
opened and closed either by lifting up the upper part or by lowering
the bottom part. The raising of the upper part of the furnace to permit
of the introduction and removal of the wheel may be effected by
hydraulic or other power. The moving of the wheel and glut pieces
is effected by a crane.
--
In heating and applying the V pieces to the wheel I proceed as
follows:- I secure a number of bars of V iron (corresponding to the
number of spokes in the wheel to be welded) to a circular frame
consisting of segmental or curved pieces and suspended from a crane.
The ends of these bars are lowered through correspondings opening in
the crown of a furnace, and heated simultaneously to a welding heat;
they are then withdrawn from the furnace and conveyed by means of
the crane to such a position that each bar can readily be lowered into
its place between the spokes of the wheel. The pressure is then applied
first to the vertical and afterwards to the horizontal rams, which latter,
as already explained, cut off a portion from each bar and weld the cut
off portions to the spokes.
Although my Invention is especially applicable to the manufacture of
Losh's wheels, yet my said Invention may be applied to the manufacture
of what are known as solid spoke wheels; that is, wheels in which the
rim of the wheel is formed of a separate bar of iron and welded to the

page_text: spokes. For these wheels the arrangement of the furnace may be
modified, but the general arrangement of the furnace and machine
remains the same.
The principal novelty of my Invention consists in welding two or
more V or glut pieces to spokes on opposite sides of the wheel at the
same time. I do not limit myself to the use of hydraulic power for
welding the wheel, as the pistons or rams may be acted upon by steam
or other power with the same effect.
I will now proceed to describe the manufacture of a Losh's wheel
according to my Invention, and the machinery and furnace employed
therein with reference to the accompanying Drawings.
Figure 1 represents in vertical section and elevation, and Figure 2 in
plan, the machinery by which I effect the welding of the V shaped or
glut pieces in a Losh's wheel according to my Invention. Figure 3 is
an elevation of part of the machine.
Figures 1 and 2. a is a cast iron bed plate, upon which a series of hori-
zontal hydraulic cylinders 6 is arranged radially, the number of the
said hydraulic cylinders corresponding to the number of spokes in the
wheel to be operated upon; c is another and smaller bed plate, concentric
with the bed plate a and supported on the hollow cylinder c³. On the bed
plate c the partially made wheel is supported during the welding process.
Within the hollow cylinder c³ and concentric therewith is a vertical
hydraulic cylinder d; e is the ram of the said hydraulic cylinder d.
This ram e carries a series of conical or taper mandrils f, f, equal in
number to the spokes of the wheel to be welded. To each of the conical
mandrils f two moveable blocks 9, 9, are attached, the said conical
mandrils engaging with the blocks g by means of dovetails f* on the
mandrils taking into dovetail seats in the blocks g, g. The said blocks
g, g, have a figure proper to fit and support during the welding process
the inner sides of the spokes of the wheel h, as will be understood by
an examination of Figure 2. After the partially formed wheel / has
been heated so as to bring the parts h³ to a welding heat fit for the
reception and welding therein of the glut pieces, the said wheel is
placed in the machine in the position represented in Figures 1 and 2.
The wheel to be welded is introduced into and removed out of the
heating furnace herein-after described and brought to the required place
in the welding machine Figures 1 and 2 by means of a crane; and the

page_text: machine by which the bars from which the glut pieces are cut are intro-
duced into and removed from the furnace and brought to their respective
places in the welding machine, Figures 1 and 2, is herein-after described.
Nearly simultaneously with the placing of the heated wheel on the base
plate c, the bars from the heated ends of which the glut pieces are to be
formed, are also brought into the machine, one of the said bars being
opposite each of the parts h³ of the wheel h, to which the glut pieces
have to be welded. The said bars are held vertically between the ends
of the cutting and welding tools 62, 63, and the spaces h³ of the wheel h.
The heated wheel h and bars from which the glut pieces are to be cut
having been brought into the welding machine, as represented, water
under pressure is admitted into the vertical cylinder d. The ram e rises
to the required height; the mandrils f, f, push out the blocks g, g, so
as to make them bear firmly against and support the parts h* and h² of
the triangular spokes h³ of the wheel, and thereby prevent any change
of figure in the said spokes during the welding process. The horizontal
hydraulic cylinders 6 have rams 63, to which are affixed cutting and
welding tools 62, the form of which will be understood by an examination
of Figures 1 and 2. After the raising of the ram e, as described, water
under pressure is admitted to all the horizontal hydraulic cylinders 6
simultaneously. The cutting and welding tools 6* advance and press the
lower ends of the glut bars into the parts ² of the wheel, and at the
same time cut off the required lengths from the said bars and weld them
to the parts h² of the wheel. It will be seen that wherever one of the
tools 6² is operating on the wheel, another of the said tools is at the same
time operating at a precisely opposite point, and the force thus applied
in effecting the welding is balanced at every point. wis the pipe by
which water under pressure is admitted into the horizontal cylinders b
to force out the cutting off and welding tools; x is the pipe by which
water is conveyed into the cylinders 6 to force back the rams &³, and
thereby to release the cutting and welding tools 62 and prepare the
machine for operating upon another wheel; y and y' are water cocks by
which the water may be stopped off from the cylinders 6 when they are
not required to be worked.
Figure 4 represents partly in elevation and partly in vertical section,
and Figure 5 partly in plan and partly in horizontal section, the furnace
by which I effect the heating of the spokes of the wheel and the glut

page_text: casing of wrought-iron boiler plates, and consists essentially of two
annular walls 3, 3. The annular space between the walls i³, 2³, con-
stitutes the interior of the furnaco i, while the cylindrical space k within
the inner wall constitutes a chamber in which the wheel / is supported
while the spokes are being heated. The boss of the wheel h is thus kept
cool. The furnace is supported on the vertical pipes p which also serve
to convey air or gas to the tuyeres 1, by which air or gas the combustion
in the furnace is maintained; j¹ are rods connected to the valves j of the
tuycres to regulate the admission of the air or gas into the fire-spaces of
the furnaco. The angular space between the walls 3, 3, is divided by
a series of vertical divisions by which the said annular space is divided
into as many separate heating spaces or compartments ** as there
are spokes in the wheel to be welded. is the water pipe for conveying
water to the nose of the tuyeres 1; p² are holes in air chamber to which
tuyere pipes and tuyeres may be fixed to outside of casing i of the
furnace; n is an ash-pit under cach heating space or compartment **;
o is the ash-pit cover, by sliding back which cover the ashes fall from
the fire-space into the ash-pit. The crown or cover of the furnace is
capable of being lifted from off the furnace to permit of the intro-
duction and removal of the wheel. The said cover or crown of the
furnace is raised and lowered by means of the following arrangement
of parts.
210 is a piston working in the water-tight cylinder fixed on the
bed plate q. The top of the piston carries the three branch beam 2³;
,, are vertical standards fixed respectively at their lower ends to the
branches of the beam &, and at their upper ends to the cover or crown
of the furnace. The plane at which the cover or crown & and furnace
separate is indicated by the line D; are channels in the crown or
cover of the furnace which open into the fire-spaces *. Into these
channels the bars m, from which the glut pieces are cut, are introduced
for the purpose of being raised to a welding heat. Around the furnace is
a series of sight holes r, r, through which the wheel can be seen
during the heating process. Fuel is fed into the furnace through the
doors & in the cover or crown ³. These doors are raised and lowered by
the levers which swivel on the standards 8³. In the crown or cover
is a radial opening for permitting of the passage of the chain by which
the wheel is put into and taken out of the furnace.
8
The operation of the furnace is as follows:-In order to put the wheel

page_text: 20
into the furnace water is forced into the cylinder ; the ram 10 is
thereby raised to the required height, and with it the beam 3, standards i",
and the cover or crown of the furnace. The wheel is then put into
its place in the furnace, as represented, and the cover or crown ** is then
lowered by allowing the water to pass out of the cylinder . The
fire-spaces,, having been previously provided with ignited fuel the
valves are opened, and the blast being turned on passes through the
pipes p, p, air chamber p³, and the tuyeres 1, 1, into the several fire-
spaces, . The fire urged by the blast from the tuyeres 1, 1, is deflected
by the under side of the top of the furnace into a nearly horizontal
direction directly upon that part of the wheel to be raised to a welding
heat, as indicated by the dotted line and arrow in Figure 4. The fire
next passes up the channels and thereby heats the glut bars m. By
this arrangement both the wheel and the glut bars are heated in the
same furnace with great economy of fuel. The heating process is
watched by the workman through the sight holes r till the wheel and
glut bars are raised to the required heat, when the blast is shut off and
the crown of the furnace raised by the admission of water under pressure
into the cylinder. The wheel h is then removed from the furnace to
the welding machine. By the arrangement of valves and fire-spaces
described and represented any number of spokes of the wheel and glut
bars from two to the whole number of spokes contained in the wheel
may be heated at one operation.
Although I prefer to heat the wheel and gluts in one furnace, as
represented, yet I do not confine myself thereto, as the wheel and gluts
may be heated in separate furnaces.
The machine by which the glut bars m are supported, and in which
. they are carried into and out of the furnace and to the welding machine,
is illustrated in plan in Figure 6, and in vertical section in connection
with the hydraulic crane in Figure 7.
Figure 8 represents the back of crane in elevation. a is the foundation
plate; b, the crane post; c, the cap bolted to the jacket d; e is a water
space, from which the valves f are supplied with water to regulate the
motion of the crane; g, h, i, are cylinders containing pistons j, k, l. To
the piston rods j and k are secured sheave pulley blocks, round which
the chains m¹ and m² work for the purpose of lifting and lowering the
wheel and glut bars. p³ are pulleys, over which the chains work;

page_text: q* are the tension rods; ³, the jib, which is connected at bottom
to the jacket d; & is a block fitted into the water space e at bottom,
and also fastened to the foundation a, round which the jacket
revolves; is a centre or pivot carrying the weight of the crane; o is
a rack connected at top to the piston 2, and taking into a pinion
on the shaft k¹ carrying the bevil wheel v, which bevil wheel
with the fixed bevil wheel v¹. By means of the said rack o and
gearing u, v, v¹, the crane may be moved round by actuating the
piston l.
gears
The apparatus, by which the glut bars are held, is suspended from the
chain m³, and consists of the following parts:-n is a circular frame
carrying holders q, q, in which the glut bars m are fixed by the screws p.
These holders q are capable of sliding in the direction of radii. This
sliding motion is effected by means of the hollow coner fixed to the
chaim m of the crane, which said cone has dovetail ribs &¹, which
engage in dovetail slides or seats 8 connected to the holders q by the
stays 8. When the parts are in the relative positions represented in
Figure 7, the glut bars m are at their greatest distance from the centre
of the holding frame n; and the lower ends of the glut bars m are
introduced into the furnace to be heated, and after being heated are
carried to the welding machine in this position. On lowering the frame "
so as to bring the lower ends of the heated glut bars m into the welding
machine opposite the parts h* (see Figure 2) of the wheel h to be operated
upon, the several glut bars m retain the position shown in Figure 7
until their lower ends are on the same level as the wheel h. The frame n
is incapable of descending lower in consequence of the chains t, t,
(Figure 7) arresting its further descending motion (but as the hollow
cone continues its descent after the motion of the frame n is arrested
the dovetail ribs & draw in the holders q, q, carrying the glut bars m,
and the lower heated ends of the said glut bars are thus made to
converge and station themselves in the parts h of the wheel h. After
they have been brought into this position the cutting and welding
tools 63 (Figure 1) are put into operation, and the cutting off and welding
of the gluts at the several points * effected.
The crane works as follows:-To lift the wheel or gluts it is only
necessary to open the valves and let the water into the top of the
cylinders g, h. The pistons in the said cylinders will thereby be forced
down and made to lift the wheel and gluts to the required positions. T

page_text: lower them the water is let out of the cylinders g, h, when the weight of
the wheel or glut bar frame will pull the chain and pistons back again.
To turn the crane round, water is admitted into the cylinder i; the
piston is thereby forced down. In its descent it brings the rack o
with it. This rack gives rotation to the pinion u, which, being keyed 5
fast to the short shaft k¹ of the bevel pinion v, causes the latter to
advance on the fixed bevil wheel v¹ connected to the foundation plate a,
and incapable of motion. The cylinders are all fixed to the jacket d and
turn round with the crane, and are so arranged that one cylinder lifts
the wheel only, the other lifting the gluts, the said cylinders working 10
independently of each other.
Figure 9 represents in plan the general arrangement of a welding
machine, furnaces, and cranes which I prefer to employ in practicing
my Invention.
A is a plan of the welding machine; w are the waste water pipes 1
joined in the manner represented to the furnace, cranes, and machine;
fare the feed pipes attached to the same, and are the valves for
regulating the supply and escape of the water.
B is a plan of the top of the furnace; t are the doors by which the
furnace is fed with fuel; are the spaces through which the gluts are 20
put to be heated, and y is the chain space.
B' is a plan of the furnace showing the fire-spaces q and the par-
titions a¹.
Bs is a plan of the furnace, showing the valves j with their rods x
attached for regulating the quantity of air passing into the fires.
B' is a plan of the furnace showing how the tuyeres are fixed in the
fire-spaces q.
C, 0%, C³, and C, show the positions in which the cranes are fixed,
and the relation in which they stand to the welding machine and
furnace.
2
8
It will be seen that there are four furnaces and four cranes to one
welding machine. As the cutting off and welding of the gluts to the
wheel is effected in a much shorter time than is required for raising the
wheel and glut bars to a welding heat, one of the welding machines
A is capable of welding as many wheels and gluts as can be brought to 3

page_text: a welding heat by the four furnaces B, B², B³, B'. I do not, however,
confine myself to the arrangement represented in Figure 9, nor to any
particular number or arrangement of furnaces and cranes in connection
with one welding machine.
In applying my Invention to the manufacture of solid spoke wheels,
the blocks g, g, of the welding machine are shaped to fit the spokes of
the said wheels, the action of the cutting and welding tools and of the
other parts of the machine being the same as already described,
excepting that only two or four gluts are required in each of the said
wheels. The said solid spoke wheels are made in two or more parts,
the spokes being welded at right angles to the flat bars from which the
rim of the wheel is formed. The said flat bars being bent into semi-
circles, or other portions of circles, their ends are joined so as to form
the circular rim by the insertion and welding between the opposed ends
of the several parts of gluts of the kind herein-before described.
The furnace in which the ends of the parts to be made into the rim
of the wheel and the glut bars from which the gluts are to be cut
differs in no essential respect from the furnace herein-before described.
The heated rim of the wheel and gluts being introduced into the
welding machine, Figures 1 and 2, modified as described, and the sup-
porting blocks g having been raised to the required level, the welding
tools 6º advance simultaneously and weld the gluts between the ends of
the parts of the rim.
Having now described the nature of my Invention, and the manner in
which the same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that I do
not limit myself to the precise details herein described and illustrated,
as the same may be varied without departing from the nature of my
Invention; but I claim as my Invention,-
Firstly. The improvements in the manufacture of railway and other
wheels, herein-berore described and illustrated in the accompanying
Drawings, that is to say, simultaneously welding two or more glut pieces
to the required parts of such railway and other wheels as require glut
pieces, the welding of a glut piece on one side of the wheel being
accompanied by the simultaneous welding of a glut piece at the opposite
side of the wheel, the wheel being situated, and the welding tools
working horizontally, substantially as described and illustrated; also

page_text: the application of the same method of manufacture to solid spoke
wheels.
Secondly. The construction and combination or arrangement of the
parts of machinery, substantially as herein-before described and illus-
trated in Figures 1, 2, and 3 of the accompanying Drawings, for the
simultaneous cutting off and welding in their places of the glut pieces of
such railway and other wheels as require glut pieces.
Thirdly. The construction and combination or arrangement of the
parts of furnaces, herein-before described and illustrated in Figures 4
and 5 of the accompanying Drawings, for heating the spokes of railway
and other wheels, and the glut bars from which gluts are cut and welded
to the spokes, and also heating the rims and glut bars for solid spoke
railway and other wheels.
Lastly. The construction and combination or arrangement of the parts
of machinery, herein-before described and illustrated in Figures 6, 7, 1
and 8 of the accompanying Drawings, for introducing into and removing
from the heating furnace a series of glut bars, and introducing the heated
glut bars into the welding machine, and bringing them into the proper
positions relative to the wheel for the cutting off of portions of the said
bars and welding them to the wheel.
In witness whereof, I, the said Joseph Strickland, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Eleventh day of September, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
three.
2
Witness,
GEORGE SHAW.
JOSEPH STRICKLAND. (L.S.)