IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF RAILWAY WHEELS AND TYRES, AND IN THE APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN
Year: 1859

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Owen, of Rotherham, in the County of
York, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE
OF RAILWAY WHEELS AND TYRES, AND IN THE APPARATUS EMPLOYED
THEREIN."-Partly a communication from Robert Owen, residing at San
Geronimo, Central America.
Sealed the 29th September 1859, and dated the 6th April 1859.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Owen at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
6th April 1859.
I, WILLIAM OWEN, of Rotherham, in the County of York, Engineer,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
THE MANUFACTURE OF RAILWAY WHEELS AND TYRES, AND IN THE APPARATUS
EMPLOYED THEREIN," (partly communicated to me by Robert Owen, residing at
San Geronimo, Central America,) to be as follows:-
This Invention relates, first, to an improved method of combining the felloes
and the tyres, or any other parts of railway wheels, and consists in forming a
dovetailed or other like hole, groove, or recess in the tyre or other of the two
parts to be combined, and in forcing into this hole, groove, or recess, tho

page_text: heated end of a rivet or bolt, or the heated end or edge of a bar or plate in
such manner that the metal shall be expanded in the said hole, groove, or
recess, and thereby be caused to hold the parts firmly together. I do not
confine myself to any form of rivet, bolt, bar, or plate, or to any precise form
of hole, groove, or recess, but the latter must be formed that when the metal
is expanded within it, the expanded portion shall be incapable of passing out
again.
This Invention relates, secondly, to improved methods of and apparatus for
forming and combining the several parts of railway wheels and their tyres, as
berein-after described. According to one method, I form the felloe of the
wheel with parts of two different diameters, or with alternate portions of the
periphery of two different radii, and also, by preference, of a dovetailed form.
The tyre of the wheel is formed with a corresponding dovetailed groove all
round its interior, and with parts of its internal edge cut away, so as to allow
of the large alternate portions of the felloe being dropped into the recess in
the tyre, and then to be turned round in the tyre so as to lock themselves in
the dovetailed groove. This brings the alternate small portions of the felloe
to the recessed portions of the tyre, and the vacant spaces thus left are filled
up by plates of a suitable shape, which may be rivetted to the felloe.
Again, in order to facilitate and improve the manufacture of railway wheels
by means of dies under a powerful bammer, I form the parts in one or
other of the following ways, my object being to provide either for heating all
the parts at once, or for heating any two or more of them separately, and then
bringing them together in a heated state to be acted upon by the hammer
dies. This latter method is entirely novel, and is part of this Invention. I
sometimes form the nave, or parts which are to form a nave (by stamping in
dies or otherwise), with sloping or inclined projections, to receive corresponding
ends of spokes, and in some cases I also recess the nave and form the spoke
with projections to fit in the recesses. In other cases I form the spokes with
enlarged ends of such a form that when all the ends are brought together and
a ring of metal is added above them and another below them, and the whole
are welded by dies under the hammer, the enlarged ends of the spokes and
the rings together form the nave. In other cases I form the nave in two
parts, which receive the spokes and weld into one with them. I form
the spokes and felloes of wheels by rolling bar iron into a suitable form
(in section), and then bending it in such manner that each piece shall
form two half spokes, and the part of the felloe between them, the angular
spaces which are left at the bends being filled in by suitable small angular
pieces which are heated and welded in with the principal parts of the wheel.

page_text: In forming spokes with thickened ends I prefer to heat the end of the
bar which is to form the spoke, and then place the heated end in a suitable
die, and by a blow from a hammer force the heated part to fill the interior of
the die, thereby causing it to assume the desired form. Or I sometimes prefer to
5 slit the heated end by means of a saw or other arrangement, bend or loop the slit
portions out by means of a punch or other tool, and then fill up the space thus
formed with a separate piece of metal of suitable shape, and weld the parts
together. In forming the felloes or rims of railway wheels, when these are
not made in the same piece or pieces with the spokes, I roll a bar of iron with
either recessed or inclined projections upon one side of it for receiving tho
abutting ends of the spokes in order to improve the connection between the
two when the weld takes place, or the same bar may be plain without pro-
jecting, or this bar may have projections rolled upon it to fit in between the
elbow bends of spokes. In forming tyres I either pile a number of flat rings
upon one another, or place a number of concentric rings one within the other
in such manner that when the whole are heated and subjected to the
action of hammer dies they will all weld into one solid tyre, the spokes
being simultaneously welded thereto, if desired. In some cases, in
order to avoid the waste of metal which results from the heating of all
the parts of the wheel or the whole of any two or more parts of
the wheel up to a white heat for welding, I encase or cover over the
portions which do not require to be heated by any suitable fire-resisting
material, being only the parts to be heated exposed to the fire of the furnace,.
and I sometimes employ a second or supplementary reverberatory furnace, the,
plane of which is led up through or by the side of the principal furnace, in
order to heat the interior of the nave or other part or parts of the wheel which
it may be difficult or impossible to heat simultaneously with the junctions of
the spokes and felloes, or with other parts by means of a single furnace.
Again, in order to give proper forms to railway wheel tires, or to other parts
of railway wheels by means of dies under a hammer, I form dies with
movable portions; which may be moved out of place when the heated wheel.
or heated part of the wheel is to be placed in the lower or stationary die or
matrix, and returned into place before the blow of the hammer is struck.
These movable portions are furnished with springs and catches to restore them
to and keep them in their proper position.
Again, I form tyre for a railway wheel from a bar of wrought iron, or
puddled steel, hammered into a suitable form, in transverse section, the piles
being first so arranged that there shall be a portion of them, that is, the
junction of two adjacent surfaces in the direction of the length of the said
:

page_text: bar, which shall be prevented from welding, so that when the bar is drawn
out the unwelded surfaces may be separated and the whole opened out into a
circular form, so as to form the tyre ready for the rolling mill.
Finally, in order to use up waste materials, such as wrought-iron turnings,
parings, or other pieces produced at the lathe or otherwise, I force such pieces
by hydraulic pressure or otherwise, into suitably formed dies, and then heat
them and work them up into railway wheels or parts of railway wheels by any
of the means herein-before described.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Owen in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
6th October 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
OWEN, of Rotherham, in the County of York, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Sixth day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, in the twenty-second year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said William Owen Her special licence that I, the said William
Owen, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said William Owen, 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 TYRES, AND IN THE
APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN," (partly communicated to me by Robert Owen,
residing at San Geronimo, Central America,) upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said William Owen, my executors or administrators, 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 William Owen, 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 follow-

page_text: ing statement thereof, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed,
that is to say:-
This Invention relates, first, to an improved method of combining the felloes
and the tyres, or any other parts of railway wheels, and consists in forming a
dovetailed or other like hole, groove, or recess in the tyre or other of the two
parts to be combined, and in forcing into this hole, groove, or recess the
heated end of a rivet or bolt, or the heated end or edge of a bar or plate, in
such manner that the metal shall be expanded in the said hole, groove, or
recess, and thereby be caused to hold the parts firmly together. I do not
confine myself to any form of rivet, bolt, bar, or plate, or to any precise form
of hole, groove, or recess, but the latter must be so formed that when the
metal is expanded within it, the expanded portion shall be incapable of passing
out again.
This Invention relates, secondly, to improved methods of, and apparatus for
forming and combining the several parts of railway wheels and their tyres, as
herein-after described. According to one method, I form the felloe of the
wheel with parts of two different diameters, or with alternate portions of the
periphery of two different radii, and also by preference of a dovetailed form.
The tyre of the wheel is formed with a corresponding dovetailed groove all
round its interior, and with parts of its internal edge cut away so as to allow of
the large alternate portions of the felloe being dropped into the recesses in the
tyre, and then to be turned round in the tyre so as to lock themselves in the
dovetailed groove.
This brings the alternate small portions of the felloe.
opposite to the recessed portions of the tyre, and the vacant spaces thus left
are filled up by plates of a suitable shape which may be rivetted to the felloc.
Again, in order to facilitate and improve the manufacture of railway wheels
by means of dies under a powerful hammer, I form the parts in one or other
of the following ways, my object being to provide either for heating all the
parts at once, or for heating any two or more of them separately, and then
bringing them together in a heated state to be acted upon by the hammer dies;.
this latter method is entirely novel, and is part of this Invention. I some-
times form the nave, or parts which are to form a nave (by stamping in
dies or otherwise) with sloping or inclined projections to receive cor-
responding ends of spokes, and in some cases I also recess the nave, and
form the spokes with projections to fit in the recesses. In other cases,
I form the spokes with enlarged ends of such a form that when all the ends
are brought together, and a ring of metal is added above them, and another.
below them, and the whole are welded by dies under the hammer; the enlarged
ends of the spokes and the rings together form the nave.
In other cases.

page_text: I form the nave in two parts which receive the spokes and weld into one with
them. I form the spokes and felloes of wheels by rolling bar iron into a suit-
able form (in section), and then bending it in such manner that each piece
shall form two half spokes and the part of the felloe between them, the angular
spaces which are left at the bends being filled in by suitable small angular pieces,
which are heated and welded in with the principal parts of the wheel. In form-
ing spokes with thickened ends, I prefer to heat the end of the bar which
is to form the spoke, and then place the heated end in a suitable die, and by
a blow from a hammer force the heated part to fill the interior of the die,
thereby causing it to assume the desired form; or, I sometimes prefer to slit
the heated end by means of a saw or other arrangement, bend or loop the slit
portions out by means of a punch or other tool, and then fill up the space thus
formed with a separate piece of metal of suitable shape, and weld the parts
together. In forming the felloes or rims of railway wheels, when these are
not made in the same picco or pieces with the spokes, I roll a bar of iron with
either recessed or inclined projections upon one side of it for receiving the
abutting ends of the spokes, in order to improve the connection between the
two when the weld takes place, or the same bar may be plain without
projections; or this bar may have projections rolled upon it to fit in between
the elbow bends of spokes. In forming tyres I either pile a number of flat
rings upon one another, or place a number of concentric rings one within the
other in such manner that when the whole are heated and subjected to the
action of hammer dies, they will all weld into one solid tyre, the spokes being
simultaneously welded thereto if desired. In some cases in order to avoid the
waste of metal which results from the heating of all the parts of the wheel
or the whole of any two or more parts of the wheel up to a white heat
for welding, I encase or cover over the portions which do not require
to be heated by any suitable fire-resisting material, leaving only the parts
to be heated exposed to the fire of the furnace, and I sometimes employ
a second or supplementary reverberatory furnace, the flame of which is
led up through or by the side of the principal furnace, in order to heat the
interior of the nave or other part or parts of the wheel which it may be
difficult or impossible to heat simultaneously with the junctions of the spokes
and felloes, or with other parts by means of a single furnace. Again, in order
to give proper forms to railway wheel tyres, or to other parts of railway
wheels by means of dies under a hammer, 1 form dies with movable portions
which may be moved out of place when the heated wheel or heated part of
the wheel is to be placed into the lower or stationary die or matrix, and
returned into place before the blow of the hammer is struck. These movable

page_text: portions are furnished with springs and catches to restore thein to and keep
them in their proper position. Again, I form a tyre for a railway wheel from
a bar of wrought iron or puddled steel hammered into a suitable form in
transverse section, the piles being first so arranged that there shall be a
portion of them that is the junction of two adjacent surfaces in the direction
of the length of the said bar which shall be prevented from welding, so that
when the bar is drawn out, the unwelded surfaces may be separated, and the
whole opened out into a circular form, so as to form the tyre ready for the
rolling mill. Finally, in order to use up waste materials, such as wrought iron
turnings, parings, or other pieces produced at the lathe or otherwise, I force
such pieces by hydraulic pressure or otherwise into suitably formed dies, and
then beat them and work them up into railway wheels or parts of railway
wheels, by any of the means herein-before described.
In the Drawings hereunto annexed, I have illustrated the manner in which I
carry the several parts of my Invention into effect. The first part is illustrated
in Figures 1 to 9. In the section Figure 1, A is the felloe, B, the tyre, and
C the rivet; the tyre B has formed in its interior a groove b, b, which expands
inwards as shown in Figure 1, and may run entirely round the tyre as in-
dicated in the reduced section, Figure 2, which is taken at right angles to
Figure 1, and through the groove b, b. The rivet C is made of the ordinary
cylindrical form, and long enough to allow the point or end c of it to expand
In com-
in the groove b, b, and fill it in one direction as shown in Figure 1.
bining the parts, the end c is heated as usual, and passed through the felloc A
into the groove b, b, being there expanded by pressure, as before described.
Figure 3 illustrates an arrangement similar to that shown in Figures 1 and 2,
but in this case the felloe and tyre are further locked together by means of
the inclined annular projection d, formed on the felloe, taking into a corre-
sponding groove formed in the tyre, as shown. Figure 4 is similar to Figure 3,
excepting that the felloe is made broader, so as to be flush with the inner face
of the tyre, and the rivet is placed near that side. Figures 5, 6, and 7,
illustrate a still further modification of Figure 3, the rivet in this case being
placed quite on one side of the felloe, which is cut away to receive it, and
being formed with a stout bent outer end or hook, as shown at e, Figuro 6
instead of the ordinary head. The felloe may in this case be originally formed
with spaces to receive the rivets, as shown at e', Figure 6*, which with Figure 7
is on a scale similar to that of Figure 2, about one-fourth of the full size of
an ordinary railway wheel. The remainder of the Figures from 1 to 9 being
about full size. Figure 8 shows a modification of Figure 4. In this cnsc
the inner face of the felloe is flush with that of the tyre, both being cut away

page_text: at intervals to receive a rivet or bolt f, of the form shown detached by the
side of Figure 8. The groove to receive the expanded end g of the rivet or
bolt is in this case formed in the inner face of the tyre. Or, instead of ƒ being
a rivet or bolt, it may be an annular plate extending entirely around the inner
face of the tyre and felloe, the section of it being represented by the detached
Figure f.g; the felloe will in this case be throughout of the sectional form, shown.
at A, Figure 8. Figure 9 is a modification of Figure 1, the rivetting process
being precisely the same in both; but in Figure 9 the felloe is of a form
expanding outwards in section, as shown at h, h, and the tyre is grooved to a
corresponding form internally. In order to pass the tyre on to the felloe it
will be necessary in this case either to heat the tyre and open out one or other
of the projecting portions i, i, or else to so form the tyre originally that it will
admit the felloe, and admit of a portion of it being afterwards folded down
into the form i; or the felloe may be formed of two rings or annular plates.
In Figures 10 and 11 I have shown a side view and transverse section
respectively of a wheel constructed with the parts of the felloe of different radii.
as before set forth. The upper half of Figure 11 is taken through the line
X, Y, of Figure 10, and the lower half through the line X, Z, of that Figure,
or through the rivet in one case and intermediately in the other. The tyre is
grooved internally throughout with a locking groove, as shown at d, d,
Figure 11, and is further cut away at intervals c, c, as shown at Figures 10
and 11. The portions A, A, of the felloes are of a radius equal, or all but
equal to X, a, so that they will just fall into the cut away spaces c, c. The
portions B, B, are of a radius equal to X, 6, so that they will not enter the
said spaces c, c, when brought opposite to them. The connection between the
felloe and tyre is effected by passing the portions A, A, of the felloe into the
spaces c, c, of the tyre, then turning the felloe round within the tyre, or the tyre
around the felloc until the portions B, B, of the felloe come opposite to the
spaces c, c, the portions A, A, locking themselves meanwhile in the groove of
the tyre where the said tyre is not cut away. This turning of the one within
or around the other leaves the spaces c, c, vacant; these are therefore filled up
with suitably formed plates provided with rivet holes to receive expanding
rivets e, e, applied according to the first part of this Invention.
Figure 12 is a section of a nave formed with sloping or inclined projections
to receive corresponding ends of spokes, as shown in the section and side view,
Figures 13 and 14, according to the next part of this Invention. Naves and
spokes thus formed are to be heated and welded together by hammer dies, as
already explained. If preferred the projections may be formed on the spokes,
and the nave be recessed to receive them, as will be readily understood without

page_text: a. Drawing of the plan; or the nave may be formed as shown in Figure 15,
and the spokes as shown in the edge view, Figure 16, and the side view
Figure 17, the nave and spokes being brought together and surmounted by a
ring, Figure 18, as shown in the sectional view, Figure 19, and the side view,
Figure 20, the spokes, nave, and ring, being all heated and welded together
by the hammer dies.
Figure 21 is an edge view, and Figure 22 a side view of a spoke formed
so that when the larger ends a, a, of several such spokes are brought together
and have a ring, Figure 23, placed below them, and a similar one above them,
and all are welded together by hammer dies A and B, as shown in section,
Figure 24, they will form a nave.
Figure 25 is a plan view of one half of the lower die A, and Figure 26 is a
side elevation of the same.. Figures 27 and 28 illustrate a plan of forming
spokes with enlarged ends, to make naves as just described.
A is a.
piece of iron of the peculiar section shown in Figure 27, and which is
cut into suitable lengths, and placed as shown between the ends of two
spokes B, which spokes may be conveniently formed in one, with a portion
of the felloe, out of a single piece of metal as shown. The ends of the
spokes B, B, and the piece A are heated to a welding heat, and are then.
welded solidly together in suitable dies, such as those illustrated in front view,
Figure 29, and side view, Figure 30. Instead of employing detached
pieces A to fill up between the ends of the spokes for the aforesaid purpose,.
bars may be rolled with enlarged parts a, a, as shown in edge view, and side
view, Figures 31 and 32, and these will not require the insertion of the
picces A, A. Figures 33 and 34 show two views of a bar bent with an eye
at one end, in which eye is inserted a block of iron C. The eye and
the block are heated to a welding heat, and welded together in dies (like
those in Figures 29 and 30, say), so as to form a segment for the nave
of a wheel, the other end of the bar being welded to the felloe.
Figure 35 is a section, and Figure 36 a plan of one half of a balf nave,
such as I employ when I form the nave in two parts. Two such half naves
are brought together with the ends of spokes inserted between them, as shown.
in Figures 37 and 38; and both halves, together with the spoke ends,
are welded solidly into one. Figure 39 is a half plan of another half nave,
two of which are combined with spokes, as shown in Figures 40 and 41, the
whole being welded as in the preceding case.
In describing Figures 27 and 28, 1 have already shown one example of the
manner in which I form spokes and felloes of wheels, by rolling bar iron into.
a suitable form (in section, and then bending it in such manner that each.

page_text: picco shall form two half spokes, and the part of the felloe between them, or
any other number of half spokes and portions of felloes, may be formed of a
single piece by similarly bending a piece of sufficient length for the purpose,
as indicated in Figure 38*, where all are formed out of one piece. Again, in
Figures 38 and 41, I have shown other examples of this plan of construction.
In Figures 42 and 43, I have shown further examples of the same plan,
combined with the plan of forming the nave in two pieces. Figures 44 and
45 arc views of angular picces, stamped out in such form as to fill up
the angular spaces a and b, which are left at the bends, the said pieces being
ultimately welded into one with the felloe in the one case, and with the nave
and spokes in the other.
In Figures 46, 47, 48, and 49, I bave shown sections of a few forms of
dies and hammers or hammer punches for forming spokes with thickened
ends, as previously described. In each of theso Figures, A is the fixed die,
B, the hammer die or hammer punch, and C, the spoke end. Another illus-
tration of such dies and hammers has already been given in Figures 29 and
30. In some cases I prefer, as before stated,) to form the spokes between dies,
like those shown.in Figures 50 and 51 (sections at right angles to each other),
and after cutting the spokes off to their lengths, as indicated in Figure 52, to
slit the heated end by means of a saw or other arrangement, as shown in
Figure 53, which is an edge view of Figure 52, and then to spread out the
two parts by means of the tool shown in Figures 54 and 55. A piece of
metal of the form shown at A, Figure 56, is then placed between the two
parts, and they are folded down over it, as shewn in that Figure. The
spoke end thus prepared is then heated to a welding heat, and shaped in
suitable dies.
My method of rolling iron bars for felloes with recessed projections upon
one side of them for receiving the abutting ends of the spokes, as before
explained, is illustrated in the plan view, Figure 57, and the edge view
Figuro 58, a, a, a, being the recessed projections, into each of which the end
b, b, of a spoke, Figures 59 and 60 are inserted. The other ends of the
spokes may either be of the plain form, shown in the latter Figures, or of the
form shewn in Figures 61 and 62, which is adapted to form a segment of a
nave according to a previous part of the Invention. In order to ensure
a good weld between the parts a, a, of the felloe and b, b, of the spokes, dies
A and B, Figure 63 (shown in half only) may be used with advantage. The
end of the spoke is inclined and brought against an inclined fixed centre
block C, so that when the upper or hammer die A is brought down, and the
spoke is forced down with it, the inclined block C forces the spoke endwiso

page_text: into the felloe, and ensures a good weld. A plan view of one half of the die
B is shown in Figure 64.
In forming tyres, as I have previously stated, I either pile a number of flat
rings upon one another, as shown in Figure 65, and weld them together in
dies as shown in Figure 66, or I place a number of concentric rings, one
within another, as shown in Figure 67, and weld them in suitable dies. In
Figures 68 and 69 I have shown two views of a part of a wheel prepared for
heating and welding, of which wheel the nave is formed in two halves, the
felloe is formed of sections, each of which is in one with two half spokes, and
the tyre of which is formed of flat rings laid one upon another; Figure 70
shows a plan view, and Figure 71 a section of a portion of the half nave of
this wheel; Figure 72 is a half section of a pair of dies suitable for welding
all the parts of this wheel together simultaneously, Figure 78 being a plan
view of the corresponding part of the lower die.
I have before said that to prevent waste of material from heating portions
of the wheels unnecessarily, I encase or cover over the portions which do
not require to be heated by any suitable fire-resisting material, leaving only
the parts to be heated exposed to the fire of the furnace. An example of this
arrangement will be found in Figures 74 and 75, adapted to the heating of the
welding parts of felloes and spokes, and of spokes and the nave simultaneously.
A, A, are blocks of fire-clay or other fire-resisting material, for supporting the
felloe; B is a block of similar material for supporting the nave; and C, C,
are blocks of similar material for supporting the spokes; and D, D, blocks for
protecting them from the heat of the furnace in which the whole is placed;
Figure 76 is a transverse section, taken through a block C and a spoke;
Figure 77 is a full-size section of the spoke and its cover. In Figure 78 [
have shewn a wheel, with the felloe and the ends of the spokes only exposed
to the action of the furnace fire. The wheel rests upon a block of fire-
resisting material A, and is nearly covered by the dise B of similar material;
Figure 79 is a half plan, with the covering piece B removed.
In Figure 80 I have shown a longitudinal vertical section of a double
furnace, constructed for the purpose of better enabling me to heat the interior
of the nave simultaneously with the junctions of the spokes and felloes or other
parts. This furnace has two sets of grate bars C and D, on which the fire is
placed, E, E, being the ash-pits. The directions which the flames of the two
fires take are indicated by arrows, both leading to a single stack G. II, H',
are the fire hole doors of the respective furnaces; I is the wheel, the nave of
which is subject to the reverberatory action of the upper furnace, and also to
the action of the lower furnace.

page_text: In Figure 81 I have shown a vertical section, and in Figure 82 a half plan
of a pair of dies formed with movable portions which may be moved out of
place as described in a former part of this Specification. A is the lower dic
which is formed with the movable portions B, B, C, C, and is provided with
an interior wedge block D; E is the tyre as it lies in the mould when com-
pleted; F is the upper dic. The pieces B, B, are furnished with the springs
G, G, H, H, and with the catches I, I, to restore them to and keep them in
their proper positions. The block D has also a spring beneath it for raising
it when the die F is lifted. This arrangement of dies is particularly applicable
to the welding into one of the several rings of which a tyro like that repre-
sented in Figure 67 is composed. When the tyre is to be welded, the
die F is raised, and then the pieces B, B, are raised and withdrawn, being
held back by the catches I, taking into the holes i. The spring beneath the
block D raises that block and allows the pieces C, C, to fall back from the
tyre. The heated tyre is then dropped in, and the pieces B, B, are brought
forward and dropped into their positions as shewn in the Figures. The die
or hammer F then descends and striking upon the block D forces it down,
thus driving the pieces C, C, outwards, and effectually welding the rings of
the tyre.
In carrying out that part of my Invention which relates to the using up of
waste materials, such as wrought-iron turnings, parings, &c., I sometimes
form an entire wheel by filling a die or mould like that represented in longi-
tudinal section in Figure 83, and in plan in Figure 84, with such waste
picces, heating them in a suitable furnace to a welding heat, then placing
them in a finishing die, and welding them by hammering or pressing into a
sound wheel; Figures 85 and 86 show two views of a box for the purpose
of holding scraps, which scraps, with the box, are put into a furnace and heated
to a welding heat, and then by suitable dies are pressed into the upper or
lower halves of the parts forming the naves. Other parts of a wheel may be
formed in like manner, the process being applicable to both carriage and
engine wheels..
In the Drawings hereunto annexed and before described I have shown only
the best methods with which I am acquainted of carrying the several parts of
my Invention into effect, but in every case the arrangements shown may be
varied, and other equivalent arrangements adopted without departing from the
essential features of my Invention set forth in my Provisional Specification,
and in the first part of my present Specification.
And having now described the nature of my said Invention, and in what
manner the saine may be performed, I declare that I claim, first, the method

page_text: of combining the felloes and the tyres or any other parts of railway wheels
by forming a dovetailed or other like hole, groove, or recess in the tyre or
other of the two parts to be combined, and in forcing into this hole, groove,
or recess the heated end of a rivet or bolt, or the heated end or edge of a bar
or plate in such manner that the metal shall be expanded in the said hole,
groove, or recess, and thereby be caused to hold the parts firmly together,
essentially as herein-before described and illustrated in the Drawings hereunto
annexed.
Secondly, the method of constructing railway wheels by forming the felloe
with parts of different radii, and locking the same in a tyre formed with an
internal locking groove essentially as herein-before described and illustrated
in Figures 10 and 11 of the Drawings hereunto annexed.
Thirdly, the method of constructing railway wheels by forming any two or
more parts thereof separately, heating any two or more of them separately,
and then bringing them together in a heated state to be acted upon by dies,
and thereby welding into one.
Fourthly, the several methods of forming the naves, spokes, felloes, and
tyres of railway wheels herein-before described and illustrated in the Drawings
hereunto annexed.
Fifthly, the method of avoiding the waste of motal which results from
the beating of all the parts of the wheel, or the whole of any two or
inore parts of the wheel, up to a white heat for welding by encasing or
covering over the portions which do not require to be heated, by any
suitable fire-resisting material leaving only the parts to be heated exposed
to the fire of the furnace as herein-before described.
Sixthly, the construction and employment of a double furnace, or of two
combined furnaces, for facilitating the heating of any two or more parts of a
wheel which it would be difficult to heat simultaneously otherwise, as herein-
beforo described.
Seventhly, the method of forming dies for welding the parts of railway
wheels with movable portions in the manner and for the purpose berein-before
described and illustrated in Figures 81 and 82 of the Drawings hereunto
annexed.
Eighthly, the method of forming a tyre for a railway wheel from a bar of
wrought iron or puddled steel, hammered into a suitable form in transverse
section, the files being first so arranged that there shall be a portion prevented
from welding, so that when the bar is drawn out, the unwelded portions may
be separated, and the whole opened out to form the tyre, as herein-before
described.

page_text: Ninthly, the method of using up waste materials, such as wrought-iron
turnings, parings, or other pieces, by forcing such pieces into suitably formed
dies, and then beating and working them up into railway wheels or parts of
railway wheels by any of the means herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Owen, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Fourth day of October, One thousand cight hundred
and fifty-nine.
WILLIAM OWEN. (L.S.)