IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF WHEELS FOR RAILWAY AND TRAMWAY ROLLING STOCK, AND IN APPARATUS FOR THE PURPOSE
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Tough, of Sussex Place, 93, Leadenhall
Street, in the City of London, Civil and Mechanical Engineer,
for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF WHEELS
FOR RAILWAY AND TRAMWAY ROLLING STOCK, AND IN APPARATUS FOR THE
PURPOSE
""
Sealed the 9th June 1876, and dated the 24th December 1875.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Tough at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
24th December 1875.
I, JOHN TOUGH, of Sussex Place, 93, Leadenhall Street, in the City
of London, Civil and Mechanical Engineer, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF
WHEELS FOR RAILWAY AND TRAMWAY ROLLING STOCK, AND IN APPARATUS FOR THE
PURPOSE," to be as follows:-
My Invention has for its object improvements in the manufacture of
wheels for railway and tramway rolling stock, and in apparatus for the

page_text: I construct such wheels as follows:-I form in the usual way a
helical coil or coils of iron or steel; this coil I afterwards weld into
the form of a boss, which I subsequently finish off. I form the rim of
the wheel in a similar manner. That part of the wheel which forms
the body, between the boss and the rim, I make of iron or steel in the t
form of discs, which discs I weld at intermediate points to the boss and
to the rim.
In forming the boss of the wheel as above (also in forming the rim)
I effect the welding by hydraulic pressure. For this purpose I use a
steam hammer, in which the hammer block is carried by a hydraulic 1
ram arranged at the lower end of the steam piston rod, so that the
hammer can be moved up and down by steam in the ordinary way,
but the stroke of the hammer block may be completed by hydraulic
pressure.
Instead of welding the discs to the rim of the wheel I may make the 1
rim of cast iron as follows:-I construct the tyre with two internally
grooved flanges on its inner periphery, one flange at each side the
tyre, with the grooves facing each other, and I cast the rim or body of
the wheel into the recess thus formed at the inner part of the tyre.
Screw studs may be introduced between the tyre and the rim to com- 2
pensate for expansion and contraction; or I build up the rim of the
wheel of wrought-iron plates fitting into the recess in the tyre, and
screwed and rivetted to the discs.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said John Tough in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 24th June 1876.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
TOUGH, of Sussex Place, 93, Leadenhall Street, in the City of London,
Civil and Mechanical Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fourth day of December, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, in the
thirty-ninth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc

page_text: but the stroke of the hammer block may be completed by nydraulic
pressure.
:
Instead of welding the discs to the rim of the wheel I may make the
rim of cast iron as follows:-I construct the tyre with two internally
grooved flanges on its inner periphery, one flange at each side of the
tyre, with the grooves facing each other, and I cast the rim or body of
the wheel into the recess thus formed at the inner part of the tyre.
Screw studs may be introduced between the tyre and the rim to com-
pensate for expansion and contraction; or I build up the rim of the
wheel of wrought-iron plates fitting into the recess in the tyre, and
screwed and rivetted to the discs.
Fig. 1 (Sheet 1) of the Drawings shews in transverse section part of a
railway wheel, whose boss and rim arc formed of helical coils, the body'
of the wheel being composed of discs welded to the boss and to the rim.
In forming the boss or centre part a of the wheel I take a bar of steel
or of iron of suitable dimensions, which I plane to a clean surface. This
bar I then heat, and whilst in its heated state I coil it helically around a
mandril. The coil, which is of somewhat larger size than the intended
boss, I then weld to the required form, and the welded body thus formed
I subsequently finish off to the form shewn in Fig. 2. The rim 6 of the
wheel, shewn in Fig. 1, is formed by coiling and welding, in a similar
manner to that pursued with regard to the boss, the finished rim per se
having the sectional form shewn in Fig. 2*.
That part of the wheel which is called the body, between the boss and
the rim, is made of iron, or steel, or malleable cast iron, or other
materials in the form of discs. When forging and forming the discs of
wrought iron I stamp them out by dies under a steam hammer or
hydraulic press, but discs made of malleable cast iron, or cast iron by
pouring the metal into suitably shaped moulds revolving while the
metal is being poured in, may be used in conjunction with bosses and
rims made according to my Invention. When using wrought-iron discs
I weld them to the. boss and rim, as shewn in Fig. 1, thus forming a
hollow wheel, which, through holes c', I fill up with sawdust or other
substance that will deaden sound. Then I cover the holes with small
plates, as shown.
When other kinds of discs are emploved the mode of fastening will be

page_text: Fig. 3 shews in side elevation my improved welding machine; Fig. 4
is a plan of the left-hand portion of Fig. 3; and Fig. 5 is a section taken
in the line A, B, of Fig. 3.
It will be seen that the machine in many respects resembles an
ordinary steam hammer, d being the steam cylinder; e, the piston; and
f, its rod. This rod however is made hollow, and is placed in connection
with a force pump and water supply, so as to serve as a hydraulic ram
cylinder. It is fitted with a ram g, carrying the hammer block h, and
arranged at the lower end of the steam piston rod, so that the hammer
can be moved up and down by steam in the ordinary way when the
removeable dove-tailed pieces i are in position, as shewn in Fig. 3, their
function being to rigidly secure the hollow piston rod to the solid ram
carrying the hammer block. By removing the said dove-tailed pieces
the ram is left free to be operated by hydraulic pressure for completing
the stroke of the hammer block. The steam valve gear may be of any
suitable description, as is well understood. k is a slide, having a screwed
spindle ¹ passing through a nut or hand wheel 1, by turning which the
slide may be moved to and fro. When hydraulic pressure is to be used
the hollow piston rod f must first be lowered or allowed to fall into the
position shewn in Fig. 5, and the slide k must then be moved home, as
shown, to form a buttress for the hollow piston rod whilst in use as the
ram cylinder.
The machine illustrated has three combined hammers and rams to
operate both on the boss and rim of a wheel, but obviously machines
with a single combined hammer and ram, according to my Invention,
may in some cases be used.
Figs. 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 shew another arrangement of machine in
which the block of the steam hammer-is carried by the hydraulic ram.
In this modification the steam piston rod itself forms the ram, an
independent hydraulic cylinder being arranged above the steam cylinder,
and having the piston rod fitted to work within it.
The framing is formed with two wrought-iron girders m placed on the
end entablature of two cast-iron columns n. The ends of the girders
arc secured by bolts passing through the columns and secured to two
iron girders o, on which the columns rest for a base. At the centre on
and between the two top girders is fitted and fixed the ordinary steam
hammer, over which is placed and secured the hydraulic cylinder q.

page_text: At each side of the centre cylinder I place a combined steam hammer
and hydraulic ram. These side ones have less length of stroke than
the central one, being intended more for pressure. The outside hammers
are made moveable so as to adjust their positions to a greater or less
distance from the central hammer. For this purpose the side hammer
cylinders are made to move along on the top girders by a slide motion
‘or guide by a worm wheel and screw. Thus the relative positions of
the hammers may be varied to suit the size of the wheel to be made or
the body or bodies to be operated on in forging and forming or stamping
out by steam or by hydraulic pressure. The hammers may be worked
in the usual way by steam. To supply hydraulic pressure to the rams a
vertical steam engine may be fixed to the side of one of the columns
with a set of hydraulic pumps arranged in a chest. For the purpose of
bringing the work under the hammers ready for welding or stamping
by dies or otherwise I place on the floor or foundation a moveable anvil
table or rest r. Motion is given to this moveable table by laying on
the floor a rack and a pinion fixed on a shaft stretching across the
centre of the table underneath and sliding in V grooves on the floor
which carries it underneath the hammers. The table is then lowered
down flat on the solid foundation by means of eccentrics at each end
'fixed in the table on shafts and raised up to rest on the V slides when
required to be moved. This arrangement being well known I have not
considered it uccessary to shew it in the Drawings.
The top or upper
parts of the table is a circular disc plate revolving in guides cut and
fitted in the lower plate for the purpose of enabling the workmen to
turn round the work gradually under the hammers, revolving motion
being given to the upper part of the table by means of a rack and
pinion fixed underneath or on the edge of the plate and table.
+
:-
Fig. 11 shews part of a cast-iron wheel in which the rim is made as
follows The tyre t is constructed with two internally grooved flanges
on its inner periphery, one flange at each side of the tyre, the two
grooves facing cach other as shewn, and the rim or body b is cast into
the recess thus formed at the inner part of the tyre, screws or rivets u
being introduced between the tyre and the rim to compensate for
expansion and contraction.
Fig. 12 shews in section a wheel in which the boss is formed as
⚫herein-before described with reference to Figs. 1 and 2, and the body of
-the wheel is composed of discs, that on the flange or inner side of the

page_text: wheel being welded to the boss, whilst the disc on the "tread" side or
outer side of the wheel is turned to fit on the end of the boss. Both
the outside and inside discs are rivetted or bolted at their peripheries to
clip ring plates, v¹, connecting with the tyre. It will be seen that the
one clip ring v faces to the outside and the other v¹ faces to the inside
of the wheel, and that a centre ring is interposed between the two
clip rings to keep them in their places, the centre ring having a slight
draw to wedge the clip rings up to their recesses and to the clips of the
tyre. The clips on the tyre and rings may be square, round, dovetailed,
or angular in shape. The clip rings and centre rings are divided into
segments, the joints of each ring being arranged at an intermediate
position relatively to the joints of the other rings so that the segments
of one ring shall overlap the joints of the adjoining ring. The clip
rings may be finished off in a corrugated or smooth form to correspond
with the tyre. A layer of wood or other material of a fibrous nature or
a layer of papier maché, or of cbonite, or of india-rubber, or of other
such like material may be interposed between the peripheries of the
rings v, v³, v³, and the internal periphery of the tyre to form a cushion.
Fig. 12* is a side elevation of Fig. 12.
In building up the rim of the wheel I first place the segments of the
clip rings in position in the tyre, then I insert the segments of the
centre ring; I next place the rim of the wheel over against the disc
plate that is welded or screwed to the boss, and then I place the
moveable disc plate in its place over all and rivet or bolt the whole
together, filling up the space between the disc plates from the ring to
the boss with sawdust or other material to deaden any sound that may
arise when the wheel is in motion. The disc plates at their peripheries
may be turned off in a circular form, where they join the segmental
clip rings, as shown in Fig. 12, or they may butt up against the tyre,
as shewn in Figs. 13 and 14, which represent modifications of the
arrangement just described.
Wheels constructed with welded bosses and rings, as described with
reference to Figs. 1 and 2, may have their bodies made with spokes, as
shewn at Figs. 15 and 16; the rims may have either square, round, dove-
tailed, or angular shaped clips to receive a chilled cast-iron or crucible
cast steel tyre cast on the rim of the wheel.
Figs. 17, 18, and 19 shew another arrangement of wheel in which
the boss is welded as described with reference to Figs. 1 and 2, and the

page_text: rim of the wheel is built up of wrought-iron plates, fitting into recesses
in the tyre. In this case the segments composing the central ring are
formed in a piece with spokes, having at their other ends other segments
forming means of attachment to the boss. The boss is formed from a
helical coil or coils, and has a flange a¹ projecting all round near the centre
of the boss, and at one end of the boss a square shoulder a² is formed to
receive a circular disc or holding plate; or instead of the square shoulder
the boss may be of a conical form, as shewn at a³ in Fig. 19. The
segments formed at the inner ends of the spokes butt against the
periphery of the boss and rest against the flange a¹. The circular disc 1
or holding plate a' is turned out to fit on the square shoulder of the
boss or on the conical end of the boss, as the case may be, and the
disc plate is rivetted or bolted to the flange a¹ of the boss, the bolts
passing through between the spokes as shown.
In some cases the flange a³ may be dispensed with, a second circular 1
disc or holding plate being substituted. In this case the two discs, one
at each side of the wheel, are bolted or rivetted together through the
boss, and their peripheries are rivetted or bolted together in the same
way as the flange a¹ and disc a' are secured together in Fig. 17.
Figs. 20, 21, 22, 23, and 24 shew another method of building up a
wheel having its boss formed of a welded coil, as herein-before described
with reference to Figs. 1 and 2 ; the arrangement will be readily
understood from the Drawings.
Having described the nature of my said Invention of improvements
in the manufacture of wheels for railway and tramway rolling stock,
and in apparatus for the purpose, and having described the mode of
carrying the same into practical effect, I desire to have it understood
that save and except as herein-after mentioned I do not intend to
claim any of the mechanical parts of the apparatus hercin-before shewn
and described when taken separately and apart from the combination
and application thereof in manner and for the purposes herein described;
but what I consider to be novel and original, and therefore claim as
the Invention secured to me by the herein-before in part recited Letters
Patent is,-
First. The manufacture of bosses and rims of railway wheels by
heating, coiling, and welding bars of steel or iron, and subsequently
finishing to the required form, substantially as herein shewn and
described,

page_text: Secondly. The manufacture of wheels, as herein described with
reference to Figs. 1, 2, and 2* of the Drawings.
Thirdly. The combination with a steam hammer of a hydraulic ram
carrying the hammer block, the whole so arranged that the hammer
block can be moved up and down by steam in the ordinary way and can
also be operated by hydraulic pressure, as above described.
Fourthly. The method of manufacturing wheels with rims or bodies
cast into recesses formed at the inner parts of the tyres, as described
with reference to Fig. 11 of the Drawings.
Fifthly. The manufacture of wheels in which the rim of the wheel is
built up of wrought-iron plates fitting into a recess in the tyre, as
described with reference to Figs. 12, 12*, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, and 18 of
the Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Tough, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty-third day of June, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-six.