IMPROVEMENTS IN RAILWAY WHEELS
Year: 1874

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,
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 10th December 1874.
.
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:-
Our said Invention relates to a novel manner of constructing the
wheels of railway engines, carriages, and waggons, and the object of the

page_text: said Invention is the production of wheels which will be stronger, more
durable, and more reliable than the wheels heretofore ordinarily used
for railway purposes.
Our improved wheel has a metal tire and a metal boss or hub, and
the space between the tire and boss is occupied by a core or body formed
entirely of wood, or of wood combined with paper or fibrous material,
this core or body being enclosed and secured between two circular plates
or discs..
Our said Invention is carried into practice as follows:-The tire is
preferably formed of steel with the ordinary external bearing surface.
and flange, but it also has an inner flange, rim, or web, whereby it is
secured to the aforesaid core or body and discs or plates as herein-after
described.
The said core or body is preferably formed entirely of wood in
two or more thicknessos, that is to say, we form two or more discs
of wood of the proper thickness, and place them side by side and secure
them together by glue or other suitable means. Each disc is made up
of a number of segments, and the said discs are so laid together that
the segments or pieces forming one disc lie between or "break joint"
with those of the other disc or discs.
Instead of making the wood core in the above manner we may form
it-of one solid piece, or in any other suitable manner; and instead of
forming the said core entirely of wood, we may form it of discs of
wood combined with sheets or thicknesses of paper or woven fabric.
The said core is turned on its periphery to fit tightly within the tire and
to form the sole support of the same. By this method of constructing
the core we are enabled in the manufacture of compound wheels, con-
sisting partly of wood, to make the wood portion perfect or complete in
itself before uniting it with the tire and boss, and are therefore enabled
to fit the same to the tire and boss more conveniently and advantageously
than would otherwise be practicable.
The boss or hub of our improved wheel is made of cast iron or other
suitable metal, and is formed with a flange or collar at one end. The
side plates or discs are formed of iron or steel of suitable thickness, and
are bored centrally to fit the said boss or hub. The core or body is also

page_text: bored to fit the said boss or hub, which is passed through the said discs
and core, the discs being placed at the sides of the core, as aforesaid.
Bolts are passed through the flange of the hub and through the discs
and core, and secured by nuts outside one of the said discs. These bolts
should fit tightly in their holes. The said discs and the wood core are
also secured to the aforesaid inner rim or flange of the tire-by bolts
passing through them, and provided with nuts outside one of the said
discs, but the bolt holes in the said rim or flange should be slightly
larger than the bolts, so that the natural elasticity of the wood core,
which forms a very important peculiarity of our Invention, may not be
impaired. By means of these bolts the said side plates or discs are mado
very tight upon the core, so that the said core, the discs, the boss, and
the tire will be secured solidly together, but it must be observed that
the tire has no bearing upon the periphery of these discs, as they are
The said core is so
made somewhat smaller in diameter than the core.
fitted within the tire that the perimeter of the core fits tightly the
inner surface of the tire, and an offset or projection on the side of the
core fits tightly in the circumference of the inner rim or flange. The
thickness of the said projection is equal to that of the said rim or flange,
and the sides of the core will be flush with the face or sides of the said
rim. By this peculiar construction of the wheel the said tire is
supported by the core in its contact directly therewith on one side of
the annular web or rim, and by the boss of the core in its contact
with the inner circumference of the said rim or web wherein it is
fitted.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Richard Norton Allen and Albert Benton Pullman
in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 8th June 1875.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, wc, 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 Tenth day of December, in the year of

page_text: our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four, 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 executors, 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 Invention 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
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 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 a novel manner of constructing the
wheels of railway engines, carriages, and waggons, and the object of
the said Invention is the production of wheels which will be stronger,
more durable, and more reliable than the wheels heretofore ordinarily
used for railway purposes.
Our improved wheel has a metal tire and a metal boss or hub, and the
space between the tire and boss is occupied by a core or body formed
cntirely of wood, or of wood combined with paper or fibrous
material; this core or body being enclosed and secured between two a
circular plates or discs which clamp the said core or body between them,

page_text: and are secured to the said boss, core, and tire, but do not support or
touch the said tire with their periphery.
Our said Invention is carried into practise as shewn in the accom-
panying Drawing, which we will now proceed to describe, and in which
Figure 1 is an elevation of the inner side of a wheel constructed
according to our Invention; Figure 2 is an elevation of the outer side
of the said wheel; Figure 3 shews the outer side of the wheel with the
metal disc removed; Figure 4 is a side view of the wood core or body
detached; Figure ŏ is an edge view of the same; Figure 6 is a transverse
section of the wheel on the line x, x, Figure 1.
Like letters indicate the same parts throughout the Drawing.
The tire a is preferably formed of steel with the ordinary bearing
surface a' and flange a³, but it also has an inner flange, rim, or web a³,
through which bolts are passed, as herein-after described.
The said core or body is preferably formed entirely of wood in two or
more thicknesses, as shown in Figures 5 and 6, that-is to say, we form
two or more discs b' of wood, of the proper thickness, and place them
side by side and secure them together, by glue or other suitable means.
Each disc is made up of a number of segments, and the said discs are
so laid together that the segments or pieces forming one disc lie between
or "break joint" with those of the other disc or discs.
Instead of making the wood core in the above manner, we may form
it of one solid piece, or in any other suitable manner; and instead of
forming the said core entirely of wood we may form it of discs of wood
combined with sheets or thicknesses of paper, or of woven fabric placed
between the wood. The said core is turned on its periphery to fit tightly
within the inner periphery of the tire, and forms the sole vertical
support of the same. By this method of constructing the core we are
enabled in the manufacture of compound wheels, consisting partly of
wood, to make the wood portion perfect or complete in itself before
uniting it with the tire and boss, and are therefore enabled to fit the
same to the tire and boss more conveniently and advantageously than
would otherwise be praticable.
The boss or hub c of our improved wheel is made of cast iron or
other suitable metal, and is formed with a flange or plate e¹ at one end,

page_text: secured without impairing the natural elasticity of the wood, as herein
specified.
In witness whereof, we, the Richard Norton Allen and Albert.
Benton Pullman, have hereunto set our hands and seals, this
Sixth day of April, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight
hundred and seventy-five.
R. N. ALLEN.
(L.S.)
A. B. PULLMAN. (L.S.)
Witness,
HY. JA. NOONE.
R. N. ALLEN.
(L.S.)
A. B. PULLMAN. (L.S.)