IMPROVEMENTS IN WHEELS, TIRES, AXLES, AND AXLE BOXES, AND MODES OF APPLYING THEM
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Bridges Adams, of Holly Mount, Hamp-
stead, in the County of Middlesex, Engineer, for the Invention of
IMPROVEMENTS IN WHEELS, TIRES, AXLES, AND AXLE BOXES, AND MODES
OF APPLYING THEM."
Sealed the 15th April 1864, and dated the 19th November 1863.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION loft by the said William Bridges Adams
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
19th November 1863.
I, WILLIAM BRIDGES ADAMS, of Holly Mount, Hampstead, in the County
of Middlesex, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN WHEELS. TIRES, AXLES, AND AXLE BOXES, AND MODES OF
APPLYING THEM," to be as follows:-
One part of my improvements in wheels consists in casting the two wheels
in one piece, with a continuous tube or hollow axle with bearings in the hollow
of each end, and also in the middle, if required, these bearings being of
smaller diameter than the other portions of the hollow, so that oil or other
lubricating matter may be contained in it as in a well below the level of the
bearings, which serve as a cup; and these bearings may be part of the
casting or separately applied; and the axle passes through the hollow from
end to end, and may be either a fixture to the springs or vehicle or machine,
or it may revolve as usual, so as to give a double revolution. And the wheels
may be cast in two halves or in separate parts and bolted together, the con.

page_text: nections being by flanges or otherwise; or the connection may be by a clip
in two halves, or flanges in the centre of the axle tube bolted together, the
bolt ends projecting from a central ring passing round the axle or by equi
valent means, so that the two wheels may revolve independently of each other,
and compensate for the different lengths of their pathway on curves. And
the rubbing bearings for the wheels may be of thin sheet steel or other metal;
and if the wheels be of tough cast iron or steel the separate axles may be
dispensed with by projecting journals cast on the wheels themselves, either
inside or outside the wheels, which may be in one piece, or two or more
pieces connected together, as before described.
Holes may
be made in the
bearings or journals to allow the lubricant to pass through to their surfaces;
but in all cases the hollow for containing the lubricant should be of larger
diameter than the bearings, in order to form a cup to retain the lubricant,
and the wheels may be connected by a wrought-iron tube, provided the
bearings be of smaller diameter than the hollow for the oil.
Some of my other improvements in wheels consist is so arranging the tires
that they may move round the wheel when in motion to compensate on
curved lines of rail or road for equal diameters by varying revolutions of the
tires, the wheels and tires being in smooth contact with lubrication or
without, or with hoops or washers of polished steel, like saw blades or other
metal between them, the tires being held to the wheel by a lip or dovetail on
one side, and a plain or lipped rib on the other, locking into grooves of the
wheel, or tire, or both, or by regments of double-lipped hoops or solid hoops
driven into conoidal grooves of the wheel and tire to keep them in posi
tion, while permitting the tire to revolve. Or central or side grooves may be
used with a loose rib or hoop or regments thereof between them adjusted by
screws or otherwise. And the washer ring between wheel and tire may be
ribbed to keep it in position, bearing over the whole surface of the tire, or on
a portion thereof; these arrangements being directly contrary to the usual
practice in railway and other wheels, wherein the term "loose tire" is held to
be an indication of danger.
Some of my further improvements in wheels consist in the application of
improved springs between the wheels and tires and their fastenings. Such
springs I have hitherto made of parallel thickness and width in the form of
conical hoops or regments thereof, fitted into curved tires with the peripheries
of coned wheels resting on them over hollow spaces in the tires. And as I
find that such springs occasionally break in practice, being weakest in the
centre of their breadth, my improved method is to make the springs thickest
in the centre of their breadth, making the side next the wheel, or vice versa,

page_text: conical or curvilinear across their breadth, or with a flat in the centre, so that
both wheels and tires may be cylindrical and not conical; or the springs may
be curved, and their edges abutting against side ribs of the tire or wheel;
or they may he corrugated, and iron or other metal may be used instead of
steel. And I also roll them to a correct diameter in a solid ring without a
joint; and I use various kinds of ordinary fastenings to secure the tires to the
wheels; and in some cases I make the spring or springs serve as fastenings
by locking into grooves; or I make use of bolts passing through the wheel
into grooves of the tires, or vice versa, with or without rings between. And
these improved tires will be especially valuable for application to the coupled
wheels of locomotive engines or others, to compensate for varying movements
on curves, whether used with springs or without. And in arranging wheels
for the purpose of propelling or communicating motion, I place additional
wheels above the drivers with the péripheries in contact, using the load to
ensure pressure, so that adhesion may be induced, and motion may thus be
communicated from large wheels to small ones, or vice versa, making the
speeds compensate, whether the wheels be of equal diameter or not, and
whether the axles of such wheels be parallel or at an angle with each other,
so that the same arrangement will serve to communicate motion, whether on
straight lines or curves. And my improvements in axles consists in making
them hollow so as to contain a lubricant, and stopping the ends either wholly
or partly to retain the lubricant, and supply it to the working surfaces.
And my improvements in axle boxes consist in fitting a loose cup or vessel on
the lower side of the axle journal, or to the flanges or collars, or to grooves
cnt in clipping the axle journal to the lower half diameter, tight contact being
kept by the pressure of a spring below, or by a suspending spring pressing on
the axle or in a groove of the metal bearing or above the metal bearing, so that
as the metal wears by the revolution of the journal the contact will still be
maintained. Thus the journal may have its lower half bathed in oil, and
rollers or cylinders of light wood or hollow metal may be made to float on the
oil, so as to lift it to the journal surface if the oil bevel gets low, and the oil
may thus be fed from above in ordinary boxes and caught without waste in
the suspended box below, which acts like a sphincter muscle in the animal
body; and in some cases I use a tubular axle box of metal or of cast steel
hardened and slightly larger in diameter than the journal, which has no end
collar, but instead of it the exle end abuts on the box, which is close, and at
the end next the wheel the box is grooved or rebated to permit a collar to be
placed round the axle, pressed upwards by a spring and horizontally by a
spring ring, so as to prevent oil passing away, and two of these collars may be

page_text: applied, one in front and the other behind, to hold oil between them, and so
dispence with the clori end to the box, and the box may be made to turn
round as it wears so as to give fresh surfaces, and thin sheet brass or steel may
be used between the journal and box to moderate the friction; the tube or
bearing above described is to be placed on an ordinary axle box to fit the
horn plates, and the boxes or bearings for fixed or revolving axles, as before
described, may be arranged with curved sides so as to place the axles in radial
liners when the wheels are going round curves; and they may be applied to
wagons, in which the sole bars form springs, dispensing with the usual springs
and horn plates and axle boxes. And the curvilinear axle boxes described in
a former Patent (No. 1757, dated July 12th, 1861) of mine, for enabling the
axles of engines and carriages to form radial lines pointing to the centres of
curves may be applied to two or more sets of wheels struck from the same
centres to give them a true movement on curves, and the bearings of such
axle boxes may be either outside or inside the wheels, or both.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Bridges Adams in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 6th May 1864.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
BRIDGES ADAMS, of Holly Mount, Hampstead, in the County of Middlesex,
Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Nineteenth day of November, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, in the twenty-seventh
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant
unto me, the said William Bridges Adams, Her special licence that I, the
said William Bridges Adams, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or
such others as I, the said William Bridges Adams, my executors, adminis-
trators, 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 WHEELS, TIRES, AXLES, AND AXLE BOXES, AND
MODE OF APPLYING THEM," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
William Bridges Adams, my executors or administrators, by an instrument
in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should par-

page_text: ticularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the
Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and immediately
after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Bridges Adams, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
bo performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement :-
As to my improvements in wheels, Fig. 1 of the annexed Sheet of Drawings
shews a railway wheel or roller formed of cast iron or steel in one piece, with
a hollow throughout the interior, which is generally of one thickness save at
the central bosses and the peripheries. One half a shews the external surface,
the other half is broken through and shews the interior. The peripheries
I prefer to be chilled or hardened. The central bosses c are bored through to
a true centre for the axle d to pass through, or they may be bushed with brass
or steel. The axle may be a fixture in pedestals to the springs or frame, or
in improved axle guides,or it may revolve as usual in the ordinary boxes or in
my improved axle boxes, in which case there will be two revolutions, one of
the wheel or roller round the axle, and the other of the axle in the boxes.
The hollow of the wheel or roller is filled with oil or other lubricant from the
holes e, e, to the level of the lower side of the axle, and which washes round
it as the wheel revolves, conveying it to the bearings of the wheel, but it will
not be wasted, as the axle presses on the lower side of the opening and stops
the leak,and the oil falls into the enlarged hollow below the axle. The general
thickness of the metal of the wheel is from three-eighths to three-quarters of
an inch, except at the boss and periphery which are made thicker. Fig. 2
shews one half of a similar pair of wheels which are divided across the central
tube and provided with flanges a,b, between which passes a bolt c with screws
and nuts d. d, projecting from a central ring through which the axie passes.
Acollar e,e, divided into two halves,ciips over the flanges and b,and is secured
by the nuts keeping the two wheels together to the gauge of the rails, and the
wheels will be true wheels revolving round the axle independently of each
other. And instead of connecting the wheels together by a central clip they
may simply abut together, being confined by the end boxes or guides to the
axle, which is secured to the boxes by end nuts or through bolts or stud bolts
either revolving or fixed, the wheel hollows being bushed with metal wholly
or partially or being formed with solid bearings. Fig. 3 shews a similar wheel,
theinteriorshown in section, on which the casting of tough metal is prolonged
into a bearing or journal at a for the wheel to revolve in an axle box, and thus

page_text: dispense with a separate axle. Fig. 4 shows how a pair of wheels may be
connected together by flanges and bolts at a, b, to form a single roller, the
castings being in two parts and turned to a fit in the lathe to the exact gauge,
one half being lipped into the other. Fig. 5 shews a wheel, which may be
either separate or formed into one roller as before described at Fig. 1, the
wheel being of any kind, cast or wrought metal, disc, or spoke, or wooden
frames, or bodies. To connect the wheels to form a roller they are fixed
together by a hollow tube of cast or wrought iron a, which may be straight
or larger in the middle as the dotted lines o, o, Fig. 5, or have hollow bulbs
for oil. At the ends of the tubes are inserted bushes of brass or other metal b,
on which the axle e revolves, or the wheels revolve round it. At d, Fig. 5, the
axle is shewn reduced in diameter to suit an ordinary axle box. Fig. 5* shews
the axle carried through the full diameter, and it enters a box or bearing e,
seen on end section at Fig. 5'. It is retained in this box by pins f,f,ƒ‚ƒ‚ ƒ‚ƒ,
which pass down a groove
turned near the end of the axle, and which pins
may also serve as spring fasteners. The wheel tube a projects from the wheel
face and passes over the end of this box which it encloses, leaving space forend
play g. The brass bush 6 serves as a stopper round the axle to retain the oil
in the space between the axle and the tube and prevent waste, and as the
wheel revolves the oil will pass to the bearing in the wheel, and thence along
the axle to the bearing in the axle box. The oil pins for admitting the lubri-
cant are shewn at h,h, with a screw and leather washer, and this box
may be
lined with sheet steel or other metal, revolving or fixed. Fig. 5 shews an
arrangement in which the tube serves also for the axle bearing, dispensing
with the solid axle. a is the boss of the wheel; b,the tube, which is plugged up
at the end c to hold the oil, and with a coned orifice to allow it to escape into
the box d,an oil pin e admitting the oil. To prevent the oil from wasting at
the back of the box, a half collar, pressed up to the axle by a spring g and
acting like a sphineter muscle, is applied, passing into a groove of the box h.
Fig. 5 shews an arrangement for casting the wheel bosses in one with the
connecting tube. a is the tube and boss; b, b, are portions of a wood wheel;
c is a front flange bolted to the boss through the wheel to hold it firm ; dis a
bush of brass or other metal to revolve round the axle.
And as to my improvements in tires, to permit them to revolve on the wheel
so as to give the roller wheel the effect of a pair of independent wheels.
Fig. 6 shows the wheel a, formed with a circular lip 6 to lie in a groove of the
tire c; the tire fits the wheel loosely, not being shrunk on, or two grooves
may be formed opposite each other in the wheel and tire front rib, with a
loose tongue entering both. In a groove at the back of the tire d is sprung

page_text: in a ring of steel or iron e,with a diagonal cut across it to permit compression,
or a key in an opening, and thus the wheel is prevented from coming out of
the tire,though it can revolve within it. Fig. 7 shews a similar arrangement
with the wheel lapping over the tire lip at a,and with screws passing through
the wheel at the back b, and into a wedge-form loop c, which works like a
washer in a rebate of the tire at the back, and keeps the wheel in position,
though free to move round. Fig. 8 shews the tire and wheel of the same
width, but the tire has a central groove in which lies a ring of steel or other
metal a; screws are passed through the wheel into this ring, which is cut
into as many pieces as there are screws, and serving as a tongue, and keeping
the wheel in position. And the screws may be dispensed with by making
grooves both in wheel and tire, one deeper than the other, so as to contain the
ring, which will spring half into the other groove when the wheel is slid in.
Fig. 9 shews a similar arrangement to Fig. 6, except that the point lip is on
the tire and a groove in the wheel rim. Fig. 10 shews a ribbed ring or
washer of steel or other metal a between the wheel and tire, with a front lip b
on the tire in a groove of the wheel. It is retained in position by a double
lipped ring c fitting grooves of the wheel and tire, with a plain ring a driven
behind it to hold it in contact. Fig. 11 shews a similar washer ring a between
wheel and tire, but the front lip of the tire b is of dove tail form, and the
back is secured by a double-ribbed ring, the inner rib of which e is at a right
angle to the face of the ring, and the outer rib d is a cone, which being driven
into a coned groove of the tire, either hot or cold, will become, as it were, a
part of the tire, leaving the wheel free to revolve. Fig. 12 shews a disc wheel
of cast metal, with a rim of less breadth than the tire; a groove is cut round
the wheel sufficiently deep to contain a steel ring b, and when the wheel is
placed in the tire, the ring expands into the groove of the tire, holding both
wheel and tire together; and the tires may be slightly hollowed or rounded on
the internal periphery, and the wheels made to fit them, the tires being
slightly warmed to admit them, and the wheel always treading below will be
very secure.
And as to my improvements in spring tires for the purpose of enabling the
tires to revolve round the wheel, and also to rock laterally and vertically to fit
the rail; and in the case of driving wheels to flatten on their peripheries to
obtain increased adhesion. Fig. 13 shows a tirea, with a deep front rib band
a shallow back rib c. The spring dis parallel in thickness at the centre for a
small part of the width, and tapers off laterally to the edges. The tire is
hollow below at e, and the wheel, which may be a true cylinder at the
periphery, rests on the centre of the spring, kept in position by the ring g,

page_text: which is sprung in like those before described at Fig. 6. Fig. 14 shews a
similar wheel with an edge-tapered spring a, but the spring is hollowed next
the tire, and the tire and wheel are both flat across. Fig. 15 shews a similar
arrangement with a lighter spring a, and flat bearings at the edges b, b.
Fig. 16 shews a similar spring a fitted against the rib and ring, with square
edges. Fig. 17 shews a spring a tapered both inside and outside from the
middle to the edges in curved lines, and overlying a hollow in the tire, the
back ring 6 being grooved into the tire. Fig. 18 shews a spring a of parallel
thickness curved inside and outside, and abutted at the edges against the rib
and ring, and in this mode the strength of the spring is increased in the
centre, as though it were tapered, and it can be applied between flat surfaces.
Fig. 19 shews a similar spring, but edge-tapered and with squared edges;
and the front rib of the tire a has a lip overhanging a lip of the wheel b, and
the back ring c is inserted in a groove. Fig. 20 shews a curved spring a with
squared edges between shallow ribs in the tire b, b. The wheel has a hollow c
in the periphery, and it is pressed in with great force till it enters and fixes
itself in the curved spring centre rib which fits the hollow. Fig. 21 is a
similar arrangement with a squared rib on the inside of the springa. Fig. 22
shews a tire a with a deep front rib b and a shallow back rib c.
The spring d
is rolled flat in the inside and curved or tapered on the outside from the
middle to the edges, as shewn at Fig. 2. Underneath or round the spring
is a hollow in the tire e, and the periphery of the wheel fis curved across the
face. To apply these tires the spring is put in position in the tire, which is
heated to a black heat or a little more, so as not to spoil the temper of the
spring, and the wheel being slid in, the tire contracts and the spring is forced
to a curvature inside as well as out, so that the wheel would be retained in
position even without the back ring 7. And these springs prevent the tires
from elongating or increasing their diameters in use by reason of their elastic
resilience. Fig. 22° shews in section an arrangement for substituting a boop
of wood for the hoop of steel between the wheel and tire. a is the tire; b, the
hoop of wood; c, the wheel; d, a bolt and nut, the bolt passing through the
wood, and the head and nut clipping the wheel and the rebated edge of the
tire with or without washers. The wood may be slightly inclined to force.the
wheel in, the tire being cold; or the tire may be black-heated and shrunk
on, and the hoops of metal may be placed on each side the wood to prevent
wear on moving round. Fig. 23 shews an arrangement whereby the peri-
pheries of wheel tires may be brought into contact for the purpose of coupling
them together with sufficient adhesion to give more driving power on rails by
the mode of applying them. a is the tire of a driving wheel which bears on

page_text: the rail, the flange of which is formed, by preference, into a salient angular
section, more or less acute; b, c, is the tire of an upper wheel which rests on
it at d, and is provided with a re-entrant angle fitting the salient angle of the
lower wheel, having a space e between the other portions of the tires. The
tires are applied to the wheels, as shewn at Fig. 8, by screws passing through
the wheel into ribs or hoops working in central grooves, with the difference
that the grooves are wider than the ribs, and permit not only a movement
round the periphery, but also a lateral sliding to either side of a quarter to
half an inch, so as to make sure of contact between the salient and re-entrant
angles. And this application permits the driving connection of two or more
wheels of differing diameters. Fig. 23ª shews the mode of obtaining in-
creased adhesion between these tires and the rail. a is the salient flange of
the tire; b, the re-entrant flange of the rail formed to receive it; c shews the
central rib for keeping the tire in position, with the lateral spaces in the
groove d, d, for side play. The dotte lines indicate the trailing wheels,
which pass freely along the rail groove, being of smaller section than the
angular flanges of the drivers. Fig. 24 shews a spring tire with angular
flanges and part of a wheel similar to Fig. 16, but with the difference that it
has lateral play for the tire. The dotted lines e indicate the trailing tires.
But as this great adhesion is chiefly needed for very steep ascents or heavy
loads, the ordinary rail may be used on levels is indicated by the dotted lines f;
and these angular flanges and re-entrant angles may be varied to any other
section to obtain "bite." Fig. 25 shews on plan a wheel and part of an axle
with one of my improved radial axle-boxes, shewing the mode of applying it to
the horn plates of a railway carriage frame having outside bearings. a is the
wheel; b, the axle; c, the radial box, the radius of which is struck in two
concentric lines d, d, from a central point in the central line of the carriage
frame, four feet from the centre of the axle; e, e, is the carriage frame; f, f,
double horn plates, between which are bolted cast facings g, g, struck in two con.
centric lines corresponding to the box h,h; h,h,are rollers in the box top for the
spring shoe to rest on and permit free motion of the box beneath the spring,
which may be held vertically between the horn plates. The axle has a centre
collar, indicated by the dotted lines, to keep the box in position, moving with
the wheels by the action of the flanges against the rails. Fig. 25° shews a
section through the centre of the box a is the brass bearing; b, the axle;
c, a metal box fitting close below the axle, and sliding up the brass bearing
sides,held in contact bya spring or springs d, which serves a purpose analogous
to a sphineter muscle in the animal body. This box c contains oil, in which
the lower side of the axle dips, and it may have floating rollers of tight metal

page_text: axle
or wood e, e, or fibrous matter to help it and prevent splashing Fig. 25
shews a longitudinal section of the same box through the centre,with the same
letters of reference; j-shews the oil feed. The front of the box is open at g to
admit the oil cup and spring. For engines I plane the curvilinear surfaces of
the boxes and guides in order that they may fit accurately and work truly;
but for carriages and wagons, wherein it may be desirable to avoid this cost,
I provide for inaccuracies in the curved form of the castings by permitting
analogous curvilinear movement in the bearings or brasses. Fig.27 shewsone
mode of doing this. The casting is a section of the box cut horizontally to
shew the form of the brass, which has two circular vertical sides a, a, fitting a
corresponding cavity on the box, and enabling the brass to turn as on a pivot,
lateral movement being provided for at b, b, b, b. Fig. 20° shews the
C₁ and a section through the brass bearing; and in this mode any misfit:
of the curved surfaces may be compensated for. Fig. 27 shews another mode
in which the ends of the bearing brass are formed into curves at a, a, a, a,
sliding round in grooves of the box, provision being made for movement
b, b, b, b, and c, c, c,c. Fig. 27 shews the bearing brass a, a, and the axle c
Fig. 28 shews another mode, the bearing brass being provided with a
central pivot at a, with room for sliding movement at b, b, b, b, and c, c.
Fig. 28 shews the bearing brass, a being the pivot of the axle, and e the oil
feed hole, and the bearing brass may be dispensed with when the axle does
not revolve in the radial box, which then serves on as a guide; the wheels
revolving round the axle, and the top of the axle being flattened where the
box rests on it, so as to permit swivelling movement to compensate for irre-
gularities in the radial curves of the box; and the axle may be confined to
the guide box by a pin or screw passing through the box top into or through
the axle, permitting the swivelling movement, as shewn at Figures 29 and
29. Fig. 30 shews a mode in which the bearing brass indicated by dotted
lines is made to move in concentric curved lines in a wrought or cast-iron
frame a, a, which frame works vertically on the ordinary horn plates in
grooves b,b, and supports the bearing spring of the engine or vehicle; c is the
axle; d, d, the bearing brass, shown by dotted lines; Fig. 30° shews it in
central cross section, a being the axle; d,the central web of the bearing brass.
Fig. 31 shows another mode of constructing my radial boxes, so as to
dispense with horn plates. It is a section through the centre transversely
to the axle. A is the box; B, the cover, which has on it a projecting dove-
tail a, formed in a radial curve, the centre of which is the longitudinal centre
of the vehicle, four feet behind the centre of the axle. A corresponding dove-
tail is formed on the top of the box A, as shewn by dotted curved lines at

page_text: cross bolt f,
And instead
Fig. 31.
c, c, is the axle; d, the pipe of the box for the axle to enter,
which may project against the face of the wheel, so that if the axle be
intended to revolve in the box the lubricant will pass from the wheel to the
box, the axle being prevented from lengthlong movement in the box by a
groove round the end, and pins to work against; or the axle may be fixed as
in Figures 29 and 29. And by the dovetail arrangement, the metal being
of malliable cast iron or of steel, the wheels will be securely attached to the
vehicle as by ordinary horn plates; and all these boxes before described may
be arranged to slide laterally at right angles to the frame for application
to central wheels, as well as in curved lines for end wheels. In Fig. 3 the
axle is shown kept in longitudinal position in the box by a
which passes into a circular groove turned near the axle end.
of the central grooved dovetail, dovetails or overlaps may be formed in
radial lines at the ends to keep the box aud cover together, working truly in
concentric circles, dispensing with horn plates, and the cover B is bolted by
countersunk bolts g, g, g, g, to the frame of the carriage or waggon, with
india-rubber between, as h. Fig. 32 shews in plan a mode of applying my
radial boxes to the axles inside and outside the wheels, and to two sets of
wheels at once, the concentric radii struck from oue centre. a. a, a, a, are
the wheels; b, b, the axles; c, c, c, c, the inner axle boxes; d, d, d, d, the
outer boxes; and though the curves are shown all struck from one centre,
each pair of wheels' may have the curves of the boxes struck from separate
centres. The length of radius may, of course, vary, but I find a convenient
length to be that of the distance between the wheels, as this causes the axle
to make a forward movement approximate to the lateral movement. Fig. 33
shews a tubular bearing for an axle box, capable of being changed four times
as the inner surface wears, and with an axle hollow at the ends, or which may
be hollow all through, to contain oil. It is shown in cross section at Fig. 33",
the letters of reference being the same in each Figure. a, a, show the
hollow on the axle b. b; the tubular bearing showing four longitudinal hollows
outside, c, c, c, d, on the lower one of which is driven a key d to secure it, the
upper part being rebated into the box to prevent end motion; e is a plug
screwed on to the end of the tube to make it tight and hold the oil; f is a
half collar held up to the axle by a spring in a groove of the tubular bearing
to prevent oil leaking out below the axle at the back, acting like a sphineter
muscle; h is the oil feed hole. When one of the inner surfaces wears, the
key d is drawn out, and the tubular bearing is turned round one quarter and
the key d is replaced. And the tubular bearing may be formed of brass, gun
metal, or steel, or any other desirable substance. And I have not needlessly

page_text: amplified this my Specification, as any competent workman will be able to
produce any part of it from my description and Diagrams.
Having now described my said improvements, I wish it to be understood
that what 1 claim is,-
Firstly, the improved wheels and axles herein-before described, and shewn
by Figures 1 to 4 inclusive, the wheels being hollow, to contain oil or other
lubricant below the axle bearing, and the improved arrangement of hollow
and solid axles shown by Figs. 5 to 5d inclusive, the lubricant being contained
in a hollow of the axle of larger diameter than the bearing, to prevent
leakage.
Secondly, the improved wheel tires herein-before described, and shewn by
Figs. 6 to 12 inclusive, for the purpose of permitting the tire to slip round.
on the wheel to compensate the movement on two rails of different lengths
Thirdly, the improved spring tires herein-before described, and shewn by
Figures 13 to 2' inclusive, to give a rocking lateral movement and slight
power of flattening to the tire when required, to induce adhesion to the rail,
as well as power of slipping round the wheel within the tire on curved lines
of rail, to compensate for varying paths.
Fourthly, the tires with angular or other convenient sectional form of
flanges, salient and re-entrant, to communicate motion with better adhesion
and the mode of applying them to rails formed with re-entrant angles, as
herein-before described and shewn by Figs. 23, 23, and 24, to obtain better
adhesion for heavy loads or steep gradients.
Fifthly, the improved radial axle boxes to enable wheels and axles to run
either on straight or curved courses, applied to inside or outside bearings, with
flat tops, to take the spring shoes or spring rollers with or without knuckle.
joints or with rollers in the box top to facilitate movement, the axle being
either a fixture in the box or made to resolve therein, as herein-before.
described and shewn by Figures 25, 25, and 25b.
Also, the provision of curvilinean movement in the bearing brasses of such
radial axle-boxes, to compensate for irregularities of form in the exterual
radial surfaces when used for rough vehicles, as herein-before described
and shewn by Figures 26 to 29" inclusive.
Also, the arrangement for the radial bearing of the axle, which may
be fixed or revolving to slide radially through a metal frame working in
horn plates in the usual manner, as herein-before described and shewn by
Figs. 30 and 30°.
Also, the dovetail arrangement, either central or at the ends, or overlap in
radial lines to form radial boxes, which may dispense with the ordinary horn

page_text: plates, while giving curvilinean movement to the wheels and axles, and to
which. if the axles be fixed the box becomes merely a guide, as herein-before
described and shewn by Figures 31 and 31*.
Also, the combination of inside and outside radial boxes, either struck from
one or two centres, as herein-before described and shewn by Figure 32.
Lastly, the improved axle boxes herein before described, and shewn by
Figures 5, 5b, 5c, 54, 25, 25, 33, and 33*, as herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Bridges Adams, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Sixth day of May, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four.
WILLIAM BRIDGES ADAMS. (L.S.)