IMPROVEMENTS IN RAILWAY CARRIAGE WHEELS
Year: 1861

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Edward Newton, of the Office for Patents,
66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, for tho
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN RAILWAY CARRIAGE WHEELS."-A com-
munication from abroad by Ebenezer A. Lester, of Boston, in the State of
Massachusetts, and United States of America.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Edward Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
28th January 1861.
I, WILLIAM EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane,
in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN RAILWAY CARRIAGE WHEELS," to be
as follows:-
This Invention of improvements in railway carriage wheels relates to that
class of railroad carriage wheels in which the rim or tread of the wheel and the
body of the wheel are made separate, and afterwards are secured together by
screw bolts or other suitable fastenings:
Repeated efforts have been made to introduce an elastic material (such as
india-rubber) between the rim and body of the wheel for the purpose of
relieving the axle and its bearings from the violent jar and concussion to which

page_text: the wheel is liable when passing over such irregularities and obstructions as
constantly occur on the rails, particularly where the ends of two rails are
joined together; but it has been found in practice that india-rubber, when sub-
jected to such constant concussion and wear, will not last unless it is severely
compressed when applied.
This present Invention has for its object to confine and compress an elastic
bearing of vulcanized india-rubber between the removeable rim and body of
the wheel, and consists in forming the bearing face or periphery for the wheel,
and also the corresponding inner surface of the rim in an inclined position, so
that as the rim is drawn up laterally to the wheel by the screw bolts (or other
means) which fasten the two parts of the wheel together, the rubber which is
placed between these two inclined surfaces will be severely compressed, as
required
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Edward Newton in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 26th July 1861.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-eighth day of January, in the year of
our Lord 1861, in the twenty-fourth year of Her reign, did, for Herself,
Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said William Edward
Newton, Her special license that I, the said William Edward Newton, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William
Edward Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns should at any
time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after 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 "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN RAILWAY CARRIAGE WHEELS," & communication to him from abroad by
Ebenezer A. Lester, of Boston, in the State of Massachusetts, and United
States of America, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
William Edward Newton, by an instrument in writing under my hand and
seal, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention,

page_text: 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.
1
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Edward Newton, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is
to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):-
Fig. 1 is a plan of my improved wheel; Fig. 2, a section on the line a, a,
of Fig. 1; Fig. 8, a section showing some modifications of my Invention.
In that class of railroad carriage wheels in which the rim or tread of the
wheel and the body of the wheel are made separate and afterwards are secured
together by screw bolts or other suitable fastenings, repeated efforts have
been made to introduce an elastic material (such as india-rubber) between the
rim and body of the wheel for the purpose of relieving the axle and its bear-
ings from the violent jar and concussion to which the wheel is liable when
passing over such irregularities and obstructions as constantly occur on the
rails, particularly where the ends of two rails are joined together. It has been
found in practice that india-rubber, when subjected to such constant concussion
and wear, will not last unless it is severely compressed when applied.
This present Invention has for its object to confine and compress an elastic
bearing of vulcanized india-rubber between the removable rim and body of the
wheel, and consists in forming the bearing face or periphery of the wheel and
also the corresponding inner surface of the rim inclined, so that as the rim is
drawn up laterally to the wheel by the screw bolts (or other means) which
fasten the two parts of the wheel together, the rubber which is placed between
these two inclined surfaces will be severely compressed, as required.
That others skilled in the art may understand and use the Invention, I will
proceed to describe the manner in which the Inventor has carried out the
same.
In the said Drawings, A is the body of the wheel, which as well as the
hub B, is cast in the usual manner and of any desirable pattern. The peri-
phery of this wheel is formed with an inclined face a, and a small elevated
bead or flange c around it. The rim C of the wheel which is cast separate
from the body A has the tread d'and the flange f of the usual form; it has its
inner face e inclined or bevelled and turned out smooth, to correspond with the
inclined surface a of the body A; it also has a portion g which overlaps the
outer portion h of the body A. Screw bolts D pass through the part 9 of

page_text: the rim C and through the body A of the wheel, and are drawn up tight and
secured by double or lock nuts 1. A band i of vulcanized india-rubber is dis
tended around the periphery of the body A on the face a. A ring of sheet
rubber m is also laid against the portion h of the wheel, the rim C is now put
on and is drawn up tight to the body A. by the bolts D and nuts 1. The draw-
ing together of these parts compresses the rubber band i between the two
bevelled or inclined surfaces a and e, whilst the small flange c prevents its
escape. This band i is of sufficient thickness, when compressed, to keep the
flange c from contact with the rim C, otherwise the desired elasticity would not
be obtained. The ring m between the parts 9 and h prevents the abrasion of
surfaces which would ensue if the metals were allowed to come in contact, and
allows the parts g and h to move past each other a short distance as required,
without rattling. To permit this slight motion of the rim C towards and from
the body A of the wheel, it is necessary that one part or the other should play
over the bolts D. To accommodate this motion, the holes in the body A
through which these bolts D pass are made larger than the bolts, and the bolts
are each surrounded with a sleeve o of rubber, which is slipped over the bolt
before it is entered. As the friction of the wheel on the rail when the carriage
is being drawn along, particularly at curves, tends to carry the rim C around
the body A and thereby apply a considerable strain on the bolts D, I have
adopted the following plan for relieving the bolts:-Three or more lugs p cast
on the rim C project inwards towards the hub, a mortise in each of these lugs
receives a tenon r, which is formed in a projections cast on the body A of the
wheel. India-rubber is introduced between the end of the tenon r and the
bottom of the mortise, and also around the sides of the tenon (as shown at v,
Fig. 2) to prevent rattling of the parts. The lugs p and the projections s do
not come together, but a space is left between them, as shown at u.
There are other forms of wheel in which the inclined surfaces may be
introduced for compressing the rubber, such changes of form and construction,
however, I consider as embodied in the spirit of this Invention. For example,
the left hand of Fig. 3 represents a section of a wheel formed in three parts,
A. B, and C, the rim C being drawn up to the part B by bolts a, and having
two inclined bearing surfaces 2 and 3, under which the rubber is compressed.
The part B in the same way is drawn up and secured to the hub A by bolts d
the rubber e being. compressed between the inclined surfaces 4 and 5. The
right hand of this same Figure shows another method of locking the rim E
and body F together.
In this case tenons f, cast on the body F, enter corresponding mortises

page_text: formed in lugs g, which project from the inner face of the rim E. India-
rubber is interposed between the tenon and mortise, as shown at o, as in the
former case. When the bolts ware drawn up, the rim is drawn down laterally
on to the tenons f.
Having now set forth the nature of this Invention and explained the
manner of carrying the same into effect, I wish it to be understood that under
the above-recited Letters Patent I claim as an improvement in the construction
of wheels for railroad carriages, an inclined surface on the body of the wheel and
another corresponding surface on the inner side of the rim, so that as the rim
is drawn up to the body of the wheel by bolts or other fastenings the rubber
shall be compressed substantially, as set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Edward Newton, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, the Twenty-fourth day of July, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one.
W. E. NEWTON. (L.S.)