IMPROVEMENTS IN APPLYING THE WHEELS AND AYLES OF RAILWAY AND OTHER CARRIAGES
Year: 1864

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Williams Rice, of Market Place, Boston, in the
County of Lincoln, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPLYING
THE WHEELS AND AYLES OF RAILWAY AND OTHER CARRIAGES."
Sealed the 27th January 1865, and dated the 1st November 1864.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Williams Rice at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 1st
November 1864.
I, WILLIAMS RICE, of Market Place, Boston, in the County of Lincoln,
do hereby declare the nature of the Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPLYING
THE WHEELS AND AXLES OF RAILWAY AND OTHER CARRIAGES," to be as follows:--
This Invention has for its object improvements in applying the wheels and
axles of railway and other carriages.
Heretofore it has been generally the practice to fix or key the wheels of
railway carriages to the axles so that the wheels and axles revolve together,
but in some cases the wheels of such carriages have been arranged to turn ou
their axles whilst the axles are fixed or retained from rotating.
Now according to my Invention the wheels are not only free to turn on
their axles but the axles themselves are free to turn also. The ends of the
axles as heretofore åre received into bearings such as are now employed, and
are lubricated as heretofore, and the centres of the bosses or naves of the
wheels are suitably formed to turn freely on the axles, they not being keyed

page_text: thereon. The part of the axles on which the wheels are received and the
interior of the naves are as is well understood prepared and fitted accordingly,
and they are lubricated either from the same boxes as the other parts of the
axles, or separate provision is made for lubricating those parts. In like manner
the wheels and axles of other carriages may both be made free to turn.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Williams Rice in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 1st
May 1865.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAMS
RICE, of Market Place, Boston, in the County of Lincoln, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the First day of November, in the year of our Lord
Ono thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, in the twenty-eighth year of
Her reign, did, for Ierself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
nie, the said Williams Rice, Her special licence that I, the said Williams
Rice, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said Williams Rice, 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN
APPLYING THE WHEELS AND AXLES OF RAILWAY AND OTHER CARRIAGES," upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said Williams Rice, 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 Williams Rice, 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 thereof, that is to say:―
This Invention has for its object improvements in applying the wheels and
axles of railway and other carriages.
Heretofore it has been generally the practice to fix or key the wheels of
railway carriages to the axles so that the wheels and axles revolve together,

page_text: but in some cases the wheels of such carriages have been arranged to turn on.
their axles whilst the axles are fixed or retained from rotating.
Now according to my Invention the wheels are not only free to turn on
their axles but the axles themselves are free to turn also. The ends of the
axles as heretofore are received into bearings such as are now employed, and
are lubricated as heretofore, and the centres of the bosses or naves of the
wheels are suitably formed to turn freely on the axles, 'they not being keyed
'thereon. The parts of the axles on which the wheels are received and the
interior of the naves are, as is well understood, prepared and fitted accordingly,
and they are lubricated either from the same boxes as the other parts of the
axles, or separate provision is made for lubricating those parts. In like manner
the wheels and axles of other carriages may both be made free to turn.
i
Having thus stated the nature of my said Invention, I will proceed more
fully to describe the manner of performing the same.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 shows a side elevation of the nave or boss of a railway wheel, the
axle therein being shown in section; Figure 2 shows an exterior or end view of
the axle and also the nave or boss of a wheel; Figure 3 shows a transverse
section of the boss or nave of a wheel having the axle within it; and Figure 4
shows a similar transverse section of the nave or boss of the wheel without
the axle. In each of these Figures the same letters of reference are used
'to indicate the same parts.
:
a, a, is the nave or boss of the wheel, which, in place of being made to be
keyed fast on the axle 6 as is generally the case when axles such as those used
in railway carriages are employed, the nave or boss is made to turn freely on
the axle, at the same time the part of the axle which is within the boss or
nave is formed and turned in a suitable manner for receiving the boss or navė
and for allowing it to turn freely on the axles. Provision is also made for
retaining the boss or nave of the wheel from sliding on the axle in a direction
from end to end thereof. In the interior of the nave there are grooves c, c,
for the free passage and distribution of lubricating fluid, or this may be
accomplished by other arrangements. Suitable vessels d, d, are shown to be
applied to the nave or boss to contain lubricating fluid, which is conveyed to
the interior of the nave or boss by tubular passages and wicks e, e, or other
means of supplying lubricating fluid may be employed in place of the arrange-
ment shewn in the Drawing. The axle is turned down so as to form a fixed
collar at f, whilst on the other side of the boss or nave a screw ring or collar g
is applied, which, when screwed into position is fixed by a key or otherwise;

page_text: is the ordinary neck of the axle, which turns in the ordinary bearings or
boxes of railway carriages. In order that the interior of the nave or boss of
awheel may at all times fit the part. of the axle on which the boss or nave
turns, wedge-formed pieces i, i, are used, which are received into recesses in
the nave or boss shown in the Drawings. These wedge-formed pieces are
arranged to be set up from time to time by screws, screw nuts, and lock nuts,
as represented in the Drawing, but the interior of the naves or bosses of
wheels may be otherwise arranged so as to admit of adjustment when the
interiors of the naves or bosses become worn.
From the above description it will be evident that the naves or bosses and
axles of other than railway carriages may be similarly constructed and applied,
such as the trucks and waggons which are drawn by traction engines on common
roads as well as to other forms of carriages where similar axles are employed
and where the wheels have heretofore been usually keyed on the axles;
also where the axles have been fixed and the wheels have revolved on the
fixed axles.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and the manner of per-
forming the same, I would have it understood that what I claim is, the
arranging or constructing and applying of the axles and wheels of railway and
other carriages in such manner that the axles may turn freely in their boxes
or bearings whilst the wheels are also free to turn on their axles as herein
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Williams Rice, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this 18th day of April, in the year of our Lord Ono
thousand eight hundred and sixty-five.
WILLIAMS RICE. (L.s.)