IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF IRON AND STEEL WHEELS FOR RAILWAY AND OTHER CARRIAGES, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES, AND IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS EMPLOYED IN THE SAID MANUFACTURE."
Year: 1881

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Walter Somers, of Halesowen, in the County of Worcester,
Ironmaster, for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF
IRON AND STEEL WHEELS FOR RAILWAY AND OTHER CARRIAGES, AND FOR
OTHER PURPOSES, AND IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS EMPLOYED IN THE
SAID MANUFACTURE."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Walter Somers at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 16th September 1881.
WALTER SOMERS, of Halesowen, in the County of Worcester, Ironmaster.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF IRON AND STEEL WHEELS FOR
RAILWAY AND OTHER CARRIAGES, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES, AND IN MACHINERY
OR APPARATUS EMPLOYED IN THE SAID MANUFACTURE."
My Invention has reference principally to the manufacture of iron and steel
wheels for railway carriages, but is also applicable to the manufacture of iron and
steel wheels for other purposes, and my said Invention consists in manufacturing
the said wheels by the forging process herein after described, and the machinery
or apparatus, also herein after described, by which the said forging process is
conducted.
In manufacturing a railway carriage or other wheel according to my Invention,
I take a mass of iron or steel of a weight dependent upon the size of the wheel to
be manufactured, and having raised it to a bright red heat I place it in a die or
mould having the figure of a short hollow cylinder closed at bottom and having a
central hole in the bottom. This die or mould is supported on a firm base, and is
capable of being turned thereon.
Immediately over the said mould is a steam or other hammer the acting face of
which is of a length equal to the diameter of the interior of the mould, but much
narrower than it is long. This hammer crosses the mould in the direction of a

page_text: diameter. By the action of the said bainmer, combined with the slow rotary
motion given to the mould, the heated iron or steel is forged or spread out from
the centre to the marginal portions of the mould, and thereby made accurately to
take the figure of the said mould.
After the mass of heated iron or steel has thus been made into a short hollow
cylinder, I pierce a central hole in it. This is done by placing a template on the
mould, the said template having a central hole in it.
By means of a punch passed through the hole in the template, a central core is
cut from the heated iron or steel, and forced through the hole in the bottom of the
mould.
The short perforated cylinder of iron or steel is subjected to the operation of a
series of moulds or dies and hammers, the said moulds or dies being of progressively
increasing diameter, and having internal figures progressively approaching the
figure of the tyre and the outer side of the wheel to be made.
The hammers used with these dies have working faces progressively approaching
the sectional figure of the inner side of the wheel to be made, the last mould and
the hammer used with it having the exact figure to be given to the sides and
tyre of the wheel. Each of the moulds and hammers has a central hole, an axis
or mandril being placed in the hole in the mould to preserve the proper size of the
hole in the wheel during the forging process.
The mass of iron or steel forming the wheel under manufacture is heated to
bright redness each time it is operated upon by a fresh mould and hammer, and
the mould is in every case slowly rotated during the action of the hammer.
By my Invention a railway or other wheel is made solid or in one piece from
iron or steel railway carriage and other like wheels made according to my Invention,
have the advantage that the tyre can safely be worn further than the tyre of a
railway carriage or other wheel as ordinarily manufactured, and when worn can be
turned and have a tyre shrunk upon it.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Walter Somers in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 11th March
1882.
WALTER SOMERS, of Halesowen, in the County of Worcester, Ironmaster.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF IRON AND STEEL WHEELS FOR
RAILWAY AND OTHER CARRIAGES, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES, AND IN MACHINERY
OR APPARATUS EMPLOYED IN THE SAID MANUFACTURE."
My Invention has reference principally to the manufacture of iron and steel
wheels for railway carriages, but is also applicable to the manufacture of iron and
steel wheels for other purposes; and my said Invention consists in manufacturing
the said wheels by the forging process hereinafter described, and the machinery
or apparatus, also hereinafter described, by which the said forging process is
conducted.
In manufacturing a railway carriage or other wheel according to my Invention,
I take a mass of iron or steel of a weight dependent upon the size of the wheel to
be manufactured, and having raised it to a welding beat I place it in a die or
mould having nearly the figure of a short hollow cylinder closed at bottom, and
having a central hole in the bottom. This die or mould is supported on a firm
base, and is capable of being turned thereon.
Immediately over the said mould is a steam or other hammer, the acting face of
which is of a length equal to the diameter of the mould, but much narrower than
it is long. This hammer crosses the mould in the direction of a diameter. By
the action of the said hammer, combined with the slow rotary motion given to
the mould, the heated iron or steel is forged or spread out from the centre to
the marginal portions of the mould, and thereby made accurately to take the figure
of the said mould.
After the mass of heated iron or steel has thus been made into a short hollow
cylinder, I pierce a central hole in it. This is done by placing a template on the
mould, the said template having a central hole in it. By means of a punch passed
through the hole in the template, a central core is cut from the heated iron or
steel, and forced through the hole in the bottom of the mould.
The short perforated cylinder of iron or steel is subjected to the operation of a
series of moulds or dies and bammers, the said moulds or dies being of progres-
sively increasing diameter, and having internal figures progressively approaching
the figure of the tyre and the outer side of the wheel to be made.
The hammers used with these dies have working faces progressively approaching
the sectional figure of the inner side of the wheel to be made, the last mould and
the hammer used with it having the exact figure to be given to the sides and tyre
of the wheel. Each of the moulds and hammers has a central hole, an axis or
mandril being placed in the hole in the mould to preserve the proper size of the
hole in the wheel during the forging process.
The mass of iron or steel forming the wheel under manufacture is heated to a
white or welding heat each time it is operated upon by a fresh mould and
hammer, and the mould is in every case slowly rotated during the action of the
hammer.
By my Invention a railway or other wheel is made solid or in one piece from
iron or steel. Railway carriage and other like wheels made according to my
Invention have the advantage that the tyre can safely be worn further than the
tyre of a railway carriage or other wheel as ordinarily manufactured, and when

page_text: worn can be turned and have a tyre shrunk upon it. I will now proceed to
describe, with reference to the accompanying Drawing, the manner in which my
Invention is to be performed.
I will describe my Invention in connection with the manufacture of a railway
carriage wheel.
Figure represents in vertical section the mould or die and hammer by which
the mass of iron or steel to be made into a railway wheel is first operated
upon.
a is the mould or lower die in which the mass of heated iron or steel is placed.
This die or mould has on its underside a cylindrical neck or collar b which fits in
a cylindrical hole in a bed or foundation plate; the said die or mould a is capable
of rotating upon the said neck or collar 6. The interior of the said mould a has
a nearly cylindrical or slightly conical figure, as represented; c is a hole in the axis
of the mould a; d is the upper tool or hammer, which is connected to the ram or
plunger of a steam or other hammer by the dovetail e, which is fixed by wedging
or otherwise in the said ram or plunger.
Figure 2 represents the mould a and hammer b in plan, and it will be seen by
an examination of the said plan that the hammer d, while having a length equal
to the diameter of the mould or die a, has a breadth only equal to about one fourth
of its length.
.
In operating upon the mass of heated iron or steel placed in the mould or die a
a slow rotation is given to the said mould or die a, and the hammer d is made to
perform a series of rapid descents, and thereby to give a series of blows to the mass
of heated iron or steel in the mould or die a.
By the action described the mass of heated iron or steel is made accurately to
take the figure of the space enclosed between the hammer d and mould or die a,
Figure 1. The hammer being removed, a circular template having a central hole
equal in size to the hole to be punched in the shaped mass of iron or steel is placed
upon the top of the mould or die a. This template serves as a guide, through
which a punch is made to descend and cut out a central core from the shaped mass
of iron or steel, and force the said core through the opening c in the mould or
die a.
Figure 3 represents in vertical section the mould and hammer by which the
mass of iron or steel shaped by the mould and hammer, Figures 1 and 2, is next
operated-upon-after-having-been-raised-to-a-welding-heat. The mould-marked-
is provided with a neck or collar 62 upon which it turns, and the hammer being
much longer than the hammer d is strengthened by a rib d³. The shape of the
hammer d², with its rib ds and dovetail e², is best seen in the plan, Figure 4. A
central pin is fixed in the hole c² which central pin occupies and preserves the
figure of the hole formed in the shaped mass of metal while under operation in the
apparatus, Figures 3 and 4.
The mass of iron or steel being heated to a welding heat is placed in the die or
mould a², and while the said mould a² is slowly rotated the hammer d² is made to
give upon the heated mass of metal a series of rapid blows, thereby forcing it into
the space enclosed between the said mould a² and hammer d², Figure 3, the shaped
mass having a central hole of the same diameter as the hole c³.
The mass of iron or steel shaped by the apparatus, Figures 3 and 4, is next
operated upon in succession by the moulds and hammers respectively represented
in Figures 5, 6, 7, and 8. The mass of iron or steel is heated previous to its being
operated upon by each of the moulds and hammers, Figures 5, 6, 7, and 8.
As the said moulds and hammers differ from those represented in Figures 3
and 4 only in the respect that they have in section the several configurations
represented and are used in exactly the same way, as described with reference to
Figures 3 and 4, I do not consider a further description of the said Figures 5, 6,
7, and 8 necessary.
By the action of the moulds and hammers, Figures 5, 6, 7, and 8, the shaped
mass after treatment by the mould and hammer, Figures 3 and 4, is gradually

page_text: brought into the required figure, the die and hammer, Figure S, having the exact
section of the finished wheel.
The required rotatory motion may be given to the several moulds or lower dies
by means of a bar or rod inserted in a hole in the base of the mould or die, the
workman slowly travelling round the apparatus and causing the mould slowly to
rotate upon its neck or collar; or the required slow rotation may be given to the
mould by means of a steam engine or other motive power engine to which the
mould is geared by toothed or other gearing.
Instead of giving a rotatory motion to the moulds or lower dies the said moulds
or dies may be fixed, and the hammers have a rotatory motion in addition to their
rising and falling motion; but I prefer to make the said moulds or dies rotate
instead of the hammers.
Although I prefer to actuate the hammer by means of steam power, yet I do not
limit myself to the use of any particular motive powers for actuating the said
hammers.
The method of manufacture of a railway wheel which I have described, and the
apparatus used for that purpose represented in the accompanying Drawing, may be
applied to the manufacture of wheels of iron or steel other than railway wheels;
but the manufacture of wheels other than railway wheels is conducted in the way
herein before described with respect to a railway wheel, and the moulds or dies
and hammers differ only from those represented in the accompanying Drawing
in having the sectional figures required by the particular wheel to be manufactured.
Having now described the nature of my Invention and the manner in which
the same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that I claim as my
Invention,
First. The improvement or improvements in the manufacture of iron and steel
wheels for railway and other carriages and for other purposes, herein before
described and illustrated in the accompanying Drawing, that is to say, operating
upon a mass of heated iron or steel by means of a series of moulds or dies and
hammers, the said dies or moulds (or hammers) having a slow rotatory motion
given to them during the action of the hammers upon the mass contained in the
said dies or moulds, by the action of which dies or moulds and hammers the mass
of heated iron or steel operated upon is by a series of progressive modifications of
shape brought into the sectional figure of the finished wheel, substantially as
described and illustrated.
Secondly. The machinery or apparatus herein before described and illustrated
in the accompanying Drawing to be used in the manufacture of iron and steel
wheels for railway and other carriages and for other purposes, that is to say,
machinery or apparatus consisting of a series of moulds or dies combined with
haminers worked by steam or other motive power, the said moulds, or dies, or
hammers slowly rotating and being constructed and operating substantially as
described and illustrated.
In witness whereof, I, the said Walter Somers, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Ninth day of March, in the year of our Lord One thousand
Witness,
RICHARD SKERRETT,
37, Temple Street,
Birmingham.
WALTER SOMERS. (L.S.)