IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF RAILWAY AND ROAD WHEELS, OF ROAD WHEEL ARMS OR AXLES, AND ALSO OF PULLEYS AND DRUMS
Year: 1864

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Joseph Rodgers, of Hunslet, in the Parish of Leeds,
in the County of York, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
CONSTRUCTION OF RAILWAY AND ROAD WHEELS, OF ROAD WHEEL ARMS OR
AXLES, AND ALSO OF PULLEYS AND DRUMS."
Sealed the 22nd July 164, and dated the 28th January 1864.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Joseph Rodgers at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 28th
January 1864.
I, JOSEPH RODGERS, of Hunslet, in the Parish of Leeds, in the County of
York, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF RAILWAY AND ROAD WHEELS, OF ROAD WHEEL ARMS OR
AXLES, AND ALSO OF PULLEYS AND DRUMS," to be as follows:-
The objects of my Invention are, firstly, the increased durability of the tyres
of railway wheels; secondly, the increased durability of common road wheels
and of drums and pulleys; and, thirdly, the easy removal and renewal of the
axletree bushes or bearings of common road wheels.
I effect these objects by various methods: firstly, in railway wheels I form
the rim with a recess in that part which comes under the "tread" of the tyre.
Into this recess I shrink in a heated state, or put on in a cold or dried state, a
Price 8d1

page_text: single or double hoop of wood, such hoop or hoops being composed of one or
more pieces curved to the required diameter and spliced in any convenient
and well known manner or "jumpjointed." The spokes being formed in
the V-shape usual in railway wagon wheels, I inserta packing of wood between
the contiguous arms of the spokes. These arms may be of various sections,
for instance, rectangular, oval, or parabolical in the solid, or a hollow parabola,
or oval with flattened ends and chamfered corners if desired. The boss or
nave of the wheel I make in this case of cast iron in the ordinary manner, the
packing between the arms passing for a short distance into the nave or boss.
The tyre may be shrunk on to the recessed rim in the ordinary manner, the
wooden hoop or hoops slightly projecting above the same.
Using a similar arrangement of spokes and rims for road wheels, or when
desired omitting the packing between the spokes, I shrink or fix on hoops of
wood of one or more lengths on the rims, these in turn receiving a plain tyre.
Or where a broad wheel is required between two broad thin plates the lower
one being attached to the rim of the wheel and having a wooden hoop or
wooden hoops fixed on the centre part I place two rings of iron at the external
edge, the ordinary tyre being shrunk on the whole. The naves and axle boxes
of common road wheels I construct by any of the several under-mentioned
methods. By my first plan I make the centre part or axle box a hollow
wrought-iron tube, having the outer end closed and the inner end screwed
(internally by preference) to receive a nut (bored out to the diameter of the
shaft) which prevents the escape of the oil. On the middle of the bearing I
place a collar nearly equal to the internal diameter of the axle box or tube.
A second bush or bearing fixed within the outer or extreme end of the axle
box receives the extreme end of the axle or bearing. By this arrangement
a neat compact axle box is obtained. When the collar on the axle is between
the bushes it equalizes the strain, though in some cases I prefer to place the
collar at the inner end instead of the centre of the bearing, inaking oue bush
the whole length of the bearing, secured in a manner hereafter explained.
The bush or bushes being separate from the box may readily be removed and
are provided with lugs. Recesses are cut in the axle box to enable them to enter.
When placed within the axle box the bushes are secured either by keys or by
recesses adapted to the lugs or by both methods. I prefer to make the bushies
of cast iron, chilled or otherwise, steel, brass, or other alloy, grooves being
cut on the external surface of the axle box on that portion where the nave or
boss is required, this may be cast around the s: me in the ordinary manner.
For common wagons a similar internal arrangement of axle box to that
above described may be used, the axle box and nave being cast in one piece.

page_text: s cap,
For superior vehicles I use a hollow tube as before, the outer end being
closed and the inner end screwed externally, but I form a flanch on the
periphery in a convenient part provided with recesses to receive the spokes
which are pressed against the flanch by means of a cap screwed on the inner
end of the axle box and against the inner edge of the spokes. This in
like manner as the internal nut before described, is bored out to receive the
shaft or axle, and a plate being put between the end of the tube and the cap
the oil is retained in the box and escape prevented. The cap is prevented
from becoming loose by means of a set screw. The axle or bearing is
provided with a collar as before and may be parallel or conical.
Drums and pulleys I construct in halves or quarters bolted together with a
packing of wood inserted and covered externally with one or more hoops in a
manner similar to that before described for covering the rims of railway or
common road wheels. Each half or quarter of the drums or pulleys is
composed of wrought iron, stamped, pressed, or forged in one piece. By this
method a light framework of iron only is requisite.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Joseph Rodgers in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
27th July 1864.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOSEPH
RODGERS, of Hunslet, in the Parish of Leeds, in the County of York, 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 One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, in the twenty-seventh year
of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said Joseph Rodgers, Her special licence that I, the said Joseph
Rodgers, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said Joseph Rodgers, 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 THE CONSTRUCTION OF RAILWAY AND ROAD WHEELS, OF ROAD WHEEL

page_text: ARMS OR AXLES, AND ALSO OF PULLEYS AND DRUMS." upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said Joseph Rogers, 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 Joseph Rodgers, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in aud by the following
statement thereof, that is to say :-
The objects of my Invention of improvements in the construction of railway
and road wheels, of road wheel arms or axles, and also of pulleys and drums,
are, firstly, the increased durability of the tyres of railway wheels; secondly,
the increased durability of common road wheels and of drums and pulleys;
and, thirdly, the easy removal and renewal of the axletree bushes or bearings
of common road wheels.
I effect these objects by various methods: firstly, in railway wheels, I
form the rim with a recess in that part which comes under the "tread" of the
tyre. Into this recess I shrink in a heated state, or put on in a cold or dried
state, a single or double hoop of wood, such hoop or hoops of wood being
composed of one or more pieces curved or bent from straight lengths to the
required diameter, and spliced in any convenient and well-known manner, or
"jumpjointed." The spokes being formed in the V-shape usual in railway
wagon wheels, I insert a packing of wood between the contiguous arms of the
spokes. These arms may be of various sections, for instance, rectangular,
oval, or parabolical in the solid, or a hollow parabola or oval, with flattened
ends and chamfered corners if desired. The boss or nave of the wheel I make
in this case of cast iron in the ordinary manner, the packing between the arms
passing for a short distance into the nave or boss. The tyre may be shrunk
on to the recessed rim in the ordinary manner, the wooden hoop or hoops
slightly projecting above the same. Or in wrought-iron wheels the tyre may
be recessed and fitted with a hoop or hoops.
Using a similar arrangement of spokes and rims for road wheels, or, when
desired, omitting the packing between the spokes, I shrink or fix on hoops of
wood of one or more lengths and thicknesses (bent from straight lengths as
before) on the rims; these in turn receiving a plain tyre. Or where a broad
wheel is required between two broad thin plates, the lower one being attached

page_text: to the rim of the wheel, and having a wooden hoop or wooden hoops fixed
on the centre part, I place two rings of iron at the external edge, the
ordinary tyre being shrunk on the whole.
The naves and axle boxes of common road wheels I construct by any of the
several under-mentioned methods. By my first plan I make the centre partor
axle box a hollow wrought-iron tube,having the outer end closed and the inner
end screwed (internally by preference) to receive a nut (bored out to the
diameter of the axle) which prevents the escape of the oil. On the middle of
the bearing I place a collar nearly equal to the internal diameter of the axle
box or tube. A second bush or bearing fixed within the outer or extreme
end of the axle box receives the extreme end of the axle or bearing. By this
arrangement a neat compact axle box is obtained. When the collar on the
axle is between the bushes it equalizes the strain, though in some cases I
prefer to place the collar at the inner end instead of the centre of the bearing,
making one bush the whole length of the bearing, secured in a manner here-
after explained. The bush or bushes being separate from the box may
readily be removed, and are provided with lugs. Recesses are cut in the axle
box to enable them to enter. When placed within the axle box the bushes
are secured either by keys or by recesses adapted to the lugs, or by both
methods. I prefer to make the bushes of cast iron, chilled or otherwise, steel,
brass, or other alloy, grooves being cut on the external surface of the axle
box on that portion where the nave or boss is required, this may be cast
around the same in the ordinary manner.
For common wagons a similar internal arrangement of axle box to that
above described may be used, the axle box and nave being cast in one piece.
For superior vehicles I use a hollow tube as before, the outer end being
closed and the inner end screwed externally; but I form a flanch on the
periphery in a convenient part provided with recesses to reeeive the spokes
which are pressed against the flanch by means of a cap screwed on the inner
end of the axle box and against the inner edge of the spokes. This
сар, in
like manner as the internal nut before described, is bored out to receive the
arm or axle, and a plate being put between the end of the tube and the cap,
the oil is retained in the box and escape prevented. The cap is prevented
from becoming loose by means of a set screw. The axle or bearing is pro-
vided with a collar as before, and may be parallel or conical.
Drums and pulleys I construct in halves or quarters,bolted together with a
packing of wood, or without, inserted and covered externally with one or more
hoops, in a manner similar to that before described for covering the rims of
railway or common road wheels, each half or quarter of the drums or pulley;

page_text: this method a light framework of iron only is requisite.
But in order that my Invention may better understood, reference is made
to the accompanying Sheets of Drawings, and the letters and figures marked
thereon.
DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 (Sheet 1) represents a sectional view, and Figure 2 a side eleva-
tion of a railway wheel having a cast-iron boss a, in which are fixed in the
ordinary manner the spokes b, b, having a recessed rim c fitted with one or
more hoops of wood d, such hoop or hoops being retained in its or their
position by means of the tyre e having an inner ring f. Between each pair of
contiguous spokes are the wooden packings g, g, extending from the inner
surface of the rim almost to the bottom of the spokes.
Figures 3 and 4 represent a side elevation and section of a wrought-iron
railway wheel having solid spokes and boss, but with the tyre e recessed to
receive one or more hoops of wood d curved from the straight to the required
diameter. If desired, the rim may be recessed where a wrought-iron boss
is used; but the plan shown is considered preferable.
Figures 5 and 6 represent an end and side elevation of an ordinary road
wheel, the nave of which will be afterwards described. The spokes are
secured to the boss in the same manner as those shown in Figure 2, and are
shown without wood packings, although such packings may be used in such
cases as desired. Two hoops of wood d, d, (each bent from one straight piece
and spliced, though obviously shorter pieces may be used if desired,) are
shrunk on to the rim in the manner previously described, the whole being
bound together by an outer hoop or tyre.
Figure 5, 5, and 5b, (Sheet 2) represent sections and sectional side
elevation of a road wheel adapted to heavy wagons. In this instance it will
be noted that a wrought-iron nave or boss is used, screwed externally like that
shown in Figure 20 (Sheet 1). The spokes are secured to the boss by means
of set screws a, a. The holes receiving the set screws are also used as grease
holes when the screws are removed, and in consequence of "flats" cast on the
bushes (shown in dotted line in Figure 5', but more clearly perceived in the
section of bush n, shown in Figure 23 (Sheet 1). The grease has access by
means of the clearance allowed between the bushes and the collar on the arm,
as well as between the collar and the nave or boss, to all parts of the bearing
or axle.
The slots b, b, (Figure 5b) are cut for the purpose of admitting lugs
on the bushes, shown in Figure 5°. These lugs, after passing through the

page_text: slots 6, 6, Figure 5b, are twisted into a groove c, c, concentric with the inner
circumference of the boss. Keys are then placed in the slots b, b, and the
bushes are then perfectly secured. The grooves d, d, Figures 5ª and 5c in the
caps e, e, are fitted with leather washers to prevent the escape of oil. The
contiguous arms or spokes f,f, are secured together by means of rivets with
countersunk heads. The tyre, wooden hoops, and rim are likewise secured
by rivets.
The arrangement above described for securing the bushes, as well as the
flattened sides of the same, may be applied, with or without slight modifica-
tions of detail, to any of the subsequent styles of nave or boss shown
in Figures 17, 18, 19, and 20, (Sheet I.,) and in Figures 6ª, 6b, and 6°,
(Sheet 2).
Figures 6ª, 6, and 6c show a compound nave or boss, viz., wrought and
cast iron in conjunction, the box a (Figures 6", 6c,) being of wrought iron
fitted with a cap b, whilst the boss c is of cast iron cast on to the box and
secured by means of grooves on the periphery of the same. The bottoms of
the spokes d, d, are shown semicircular, being more readily manufactured,
thus the internal arrangements of this boss are similar to those in Figure 5
with the exception of a slight taper on the outer end of the arm of the axle
Various sections of railway and road wheel, tyres, and spokes are shown from
Figure 7 to Figure 13ª, (Sheet 2,) and from Figure 7 to Figure 16,
(Sheet 1).
Figure 7 is shown with a wooden hoop l, as well as two rings m, m, placed
one between the tyre and the hoop, and the other between the rim and the
hoop. These rings may be made in one or more pieces. The tyre rings,
hoop, and rim being secured together by rivets. Figures 8ª, 9, 10" show
simply one ring, and that placed between the hoop and the rim. Figures 11ª
and 12 show the wooden hoop put in a recessed tyre, the edges of the hoop
being square or bevilled. Figure 13ª shows the hoop shrunk on to the rim,
and retained in position by means of washer rings a, a.
These sections may
of course be modified in a variety of ways.
The section shown in Figure 7 (Sheet 1) represents that I prefer for a
broad road wheel, consisting of a wooden hoop or hoops between two thin
plates 6, 6, retained in position by the ringsf, f, d forming the tyre, and e the
rim. The construction of the remaining sectious is obvious.
Figures 17, 18, 19, and 20 represent the naves or bosses and arms in
section adapted to various kinds of road wheels. In Figure 17 the nave a is
a hollow wrought-iron tube, the inner end of which is screwed internally (by
preference) to receive the nut b, which retains the bushes c, c, in position as

page_text: well as the arm d. The nut itself may be secured by split pins or screws
through holes e, e. The bushes c, c, are prevented from turning round, as
before explained, by means of lugs or collars or their peripheries, which fit
into recesses made to receive them within the nave.
Grooves are cut in the
periphery of the nave to receive the boss f, which is cast round it in an
ordinary manner. The arm d, it will be observed, has a collar in the centre
to steady the motion and equalize the wear of the bushes c, c, which may
readily be removed when worn out. Figure 18 shows the arm with the collar
at the inner end, an arrangement which may be desired in some instances, the
bush in this instance being in one piece, secured in the same manner as before.
The nut, it will be observed, is recessed to receive a leather washer to prevent
the escape of oil, an expedient which may be resorted to in the previous
arrangement, Figure 17, or succeeding Figures 19, 20, if desired. In
other respects this nave is the same as previous one. Figure 19 shews a
cast-iron nave or boss, the internal arrangements of which are similar in
principle to those before described. This boss is suited to heavy work.
Figure 20 shows an arrangement adapted to superior vehicles. The nave or
boss a is screwed externally in this instance on the inner end, and by means
of a cap 6 the spokes c, c, are pressed against notches or recesses cut in the
flanch a¹, a¹, and thus secured. Internally two bushes are shown, and the
collar g is shown in the centre.
Figures 21 and 22 show a section and plan of a bush having lugs a, a. It
will be observed that the bushes for the external end of the naves are recessed
for projections on the inside of the nave.
Figure 23 represents an arrangement of spokes having packing between in
connection with a wrought-iron boss, the keys a, a, securing the spokes to
the boss.
Figures 24 and 25 represent a drum or pulley in section and side elevation
made in two or more parts of wrought iron bolted together and having a
packing of wood 1, 7, between the halves, as well as a hoop m shrunk on in a
manner similar to that described for tyres or rims.
Figures 26 and 27 show simply a wrought-iron drum or pulley without
packing or hoop, made in halves and bolted together. In this, as in the
preceding case, the pulley or drum may be made in two or more parts, if
desired.
Having now described the various features of my Invention, I would have
it understood that what I claim as and of my Invention is the use of wooden
hoops and packings applied as described to railway and road wheels, drums,
and pulleys, the construction of wrought-iron pulleys without packing in the

page_text: nanner shown and described; also naves or bosses and arms constructed
essentially as described without confining myself to the precise details shewn.
In witness whereof, I, the said Joseph Rodgers, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-fifth day of July, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four.
JOSEPH RODGERS. (L..s.)