IMPROVEMENTS IN BARS, RAILS FOR RAILWAYS, TUBES, AND ARTICLES OF COMBINED IRON AND STEEL, AND IN THE MODES OF MANUFACTURING THE SAME, ALSO IN REDUCING HOLLOW METAL OBJECTS
Year: 1871

page_text: ETTERS PATENT to John Henry Johnson, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields,
in the County of Middlesex, Gentleman, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN BARS, RAILS FOR RAILWAYS, TUBES, AND ARTICLES OF
COMBINED IRON AND STEEL, AND IN THE MODES OF MANUFACTURING THE SAME,
ALSO IN REDUCING HOLLOW METAL OBJECTS."-A communication from
abroad by Elbridge Wheeler, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United
States of America.
ealed the 11th July 1871, and dated the 15th February 1871.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Henry Johnson
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 15th February 1871.
I, JOHN HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County
of Middlesex, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said Inven-
tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN BARS, RAILS FOR RAILWAYS, TUBES, AND ARTICLES
OF COMBINED IRON AND STEEL, AND IN THE MODES OF MANUFACTURING THE SAME,
ALSO IN REDUCING HOLLOW METAL OBJECTS," a communication to me from

page_text: abroad by Elbridge Wheeler, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United
States of America, to be as follows :—
The first part of this Invention relates to merchantable bars of com-
bined iron and steel, to the mode of manufacturing the same, and to the
production of useful articles of combined iron and steel, the main
feature of this part of the Invention being the inclosing of steel within
a tube or coating of iron, so that during the heating and reduction of
the pile the steel is prevented by the iron from decarbonization and
deterioration which would be the result of exposing the steel directly
to the heat necessary for rolling. When the merchantable bars thus
produced directly from the iron coated steel pile are converted into
articles of utility, the exterior coating of iron forms in many instances
a most desirable component part of the object, as it imparts tenacity to
the same, and a hard steel surface may be imparted to any part of the
object by simply removing the iron exterior and hardening the exposed
steel surface.
The second part of the Invention consists in reducing steel either in
ingots or piles by inclosing the same in a thin casing of iron as nearly
air-tight as possible, then heating the whole, and finally subjecting it to
the action of rolls; this portion of the Invention assimilating to the first
as regards the coating of steel with iron is concerned, but differing in
this respect, that the iron coating in the present portion of the Invention
is only used as a medium for facilitating the reduction of the steel, the
iron being reduced to a thin film when the steel has been reduced to an
object of utility, whereas in the first part of the Invention the outer
coating of iron remains a component and useful part of the steel after
the pile has been reduced.
The third part of the Invention relates to the manufacture of railroad
rails of combined iron and steel, and consists principally in the employ-
ment of an iron clothed steel bar as the top of the pile from which the
rail has to be rolled, the rail itself being entirely clothed with iron,
which, however, at the tread consists of a thin almost imperceptible
film, while the box may be entirely of iron and the web partly of steel
and partly of iron, the latter serving by its tenacity to strengthen the
former.
This part of the Invention further consists of combined iron and steel
rails of peculiar construction for ordinary railroads and street railroads.
Also of a rail composed entirely of iron. In carrying this part of the

page_text: Invention into effect I adopt the process described in the second part of
the Invention, that is to say, I take a solid square ingot of steel encased
in plate iron or a pile of steel bars incased in iron, or steel scraps incased
in iron, and either of these I reduce to the form of bars having one or
more longitudinal projections of steel covered with iron, which bars are
to be combined with iron in a pile prior to the reduction of the latter
into a steel headed rail, each bar still retaining its outer coating of iron
but considerably reduced in thickness.
The fourth part of the Invention relates to rails of the peculiar
construction described hereafter, the objects of these rails being the
economising of material, the avoidance of external splices, and the
absorption by the rails of shocks, thereby preventing the rapid dete-
rioration both of the roadway and rolling stock.
One form of rail consists of two parts, namely, the cap bar and base
bar, the cap being in the form of the letter U inverted and having at its
lower edges flanges so that the bottom of the cap will fit snugly between
ribs in the base bar. The cap may be entirely of steel or iron, but I
prefer to make it of iron and steel combined in the manner described
above, the base plate being made entirely of iron. The base bars are
continuous and the joint between two adjoining bars occurs at a point
midway or thereabouts between the opposite ends of the superincumbent
cap bar. This compound rail is secured to the sleepers by ordinary
spikes the heads of which project on to the flanges of the cap bar; these
flanges and the ribs of the base bar being purposely proportioned for
the purpose. The splice between the rails is contained within the cap
bar, and may consist of a strip of wood or other suitable material. The
cap bar and base bar are sometimes to be used in conjunction with a
third element, namely, a continuous core of wood fitting snugly within
the cap bar and on the base bar, the wood being submitted to a preserving
process before being used. The strips of wood should be so arranged as
to form splices both for the cap bars and base bars. This rail is more
especially adapted for roads over which heavy and frequent loads are
drawn, the wood serving as a continuous cushion for absorbing shocks,
and in order that the wood may have this effect it should be thick
enough to receive the shocks before the cap bars come in contact with
the base bars. The web of the cap rail may be divided, the two portions
being so curved in contrary directions as to form two springs, the ends
of which rest in grooves in the continuous base bar. The advantage of

page_text: this rail is that it is elastic and will yield to and absorb shocks, and will
consequently prevent the rapid deterioration both of rolling stock and
roadway; the rail morcover is light in proportion to its strength. The
grooves in which the two lower edges of the cap rails rest are curved
in accordance with the shape of the curve of the divided web so that the
latter will have a substantial and extended bearing surface when the rail
is subjected to excessive pressure, the fracture of the web by severe
shocks being thus prevented. This rail also admits of an internal splice.
In some cases the webs may be prolonged and bent inwards so as to
form the base, the continuous base bars being dispensed with.
The fifth and last part of the Invention relates to tubes, pipes, hollow
axles, shafts, columns, or girders made of combined iron and steel with
the view of attaining lightness and great strength and tenacity, and this
part of the Invention consists in reducing hollow objects of iron, steel,
or iron and steel combined, or other metals, or compounds of different
metals, by rolling the same while they are filled with powdered soapstone
or other non-fusible material which is self-detachable from the metal
after the rolling of the latter.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said John Henry Johnson in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 15th August 1871.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN HENRY
JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of Middlesex,
Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fifteenth day of February, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one, in the
thirty-fourth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors give and grant unto me, the said John Henry Johnson, Her
special license that I, the said John Henry Johnson, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said John Henry
Johnson, my executors, administrators, or 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

page_text: "IMPROVEMENTS IN BARS, RAILS FOR RAILWAYS, TUBES, AND ARTICLES OF
COMBINED IRON AND STEEL, AND IN THE MODES OF MANUFACTURING THE SAME,
ALSO IN REDUCING HOLLOW METAL OBJECTS," a communication from abroad
by Elbridge Wheeler, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of
America, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said John
Henry Johnson, by an instrument in writing under my hand and
seal, 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 John Henry Johnson, 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 accompanying
Drawings and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is
to say :-
The first part of this Invention relates to merchantable bars of com-
bined iron and steel; to the mode of manufacturing the same, and to
the mode of manufacturing the same, and to the production of useful
articles of combined iron and steel, the main feature of this part of
the Invention being the inclosing of steel within a tube or coating of
iron, so that during the heating and reduction of the pile the steel
is prevented by the iron from decarbonization and deterioration, which
would be the result of exposing the steel directly to the heat necessary
for rolling. When the merchantable bars thus produced directly from
the iron-coated steel pile are converted into articles of utility, the
exterior coating of iron forms in many instances a most desirable com-
ponent part of the object, as it imparts tenacity to the same, and a hard
steel surface may be imparted to any part of the object by simply
removing the iron exterior and hardening the exposed steel surface.
The second part of the Invention consists in reducing steel either in
ingots or piles by inclosing the same in a thin casing of iron as nearly
air-tight as possible, then heating the whole, and finally subjecting it
to the action of rolls, this portion of the Invention assimilating to
the first as regards the coating the steel with iron is concerned, but
differing in this respect that the iron coating in the present portion of
the Invention is only used as a medium for facilitating the reduction of

page_text: the steel, the iron being reduced to a thin film when the steel has been
reduced to an object of utility, whereas in the first part of the Invention
the outer coating of iron remains a component and useful part of the
steel after the pile has been reduced.
The third part of the Invention relates to the manufacture of rail-
road rails of combined iron and steel, and consists principally in the
employment of an iron-clothed steel bar as the top of the pile from
which the rail has to be rolled, the rail itself being entirely clothed
with iron, which, however, at the tread consists of a thin, almost
imperceptible film, while the base may be entirely of iron, and the
web partly of steel and partly of iron, the latter serving by its tenacity
to strengthen the former.
This part of the Invention further consists of combined iron and steel
rails of peculiar construction for ordinary railroads and street railroads.
Also of a rail composed entirely of iron, all of which is fully described
hereafter.
The fourth part of the Invention relates to rails of the peculiar
construction described hereafter, the objects of these rails being the
economizing of material, the avoidance of external splices, and the
absorption by the rails of shocks, thereby preventing the rapid dete- 1
rioration both of the roadway and rolling stock.
The fifth and last part of the Invention relates to tubes, pipes, hollow
axles, shafts, columns, or girders made of combined iron and steel, with
the view of attaining lightness and great strength and tenacity. And
this part of the Invention consists in reducing hollow objects of iron, 2
steel, or iron and steel combined, or other metals or compounds of
different metals, by rolling the same while they are filled with powdered
soapstone or other non-fusible compound which is self-detachable from
the metal after the rolling of the latter.
And in order that the said Invention may be fully understood, I shall 3
now proceed more particularly to describe the same, and for that purpose
shall refer to the several Figures on the annexed Sheets of Drawings,
the same letters of reference indicating corresponding parts in all the
corresponding Figures.
The first part of this Invention is illustrated in Sheet 1 of the 3
Drawings, in which Figures 1 and 2 represent sections of piles or fagots
of iron and steel ready for conversion by rolling into merchantable bars.

page_text: The pile, Figure 1, is composed of a central cylindrical core A of iron,
an intermediate tube B of steel, and an outer tube D of iron. The
intermediate tube is composed of sections, in the present instance of two
semi-tubular sections fitted together in the manner shewn, and the same
remarks will apply to the outer tube D.
The mode of preparing these sections of tubes is by first rolling a flat
bar, and subsequently bending the same to the desired form. Thus a
long bar of the sectional form shewn in Figure 3, Drawing No. 1, may
be rolled and bent and sawn into pieces of the desired length of the pile,
the opposite edges being so bevelled in contrary directions that any two
of the pieces thus cut from the bar may be fitted together with lap joints
and form the desired tube. The pile, Figure 1, when completed and
properly wired and heated in a suitable furnace may be subjected to
the action of rolls, and be thereby converted into a homogeneous
merchantable bar.
In Figure 2 the pile consists of a central solid core A¹ of octangular
sectional form, an intermediate tube B', and an outer tube D¹ of the
same form, the tubes being in two sections. In arranging the pile the
steel and iron portions must of course be graduated as regards thickness
in accordance with the desired relative proportions of the iron and steel
of the bar to be produced.
The application of bars rolled from these piles to the production of
useful objects is so extended, and the utility of the bars is so general,
that it would be too tedious to enumerate all the objects to the pro-
duction of which they could be advantageously applied, hence three
objects only have been selected for illustration, namely, a car axle,
Figure 4, shafting, Figure 5, and a bar, Figure 6, from which to make
bolts.
It will suffice to describe the advantages of this portion of the
Invention by reference to these objects only.
In the car axle, Figure 4, rolled from either of the piles, Figures 1
or 2, great strength is attained, owing to the presence of the steel and
arrangement of concentric tubes around a solid cylindrical core. Another
advantage is, that where the journals of the axle occur the steel may be
exposed and hardened, so as to present a most durable wearing surface.
A third advantage is, that the axle of combined iron and steel is less
liable to become crystalized than an axle of iron only, or steel only.

page_text: The same remarks will apply to the shafting, Figure 5. As to the bolt
rods, great tensile strength is attained, and the steel may be in such a
position as to have the screw threads cut in it, these threads being less
liable to strip than if cut in iron.
These piles, Figures 1 and 2, may be modified in construction, for
instance, the intermediate and outer tubes may be made in one piece, or
may be composed of more than two sections. Nor need the pile be
confined to a cylindrical or octangular sectional form, as other shapes
will be available in numerous cases.
The pile, Figure 7, consists of a solid hexagonal core of steel incased
within an iron tube of the same shape, the said tube being in the present
instance in two sections. From this pile or one of analogous construction
may be rolled rods, Figure 8, to be used as tie rods for bridges, in the
construction of roofs, in the manufacture of chain cables, or for other
uses demanding great tensile strength, or the pile may be converted into
wire, Figure 9, to be used in the manufacture of wire ropes, or for
telegraph wires, or for other uses in which lightness and strength are
desirable. The pile may also be converted into rods, Figures 10 and 11,
from which to cut pieces for turning or planing tools, in which case a
special advantage is attained. The thin coating of iron on the exterior
of the tool prevents the decarbonizing or burning of the steel when the
rod is heated preparatory to being forged; moreover, the outer layer of
iron prevents the ready fracture of the tool when the latter has to be
tempered or subjected to violent strains.
The pile, Figure 12, consists of a square core of iron, an intermediate
tube of steel, and an outer square tube of iron. From this pile may be
rolled a bar of the sectional form seen in Figure 13, which is suitable for
a slide bar for locomotive engines, in applying it to which use the iron
is planed off at that side of the bar exposed to the friction of the slide,
thereby presenting a steel surface, which may be hardened. A. bar,
Figure 14, may also be conveniently rolled from the pile, Figure 12, this
bar being well adapted for conversion into carriage axles, for the square
form of the bar may be retained for the middle of the axle, while the
opposite ends may be turned so as to expose the steel where the wheels
revolve on the axle.
It will be noticed that in the above-described piles as well as in the
bars rolled therefrom the exterior coating of iron is of uniform thickness
throughout; there are many instances, however, in which it may be

page_text: advisable to make bars having an iron coating thicker at one side
than another; in order to produce this result all that is necessary is
to arrange the pile accordingly, that is, with the iron thicker on one side
than another.
·
Many other modifications, both of the piles and the bars into which
they may be converted, could be illustrated and described, but the
above will suffice to set forth the nature and applicability of this first
part of the Invention, the main feature of which consists in inclosing
the steel within a tube or coating of iron. Three important ends
are attained by this prominent feature. First, the steel during the
heating and reduction of the pile. is prevented by the iron from that
decarbonization and deterioration which would be the result of exposing
the steel directly to the heat necessary for reducing it to a condition fit
for being rolled. Second, when the pile has been reduced to bars and
the latter converted into objects of utility, the iron exterior forms in
numerous instances a most desirable component part of the object, as
it imparts tenacity to the same. Third, the iron surface can be readily
removed from any part of the object where a hard steel surface is
desirable.
The second part of the Invention is illustrated by Figures 15 and 16,
Sheet 2, in which E represents an ingot of cast steel, which is enclosed
throughout in a casing of sheet iron. In the present instance the
casing consists of two pieces, F, F", of sheet or plate iron, each bent
to a box-like form, and the two together enclosing the ingot, the ends
5 of the boxes being formed by bending two flaps a, a, of sheet iron
against the end of the ingot, and then bending down the flap 6 against
the flaps a. The boxes may then be properly secured by wires or other-
wise, and the joints luted with fire-clay, or its equivalent, so as to be as
nearly air-tight as possible; the ingot may then be subjected to such a
O heat in a suitable furnace that it may at once be reduced by rolls, for
the exterior coating of iron effectually protects the steel from injurious
effects of direct heat, and permits the heating of the steel to a degree
which allows the ingot to be reduced by rolls without the intervention of
the usual hammering process.
5
This part of the Invention is not confined to the reduction of ingots
alone, but may be extended to the reduction of piles or fagots of steel,
as shewn in Figure 17, Drawing No. 2; or to the reduction of scrap
of steel, which have heretofore been rendered available by remelting

page_text: only, the
scraps being enclosed within a tight casing of iron, as shewn in
Figure 18, Sheet 2. After the reduction of the ingot pile or fagot of
scraps the iron is reduced to a thin film, as will be explained in
describing the third part of the Invention. It will be seen that this
portion of the Invention assimilates to the first as far as regards the
coating of steel with iron is concerned, it differs, however, in this
respect, that the iron coating in the present portion of the Invention is
only used as a medium for facilitating the reduction of the steel, the
iron being reduced to a thin almost imperceptible film when the steel
has been reduced to an object of utility, whereas in the first part of the
Invention the outer coating of iron remains a component useful part of
the steel after the pile has been reduced.
The third part of this Invention relates to combined iron and steel
rails of the peculiar character explained hereafter and to the mode of
manufacturing the same. In carrying this part of the Invention into
effect I adopt the process described in the second part of the Invention,
that is to say, I take a solid ingot incased in plate iron as shewn in
Figure 19, Sheet 2, or a pile of steel incased in iron, as shewn in
Figure 17, or steel scraps incased in iron, as in Figure 18, and either
of these I reduce to one of the forms shewn in Figures 20, 21, and 22,
which are bars to be combined with iron in a pile prior to the reduction
of the latter into a steel-headed rail, each bar still retaining its outer
coating of iron, but considerably reduced in thickness.
If a rail of the character shewn in Figure 23 be required, that is,
a rail having a steel head G and steel web h extending into the iron
web of the iron base H, I take the iron clothed steel bar shewn in
Figure 20 and combine it with iron bars I so as to form a pile, Figure 24,
of combined iron and steel. This pile when reduced by suitable rolls
will assume the form, Figure 23, and the iron coating of the steel will
be reduced to a thin and almost imperceptible film on the head of the
rail, but will be thicker on each side of the web and will form the
base H. The advantage of the iron clothing of the steel top of the
pile is this, that the steel can be heated to the same degree as the
iron portion of the pile, and the whole thus reduced to a condition
to be acted on by the rolls, whereas if an unclothed steel top for the 3
pile were used the heat to which the steel must necessarily be subjected
would render it worthless.
If a rail like that shown in Figure 25 is required, that is, a rail having

page_text: a steel head G¹, and two curved tapering side pieces extending down:
to and embracing a portion of the web of the iron base, I use the bar
Figure 2, for the top of the pile.
If a rail like Figure 26 is required, that is, a rail with a steel head G",
tapering curved side pieces m, m, and central tongue n, I use for the top
of the pile a bar like that shewn in Figure 22. From the pile of which
the bar Figure 21 forms the head a street rail Figure 22* may be rolled,
this rail consisting of steel encased in iron which is reduced at the top
to a thin film. The thin portions of ordinary street rails are liable to
be split by the wheels of carriages, loaded wagons, &c., an accident
prevented by the combination of iron and steel in my improved street
rail.
A combined iron and steel rail of another character may be produced
from the ingot shewn in Figure 28, Drawing No. 3, in this case the
outer coating a of iron is thick at the bottom, and has a gradual taper
on each side until it meets the thin top. This ingot may be rolled into
the rail 27 which has a head G³, web h, and base i of steel, but the whole
of the steel is clothed with and strengthened by iron x which is thick
below, becomes gradually thinner as it ascends, and assumes the character
of a thin film on the head of the rail. While this rail 27 possesses all
the advantages of a steel rail as regards durability it is so clothed with
iron as to protect it from liability to fracture through exposure to frost,
and consequently as regards friability is much superior to a steel rail.
This portion of the Invention may be in a measure carried into effect
in making rails of iron of different qualities. Thus Figure 29 represents
a pile of bars incased in iron, the casing being thicker at the top than
elsewhere. When this has been rolled into the pail, Figure 30, there
will be a laminated core incased in a seamless shell of iron which
prevents the splitting of rails, an accident frequently occurring when
they are rolled from a pile consisting of simple unprotected bars of iron.
Another advantage of this rail is that the core may be of inferior iron
and the shell of superior iron.
The fourth part of the Invention relates to a series of improved rails
for railroads, these rails being illustrated in Figures 31, 32, 33, and 34,
Sheet 3.
The rail 31 consists of two parts, namely, the cap bar A and base
bar B, the cap being in the form of the letter U inverted, and having.

page_text: at its lower edges flanges a, a, so that the bottom of the cap will fit
snugly between ribs b, b, in the base bar B. The cap may be entirely
of steel or iron, but I prefer to make it of iron and steel combined in
the manner described above, the base plate being made entirely of iron.
The base bars are continuous, and the joint between two adjoining bars
occurs at a point midway or thereabouts between the opposite ends of
the superincumbent cap bar. This compound rail is secured to the
sleepers by ordinary spikes, the heads of which project on to the
flanges a, a, of the cap bar, these flanges and the ribs b, b, of the base
bar being purposely proportioned for the purpose. The splice between
the rails is contained within the cap bar, and may consist of a strip of
wood or other suitable material. The advantages of this compound
rail are, first, its great strength in proportion to the material used
in its construction; secondly, the base is permanent, and if the rail
has to be re-rolled the cap only may be removed and subjected to that
process; thirdly, the absence of outside joints or splices.
In Figure 32 the cap bar A and base bar B described in reference to
Figure 31 are used, but in conjunction with a third element, namely,
a continuous core D of wood fitting snugly within the cap bar and on
the base bar, the wood being submitted to a preserving process before
being used. The strips of wood should be so arranged as to form splices
both for the cap bars and base bars. This rail is more especially adapted
for roads over which heavy and frequent loads are drawn, the wood
serving as a continuous cushion for absorbing shocks, and in order
that the wood may have this effect it should be thick enough to
receive the shocks before the cap bars come in contact with the base
bars.
In Figure 33 the web of the cap rail H is divided, the two portions
being so curved in contrary directions as to form two springs, the
ends of which rest in grooves in the continuous base bar I. The
advantage of this rail is that it is elastic, and will yield to and absorb
shocks, and will consequently prevent the rapid deterioration both of
rolling stock and roadway, the rail moreover is light in proportion to its
strength. The grooves in which the two lower edges of the cap rails
rest are curved in accordance with the shape of the curve of the divided
web, so that the latter will have a substantial and extended bearing
surface when the rail is subjected to excessive pressure, the fracture of
the web by severe shocks being thus prevented. This will be clearly

page_text: understood on referring to Figure 4; this ran admits Of an Interna
splice.
The rail Figure 34 is similar to that last described with this exception,
that the webs are prolonged and bent inwards so as to form the base,
the continuous base bars being dispensed with.
The fifth part of this Invention consists in the reduction of hollow
objects by rolling the same whilst they are filled with powdered soap-
stone or other equivalent non-fusible yielding material which will be
self-detaching from the metal after the latter is rolled.
The application of this part of the Invention to the manufacture
of useful objects is of an extensive character, but as the process is the
same throughout it has not been deemed necessary to illustrate and
describe more than one example of the mode of carrying the Invention
into effect, and this is illustrated in Figures 35, 36, and 37, Sheet 3.
Figure 35 represents a hollow pile composed of an inner complete
tube A, an intermediate sectional tube B, and an outer sectional tube c.
When this pile has to be converted into a strong but light pipe or column
it is preferable to make the intermediate tube of steel and the outer and
inner tubes of iron according to the mode of piling, and for the purpose
set forth in the description of the first part of the Invention.
In some cases the inner tube of the pile may be in sections, as shewn
in Figure 36. One end of this tubular pile having been plugged, as
shown in Figure 37, the interior is filled with soapstone and then the
opposite end is plugged, after which the pile is heated and then sub-
mitted to the action of rolls until it is reduced to the desired diameter,
after which the plugs may be removed or the plugged ends cut off; the
result will be a pipe or tube having an uniform interior surface con-
centric with the exterior, the metal being of uniform thickness throughout
if the pile be properly arranged in the first instance. As the pile is
being reduced in diameter by the rolls the soapstone or its equivalent is
contracted in the same proportion as the metal is contracted, hence
a pipe tube of any desired diameter or thickness of metal may be
produced by a proper proportioning of the pile. Graphite or asbestos
may be substituted for soapstone in filling the tubular pile or any
earthy matter or other granular substance which will resist the heat
and which will detach itself from the metal after the latter is rolled.
In place of packing the tubular pile with loose soapstone a core of that

page_text: material may be moulded for instant introduction in a coherent mass
into the pile. The above-described tubular pile if the intermediate tube
be of steel is well adapted for the production of gas or water pipes,
columns, girders, hollow axles, hollow railroad rails, and other objects,
but the tubular pile may consist of a single piece of metal or of any
desired number of sections, and may be of any shape best adapted to
the tubular object which has to be produced. Nor is this part of the
Invention limited to the production of tubular objects of iron, steel, or
iron and steel combined, as it will be evident that the process can be
practised for the production of many hollow objects of different metals
or combination of metals.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of the
said Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used
or carried into effect, I would observe in conclusion that what I consider
to be novel and original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured
to me by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is,-
First. A pile or fagot consisting of an exterior tube of iron enclosing
a core of steel or enclosing a tube of steel surrounding a core of iron
as set forth.
Second. A pile or fagot consisting of a tube or tubes fitted together
in two or more sections, as set forth.
Third. Merchantile bars of combined iron and steel having an
exterior surface of iron, as set forth.
2
Fourth. A carriage or other axle composed of a tube of iron enclosing 2
and welded to steel with or without a core of iron and having the
iron surface removed to expose the steel at the journals, as set forth.
Fifth. A turning, planing, or other analogous tool consisting of steel
enclosed within and forming a component part of an outer tube of iron,
as set forth.
Sixth. Wire drawn from a bar consisting of an iron tube enclosing
and forming a component part of a central core of steel, as set forth.
3
TANZI

page_text: Nineteenth. A tube, pipe, or hollow axle or shaft consisting of steel
clothed with iron and forming a component part of the same, with or
without the inner lining of iron, as set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Henry Johnson, have to
this my Specification set my hand and seal, the Fourteenth 5
day of August One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one.