CONSTRUCTING IRON WHEELS FOR RAILWAY CARRIAGES AND SIMILAR PURPOSES
Year: 1857

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Solomon P. Smith, of the Village of Cresent, County
of Saratoga, and State of New York, U. S. A., for the Invention of
"CONSTRUCTING IRON WHEELS FOR RAILWAY CARRIAGES AND SIMILAR
PURPOSES."
Sealed the 12th January 1858, and dated the 17th November 1857.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Solomon P. Smith at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
17th November 1857.
I, SOLOMON P. SMITH, of the Village of Cresent, in the County of Saratoga,
and State of New York, U. S. A., do hereby declare the nature of the
Invention for "CONSTRUCTING IRON WHEELS FOR RAILWAY CARRIAGES AND
SIMILAR PURPOSES," to be as follows:-
Heretofore the wheels of railway carriages have been made of cast iron, with
single and double plates for uniting the hub and rim; the whole wheel being
cast in one piece, and the plates being formed of varied curves and figures, all
intended to obviate the great strain which would otherwise arise from the
unequal construction of the parts, this is inevitable from the formation
necessary to produce a wheel; this has made the manufacture of a secure.
wheel of that kind a matter of great difficulty, for it is essential that the rims.
and tread of such wheel should be chilled, and it is found that certain.

page_text: Tho
kinds of iron only are fitted for this purpose, while a different iron is required
for the best and strongest plates and hubs; but as the whole forms but one
casting, a medium is all that can be attained. This construction, however
carefully made, has more or less strain upon it, and the vibrations occasioned
by the striking of the wheel on the rail are all transmitted to the centre,
where they are intensified, and often produce a fracture of the axle as well of
the wheel. Wheels have also been made of separate pieces of wrought iron,
and some of them of cast iron of several different patterns, among which I may
name one in which a division was made in the wheel, about half-way more or
less between the hub and the rim in the web or plate, and a spring of india-
rubber was introduced therein to produce an elastic motion or spring within
the wheel; I need hardly add that this from its very nature must have been a
failure. I am also aware that cast-iron tires have been made, but my devico
differs from all these, as will appear from the following description.
construction of my wheel and the parts thereof are, first, a rim, the tread and
flanch of which are of the ordinary form; the rim is made light, and at its
centre or nearly so on its interior surface there is a raised rib projecting inward
about 3 or 4 inches in depth, but the lighter the whole rim is, consistent with
the strength, the better to form a durable rim. At or near the inner circum-
ference of this rib there is a bead projecting from each side; the rim thus formed
makes a plain casting which can be easily chilled, and is composed of iron
best suited to that purpose. The hub is cast in ono piece with one of the side
plates that serves to support one side of the rim where they are put together.
This plate may be dished, waved, or made straight, or cast in any other form
thought advisable; its outer circumference is made with a flange or collar on
its inside that extend under and supports the rim as far as the rib, and at the
outer margin of this collar a flange projects radially all around; this when the
wheel plates and rim are united, embraces the side of the rim. There is a
space between the rim and collar that is filled with some non-vibrating
substance, which is inserted as a tight packing all around; for this purpose I
employ india-rubber in the form of a band, although other suitable material
may be substituted therefor; over this non-vibrating packing I put a flat thin
metallic ring. To put the rim on over the packing rings the packing must be
forcibly compressed, the surfaces between which it lays are parallel and
perpendicular to the plane of the wheel, as conical surfaces would not properly
confine the packing and retain it. To effect the compression, I employ a
clamp of any convenient form that will produce sufficient solidity to prevent
a material yielding while in use. This clamp consists of a stout iron ring,
about half the breadth of the collar, with a tangent screw in it, by which it is

page_text: contracted; other forms of clamp may be used, but this illustrates the
purpose; it is put on over the packing and is then screwed up until the
packing is sufficiently compressed to prevent any elastic yield under the
ordinary weight to which the wheel is to be submitted; at this point it is so
contracted as to allow the rim to pass over it as far as the clamp will admit,
the clamp is then removed and the parts driven home. The other plate for
connecting the hub and rim is formed at its outer circumference like the
former plate, but at the centre it fits on to the hub projecting from that plate.
It is obvious that instead of casting the whole hub on to one of the plates, half
may be cast on to each, so that when they come together at the centre they
will form an entire hub; this feature is not new, and is not connected with my
Invention; when the parts are put together, the plates are held together by bolts
passing through them just within the rib on the rim, other bolts are also put
through the plates near the hub. The heads of these bolts may be brought up
against the plate, but the screw end of the bolt passes through the centre of a
recess in the opposite plate, into which an india-rubber packing is put with a.
metal washer over it, which just fits the recess and is of such a form as will not
turn round. The metal washer has a projecting collar surrounding the centre hole
therein, that encloses the bolt and prevents the rubber packing from coming in
contact with it; in this way the packing is wholly inclosed in the recess as in a box,
from which it cannot work out in the duty it is required to perform. The nut
is screwed down firmly upon the washer, so as to bring the packing down
solid by this means, while there will be sufficient yield to prevent stretching.
the bolt by expansion and contraction so as to work it loose; it will be noticed
that the packing rings are enclosed entirely in metal, by which they are
surrounded on every side, which prevents any portion thereof from escaping
and wasting away by the wear of the wheels, this is essential to the durability
of my devices. The collars on the plates, connecting the hub and rim, come.
up to the rib on the rim and lock over beads formed thereon; this lock serves
as a safety guard, preventing the rim from getting out of place if from any
unforseen flaw in the casting it should chance to break. The plates being
cast separately from the rim can be made of tough soft iron, such as would
not properly chill in the tread, so that the iron best adapted to each part is
used in the proper place, which would not be the case if the plates were cast
with the rim.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Solomon P. Smith in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
14th May 1858.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, SOLOMON P.
SMITH, of the Village of Cresent, County of Saratoga, & State of New York,
U. S. A., send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Seventeenth day of November, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven, in the twenty-first year of Her
reign, did, for IIerself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Solomon P. Smith, Her special licence that I, the said Solomon P. Smith,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Solomon
P. Smith, 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 "CONSTRUCTING IRON
WHEELS FOR RAILWAY CARRIAGES AND SIMILAR PURPOSES," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said Solomon P. Smith, 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 Solomon P. Smith 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 and by the following
statement thereof, refering to the accompanying Drawing; in which Fig. 1
is a transverse section through the center of the wheel; Fig. 2 is a side
elevation; Fig. 3 is a side elevation, with the front plates removed; Fig. 4 is
a clamp to compress the ring packing; Fig. 5 is a view of detached parts.
Heretofore tho wheels of railway carriagos have been made of cast-iron,
with single and double plates for uniting the hub and rim; the whole wheel
being cast in one piece, and the plates formed of varied curves, and figures
which is unavoidable from the formation necessary to produce a wheel, this
has made the manufacture of a secure wheel of that kind a matter of great
difficulty, for it is essential that the rims or treads of such wheels should be

page_text: chilled or wrought iron; and it is found that certain kinds of iron only are
fitted for this purpose of chilling, while a different kind of iron is required for
the best and strongest plates and hubs, but when the whole is formed of one
piece, some medium is all that can be attained. A wheel thus formed,
however carefully made, has more or less strain upon it, and the vibrations
occasioned by the striking of the wheel are all transmitted to the center,
where they are intensified and often produce a fracture of the axle as well as
of the wheel. Wheels have also been made in seperate pieces of wrought
iron and of cast iron of different patterns, among which I may name one in
which a division was made in the wheel about half way, more or less, between
the hub and the rim in the web or plate, and a spring of india-rubber
was introduced to produce an elastic motion or spring within the wheel; this
was an entire failure. I am also aware that cast-iron tires have been made,
but my device differs from all these, as will appear from the following
description. The construction of my wheel and the parts thereof are, first, a
rim a, of the form seen at Figs. 1 & 8, the tread and flanch of which are of
ordinary form; this rim a is made light, and at its center or nearly so on the
interior surface there is a rib b raised that projects inward about 3 or 4 inches,
more or less, in depth, but the lighter the whole rim is the better, retaining
sufficient strength to form a durable rim; at or near the inner edge of this
rib b, a bead may be formed on each side, lettered d, (this is best shown
in Fig. 1); the rim thus formed makes a plain casting when cast iron is
employed, which can easily be chilled, and is composed of iron best suited to
that purpose. The hub h, as seen in Fig. 1, is cast in one piece with a plate e,
that serves to support one side of the rim when they are put together;
this plate may be dished, waived, or straight, from center to circumference, or
it may be cast in any other form found efficient; its outer circumference
is made with a flanch or collar c on its inside that extends under and supports
the rim a, as far as the rib b; at the outer margin of this collar c, a flanch f
extends out radially all around; this, when the
embraces the side of the rim, as seen in Fig. 1.
the rim a and the collar c that is filled with
not transmit the vibrations from the rim to the
packing all around; for this purpose I employ india-rubber, although other
suitable material may be substituted therefor; over this non-vibrating packing
P, I put a thin flat metalic ring r To put the rim a on over the packing
ring, the packing must be forcibly compressed; the surfaces between which it
lays are parallel and perpendicular to the plane of the wheel (conical surfaces
would not properly confine the packing and retain it in place). To effect the
plates and rim are united,
There is a space between
some substance that will
centre which forms a tight

page_text: compression of the packing I employ a clamp of any convenient form that will
produce sufficient solidity to prevent any material yielding while in use; one.
of these clamps is seen in Fig. 4, and consists of a stout iron ring about half
the breadth of the collar c, with a tangent screw in it by which it may be
contracted; other forms of clamping force may be used, such as a toggle joint
for the screw, &c., but this illustrates. the means and object sufficiently;
the clamp is put on over the packing p & r, and is then screwed up until the
said packing is sufficiently compressed to prevent any elastic yield under the
ordinary weight to which the wheel is to be submitted, at this point it is
so contracted as to allow the rim a to pass over it as far as the clamp
will admit; the clamp is then removed and the parts driven home.. The
opposite plate i of the wheel is formed at its outer circumference like the
plate e, but it fits on to the hub h projecting from the plate e at the center.
It is obvious that instead of casting the whole hub on to one of the plates,
half may be cast on each, so that when they come together at the center they
will form an entire hub; this is not new, and in no way changes the character
of my Invention. When the parts are put together the plates e and i are held
by bolts passing through them, just within the rib 6 of the rim a; other
bolts are also put through the plates near the hub; the heads of these bolts
may be brought up against the plate, but the screw end of the bolt passes
through the center of a recess n in the opposito plate, into which an india-
rubber packing is put with a washer m over it which just fits the recess and
is, of such a form as will not turn around in it, as shown in the Drawing; the
metal washer m has a projecting collar on its inner side, surrounding the hole
therein, through which the bolt passes; this prevents the rubber from coming in
contact with the bolt, it being wholly enclosed as in a box from which no portion
of it can work out (Fig. 5, washer detatched); the nut is screwed firmly down
upon the washer so as to compress the packing sufficient to resist the ordinary
strain upon it, after which there will be sufficient yield to prevent stretching
the bolt by the expansion of the plates so as to cause them to work loose. It
will be seen in Fig. 1 that the collars c lock over the ribs d on rib b; this lock
serves as a safety guard, preventing the rim from getting out of place, if from
any unforseen flaw in the rim it should chance to break; the plates being made
seperate from the rim can bo made of tough soft iron, such as would not
answer for the tread, so that the iron best adapted to each part is used in the
proper place, which would not be the case if any portion of the plates was cast
with the rim.
Having thus fully described the improved construction of my compound
wheel, what I claim therein as my Invention is the construction and

page_text: application of the iron rim, substantially as and for the purposes described.
I also claim placing a non-vibrating packing, as described, upon the inner
surface of the rim of the wheel, by which I prevent the vibrations upon the
tread from being transmitted to the center; and in combination therewith
I claim the plates connecting the hub and rim, constructed and arranged as
above specified. I also claim securing the parts of the wheel together
by means of the bolts, washers, and packing, combined in the manner and for
the purposes set forth in the description.
In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed my seal,
the 15th - 10:0
In the presence of
AUSTIN FORD PARK.
SOLOMON P. SMITII. (L.S.)