IMPROVEMENTS IN MANUFACTURING RAILWAY AND OTHER AXLES AND WHEELS, AND IN MACHINERY TO BE EMPLOYED IN SUCH MANUFACTURE
Year: 1849

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
KILNER, of Sheffield, in the County of York, Engraver, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Twenty-fourth day of April, in the twelfth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said William Kilner, Her especial license, full power, sole privilege and autho-
rity, that I, the said William Kilner, my exors, adñiors, and assigns, and
such others as I, the said William Kilner, my exors, admors, or assigns, should
at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times
during the term of years therein mentioned, should and lawfully might
make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of
Berwick-upon-Tweed, and in all Her Majesty's Colonies and Plantations
abroad, and in the Islands of Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, Sark, and Man, my
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MANUFACTURING RAILWAY AND OTHER AXLES
AND WHEELS, AND IN MACHINERY TO BE EMPLOYED IN SUCH MANUFACTURE;" in
which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso obliging me, the said
William Kilner, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, parti-*
cularly to describe and ascertain the nature of my said Invention, and in
what manner the same is to be performed, and to cause the same to be
inrolled in Her Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar
months next and immediately after the date of the said in part recited.
Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference being thereunto had, will...
more fully and at large appear..

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
William Kilner, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention,
and the manner in which the same is to be performed, is particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following description thereof, reference being
had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked
thereon, (that is to say):-
In order that my Invention may be better understood, I will now proceed
to describe the manner in which I propose to carry the same into operation.
Figures 1 and 2, Drawing No. 1, represents a section and elevation of a
smith's fire, such as I propose to adopt for welding on, the spokes to the tyre
or inner rim of a railway wheel, and the first part of my improvement consists
in the use of such fire or smith's hearth, for the purpose herein described, and
the manner of using the same is as follows:-The tyre or inner hoop is bent in
the usual way, and being placed on the hearth, as shown at Figures 1 and 2, the
inner surface of such tyre or hoop is brought to a welding heat, the end of the
spoke to be welded inside the same being also heated to a welding heat in a
common smith's fire. When both are at a suitable temperature, the rim is
brought out and turned over on a block, as shewn at Fig. 3, when the arm is
placed upon it and welded, and swaged into the desired form, a and b repre-
senting the end of the spoke and that part of the inner tyre or hoop which has
been heated in the projecting or other suitable hearth; the same method will
also be applicable when it is desired to weld the arms to the outer tyre of the
wheel, so as to dispense with the inner ring or hoop. The arms being all
welded to the tyre, I now proceed to make the wrought iron nave, which I
weld on at both sides of the spokes at one operation. In order to accomplish
this, I first prepare the nave in two rings, a section of one of which is shewn
at Fig. 4, the said ring being composed of a coil of bar iron bent either flat or
edgeways, as shown at Figures 9 and 10, and being beated to a welding heat
in a suitable fire or furnace, is formed in tools or dies under a vertical or other
hammer, and having roughly prepared the end of the bar forming the spoke,
in such manner as shewn at Figures 5 and 6, so as to avoid the labor hitherto
found necessary in forming the same. I arrange them together as there shown,
the latter figure representing a plan of the spokes, and the bottom ring with
the upper ring removed; the nave thus arranged is held together by two
wrought iron rivets, as shown at Fig. 5, and put into a furnace, uniess it is
preferred to heat the ends of the spokes separately from the naves; in that
case the rings or half naves and ends of the arms are heated in separate
furnaces or smith's hearths; but for heating the ends of the spokes, or naves
and spokes combined, I prefer a hollow fire or furnace for such
purpose, it

page_text: being necessary to have an uniform heat or nearly so on all parts; and I have
shewn at Fig. 7 such a furnace as I recommend as suitable for the purpose.
The wheel being heated to the temperature required is brought out and placed
between tools or swages of such form as to close the two rings uniformly upon
and between the ends of the spokes, such space having been left between as
shewn in the arrangement at Figures 5 and 6, and holes having been punched
or other pieces cut out of the spokes, so as to allow the metal as soon as
brought under the hammer to close up and weld through as well as with and
between the ends of the said spokes; in fact, to cause the union of the two.
rings or half naves together, as well as with the spokes, the small projecting
pieces a, a, Fig. 4, in the centre of the said rings, being for the purpose of
closing up and over the ends of the spokes, and for giving a regular and
sound hole when bored for the axle; and this is accomplished by driving a
taper drift or steel pin partly through the boss or nave on each side whilst
still at a welding heat, the inside of the boss at that point being precisely the
part that retains the heat the longest time; the tools or swages will also be
of such form as to give the boss the shape shown at Fig. 8 between the spokes,
as by such means the more perfect union of the upper and lower rings will be
secured. It will be evident that the same manner of making and preparing
the arms and tyres will be applicable to wheels intended to be made with cast-
iron naves.
I further propose to form the overhanging hearth before described, so as to
produce what is termed "a hollow fire," to be used in welding the tyres of
railway wheels by pressure.
Figures 1 a and 2 a represent a front elevation and vertical section of an
overhanging closed hearth, the upper part being loose and capable of being
raised by means of the lever there shewn, to admit of the tyre being put into
and taken out of the furnace; the tyre being placed in the "hollow fire" or
furnace, and brought to a welding heat, the screws of the chain which embrace
the hoop or tyre are gradually tightened, and a weld by this means is effected.
The hoop at this time is clear from all contact with the fuel, and thereby
ensures a perfectly clear and sound weld. When the weld is effected the
hoop is taken out of the furnace, and the thickened part is swaged down. The
furnace is fed at the hole a, the same being stopped up with a fire-clay plug
as soon as the fuel is put in. The flues are two small holes in the cover, as.
shewn by the dotted lines b, b.
Under this part of my Invention I do not claim the operation of welding
by pressure, but I claim the use of a hollow fire or enclosed hearth for heating

page_text: tryes to a suitable heat for the purpose of welding, such means being much
more economical and convenient than those now employed.
"
I claim the projecting hearth as most convenient for heating the inner
surface of a tyre or felloe of railway wheels; but as it is obvious that the form
and arrangement of the hearth may be changed, I wish it to be understood
that I claim in the process of welding the spokes on to the tyre or felloe of
railway wheels, the causing of heated air or gases to impinge upon the inner
surface of the tyre or felloe, in contradistinction to the present mode of heating
the same by radiation, as in smiths' hearths.
.
And further I claim the forming of the rings or half naves of bars of iron,
coiled into the form shewn at Figures 9 and 10, and the method of heating the
spokes and half naves, either together or separately, so as to complete the
formation of the nave at one heat, with the particular mode of arranging the
spokes and rings forming the naves, by which means sufficient spaces are left
between the spokes and through the spokes themselves, by either punching
holes or cutting out pieces so as to allow a union between the rings forming
the upper and lower side of the nave, and also for completing the solidity of
the nave by welding down over the ends of the spokes the projecting pieces
d, d, Fig. 4, by means of the taper drifts before described.
And I also claim the use of a hollow furnace for heating the tyre to a
suitable heat for welding, although the form of such furnace may be altered
from that which I have described, and which I consider the most convenient.
The second part of my Invention consists in forming the arms of: wrought-
iron wheels direct from the puddled or scrap bloom, and is accomplished by
means of dies or swages worked under a hammer, by taking a bloom of suffi-
cient weight for making two or more arms at a time, as shewn at Figures 11
and 12. The arms. being so prepared are broken through the middle at the part
a or b, and are welded separately to the inside of a hoop, or part of a hoop, as de-
scribed in a former part of this Specification, the ends of the bars coming together
in the centre, as shewn at Fig. 13; on each side of the nave so arranged is placed
a cap for forming the swell of the nave; the same is heated to a welding heat,
as before described, and welded together and completed in the same manner;
or instead of welding the arms to a bent or circular bar, I take a straight bar
of iron of sufficient substance and length for making the inner tyre, and weld
by the means before, described the arms at suitable distances along each bar,
as shewn at Fig. 14, and having a circular block, as shewn at Fig. 15, the
pieces a being loose, and each one of such pieces having a small recess b cut
in the plate to receive it. I take the bar with the arms upon it, heat it in a

page_text: suitable furnace, and, as shewn at Fig. 15, bend it round the block, the piece a
having been dropt in before the arm c was bent up to it, and the next piece
at d being now required to be placed there before the armi e is brought round,
and so on until the circle is complète, as at Fig. 13. Either this or any other
description of wheel being so prepared, I proceed at once to bend and shrink
the tyre on the wheel, the wheel itself being made use of instead of the
bending block, and the tyre being bent round by any of the modes well known
and practised by railway-wheel makers, the wheel itself being secured on the
moveable plate by means of sliding blocks of iron forced by wedges against the
inside of the inner tyre, the wheel having been previously bored and dropped
on to a pin in the centre; by these means the expence of heating the tyre for
blocking, and afterwards of the reheating for the purpose of shrinking on; is
avoided, and although the tyre is not at first shrunk on the body of the
wheel so tightly as in the ordinary manner, still, the welding up of the tyre,
and the further construction occasioned by the mode of rolling herein-after
described, renders the tyre when finished equally tight upon the wheel; and, in
the process of welding up, part of the outer tyre will become welded to the
inner wheel, which will tend to prevent accidents in case the tyre should from
any cause become loose on the wheel. When a renewal of the tyre is neces-
sary the piece must be cut out, and the inner rim or tyre repaired at a very
trifling cost; but, in order to render the contact between the inner and outer
tyre still more solid and complete, I adopt a dovetailed section for the inner
tyre, which fits into a recess in the outer tyre prepared to receive it, as shown
at Fig. 16 and 16*; but it is the männer, of effecting this economically and
effectually by means of machinery which forms the most important feature of
this part of my Invention.
And I will now proceed to describe the manner in which I accomplish it, as
well as the rolling of the tyre whilst hot into a cylindrical shape; by which
means I effect a very perfect and close contact between the tyre and the
wheel, and also a considerable saving in both mäterial and labor, as the péri-
phery of the wheel will be so accurately rounded as in many cases to do
without turning at all, and in all cases to reduce the labor and waste of
material to a very small item in the cost of the wheel.
In Drawing 2, Figures 18, 19, and 19* représent à plan, section, and end
view of the machine, the same letters on the two Drawings referring to the
same parts, and the section at Fig. 19 being taken through the linė j, k, l, m.
a, a, is the foundation plate of the machine, having projections cast upon its upper
and-lower surfaces for facing at such points where any part of the machinery
may be in contact with the same; 6 (Fig. 19) represents a sectional elevation

page_text: of the upright spindle and block or table upon which the wheel to be acted
upon is fixed; and d, d, the wheel, which is to be held firmly in its place by
the pin c, the hole in the nave of the wheel having been previously bored to
receive it. The lower part of the upright shaft & works in a plummer block
of any suitable form, and is either attached to the side of the foundations, or
is worked on its point resting in a block, as may be desired, the Drawing here
shewing the plummer block e attached to the side of the foundations. On this
shaft revolves a spur wheel f, to which motion is given by the driving wheel
9, the portion of which is shown at Fig. 18 by the red line, the wheelf being
loose on the shaft for the purpose of conveying the motion from the driving
wheel g to a wheel of equal size and similar position on the opposite side of
the table, as shown by the blue lines, and which communicates the motive power
to the two rolls no, no. This wheel g is the driving wheel of the revolving parts
of the machine, and is fixed upon an upright shaft, to which shaft motion is
given by a pair of bevil wheels with reversing clutch in the usual way, and
which requires no detailed explanation here. h, h, h, h, h, are four levers
with rollers at their ends no, no, n, n; the levers working on four points or
pivots i, i, i, i, and the rollers being made to approach or recede from the
wheel by the action of the screws o, o, motion being given to the same by the
small handles at p, Fig. 18; the bevil wheels and shaft there shewn being for
the purpose of preventing one pair of levers pressing more upon the tyre of
the wheel than the other. The red lines 7, 9, and q', q', in the plan corre-
spond with the pinions shown at 9, 9', Fig. 19; the two marked q', q', at
Fig. 18, being driven by the wheel g, and revolving loosely. on the spindle of the
levers i, i, i, i, in the plan, give motion to the wheels q, q, which, being keyed
upon the same spindles with the rollers n, n, no, no, cause the same to revolve.
R, R, R, represent an elevation and end view of a pair of housings or end
frames with long rollers or pressers fitted into the same, the line of their
position on the plan being j, k. These rollers are fitted with a collar and
recess, as shewn at s, the bottom roller resting in its bearings in a lever, as
shewn at R*, and which can be lowered when the wheel is first put into its
place, and afterwards gently raised by means of the screw Q* against the
under edge of the tyre of the wheel, the upper one being pressed continually
against the top brasses by the spring t, each of the frames R, R, being
provided with such spring, the force of which is sufficient to raise the collar of
the upper roller completely out of the recess in the lower one, when the upper
roller can be pushed back into the position shewn by the dotted lines. These
rollers have no driving machinery in connection with the machine itself, but
are acted upon by and act upon the wheel in the manner herein-after described.

page_text: Having now given such a description of the machine itself as will render the
different parts easily understood, I will now explain the manner in which it
acts upon the tyre of a wheel, or a wheel itself, if required to be trued in the
machine. The hoop or outer tyre, with the dovetail lips, having been bent
in the usual manner, the lip a, Fig. 17, will become thrown back, as shown
by the dotted lines. The tyre being welded up in this form the wheel is
dropped into it, and the wheel and tyre being heated to a suitable heat for
being pressed or rolled, and the upper roller in the frames R, R, being drawn
back into the position shewn by the dotted lines, the wheel is placed in the
machine, and secured in its position by the pin c. The upper roller in the
frames R, R, is then pushed forward, so as to hang over the edge of the
tyre of the wheel, and is slightly pressed down upon the tyre by the screws
u, u, which, through the medium of the pinions u*, u*, give motion to the
upright spindle and screw Q*, which, by means of the lever R*, raise the
bottom roller in contact with the under flange of the tyre at the same velocity
as the upper roller w will descend. The rollers n, n, no, no, are then all
pressed forward with uniform force by the screws 0, 0, acted upon by the
handle at p, which drives the two screws at the same speed by means of the
shaft in connection with the bevil wheels, the shaft itself being made telc-
scopic for a sufficient distance in the middle to allow the screws to approach
and recede from each other, and being also provided with long necks or
bearings, so as to slide through the carriages or plummer blocks as the action
of the screws may require. The machine is then put in motion by the clutch
before described, and the driving wheel g, which causes the rollers n, n, to
revolve, as well as the loose wheel f, upon the shaft b, this latter giving motion
to the rollers at the end of the levers on the other side of the table, through
the wheel shewn by the blue lines, the wheel a being made to revolve entirely
by the friction of the rollers against its outer surface; at the same time the
upper roller in the frames R, R, is gently forced down by the screws 1, 2, and
the lower one raised by the same means; and these rollers are caused to
revolve by the friction of the edges of the tyre upon them, the wheel being
kept in motion, and the pressure continued by the rollers n, n, no, no, as well
as the rollers w, w, until such time as the wheel or tyre shall have assumed
the shape and rotundity required. And I would here observe, that it is not
necessary to have flanges or lips rolled upon the inner side of the tyre, as it
will be evident, if the tyre is made rather wider than usual, the pressure of
the two rollers in the frames R, R, will cause the same to overlap the wheel,
and by this means complete the dovetail or overlap required.
Having now set forth the manner in which I propose to act upon a wheel

page_text: of the form shewn with the machinė, I have to observe, that it may be made
equally well to act upon any other wheel having a tyre of any other section,
or upon the inner tyre of any wheel, for the purpose of rounding it, or the
outer surface of any tyre for the purpose of blocking it in the usual way, the
surface and edges of such tyres being trued at one and the same time, and
with such accuracy as in many cases to render any turning unnecessary, and
in all to accomplish the completion of the wheel with greater economy in
labor and material. And in order further to render perfect the mode of
rounding the wheels, so as to render turning unnecessary, I fix a scraper of
the form of the tyre of the wheel at the point z, and force this forward through
two square eyes or guides by means of a screw, so as to remove the scale from
the face of the tyre. This scraper, however, should not be used until the
wheel is nearly circular, and is intended to give, by cleaning the iron, a more
perfect and uniform surface to the tyre. This machine I can also apply to
wheels of different diameters, as the action of the screws o, o, will expand or
diminish the space to receive the wheel between the roller n, n, no, no, and the
frames R, R, will slide upon the foundation plate, the screws x, x, Fig. 19*,
having a groove for that purpose, or the circle may be still further increased
by having holes to suit the pins i, i, i, i, at the same distance from the centro
of the wheel g, as shewn by the small circles in red ink y, y, y, y.
I claim the manner of acting with two or more rollers on the outer surface
of a tyre or wheel or wheel when tyred, such rollers being caused to advance
and press against the surface and edges with accuracy and uniformity, and in
conjunction with a scraper to form the wheel with much less material and in
less time than at present, as well as to cleanse and harden the surface by
rolling and scraping, thereby effecting great economy, and rendering the
surface of the tyre more durable. I further also claim the rolling of the
tyres during the process of shrinking on.
The third part of my Invention consists in the application of circular and
revolving cutters to the turning of railway wheels when cold, and the manner
in which I purpose to arrange the said cutters is shewn at Fig. 20, although
I by no means confine myself to this arrangement. a, a, represent a pair of
railway wheels in an ordinary lathe, but revolving at a slower speed than usual;
b, b, two circular cutters keyed upon a shaft, to which motion is given by a strap
working on a pulley at c, the pulley & being loose on the same shaft. This
shaft revolves in carriages or bearings at e, e, the said carriages being made
to slide to and fro in the dovetailed recesses of the upright standards f, f, by
means of the screws g, g, which are made to advance or draw back the cutters
at equal velocities by the handle h and connecting shaft i. I further apply

page_text: the circular cutter to the boring of the inside of the tyre and facing the edges;
and the manner in which I propose to accomplish this is, to arrange a sliding
rest at right angles to the wheel and face plate of the lathe, the cutter being
made to advance and recede to and from the face plate for the purpose of
allowing the tyre to be got on and off the face plate of the lathe, and also a
cross motion for the purpose of regulating the cut and the motion of the slide
rest of a lathe, is what I consider the most convenient for this purpose, with
a fast and loose pulley on the same shaft with the cutter for giving motion to
the same.
I claim the turning and boring the outside and inner surfaces of railway
tyres and wheels, when cold, by means of revolving circular cutters.
The fourth part of my Invention consists in three different modes of manu-
facturing and constructing railway axles.
Fig. 21 shews a section of a compound hollow railway axle, the outer and
thicker tube of which being made, the smaller one is then slipped into it, and
the ends for about eight inches welded together. By this means I manu-
facture an axle with the greatest elasticity of material to resist vibration and
rigidity of section.
Fig. 22 represents an axle the outside tube of which being formed, the
bars, of the shape therein shewn, are piled together, and without being welded
are pushed tightly through the outside tube, and then are welded together, and
to the outside tube, for about eight inches at each end. Of course, the
number and form of these bars may be varied as desired.
Fig. 23 represents a section of the bars for forming a railway axle so as to
give a spiral direction to the fibres of the iron when the axle is complete, and
and welded together either in rolls or under a hammer.
I claim,―
First, the construction and manufacture of a compound hollow railway
axle.
Secondly, the construction of a hollow axle with the inside_formed of bars
welded only at their ends.
Thirdly, the method of arranging the bars of iron for forming an axle, so as
to give a spiral direction to the fibres of the iron.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Kilner, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-fourth day of October, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and forty-nine.
WILLIAM (L.S.) KILNER.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Twenty-fourth day of October,
in the year of our Lord 1849, the aforesaid. William Kilner came before
our said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery and acknowledged the Specification
aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained and specified, in form
above written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according to
the tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.
Enrolled the Twenty-fourth day of October, in the year of our Lord