Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 11th Oct., 1887
Specification Accepted, 6th Dec., 1887
A communication from FRANCIS BOND HEAD BOUTER, of Chicago, in the County of
Cook, in the State of Illinois, United States of America, Contractor.
I, ALFRED JULIUS BOULT of 323 High Holborn, in the County of Middlesex,
M.I.M.E. do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
This invention relates to the axle boxes of railway cars and has special reference to
means for preventing waste of oil from such boxes. It is well known that in railway
cars the wheels are secured immovably upon the axle at a sufficient distance from the
ends of the latter to leave said ends long enough to enter bearing boxes supported by
the truck frames or the body of the car; so that the wheel does not turn upon the
axle but the axle turns within said boxes. Friction then is created only in said boxes
and a large supply of lubricating oil must be constantly present therein in order to
prevent their heating. In the axle boxes at. present in use there is a large loss of oil.
It is estimated by men experienced in railway service that fully one half of the oil put
into these boxes is wasted by escaping through the opening at which the axles enter
the boxes.
This difficulty and the nature of this improvement by which said difficulty is
overcome will be fully understood by reference to the accompanying drawings and
the following description.
In said drawings:-
Fig. 1 is a vertical longitudinal section of an axle box embodying this invention.
Figs. 2, 3 and 4 are detail views.
The axle box shown in the drawings represents substantially the type of axle boxes
in general use in America and by showing the manner of applying the improvement
to this form it will be understood how to apply it to other forms of boxes. As the
construction of said box is well understood by those engaged in the building and
operating of railway cars it is deemned unnecessary to give more than a brief
description of the same.

page_text: A is the box having at one end the opening A¹ covered by the door A2 and having
at its opposite end the opening A³ in the wall A* for the admission of the end of the
axle. Said opening is somewhat larger than the axle, and the wall through which
opening is cut is divided transversely to the axle by a channel A' extending all around
said opening and through the upper portion of said wall. In said channel rests a
sand board B having the central circular opening B¹. C is the axle having the
journal C and the collars C and C³. Said axle enters the box through the
opening A3 and the sand board B. D is the usual bearing resting upon the top of
the journal C. E is the wedge lying between the bearing D and the top wall of the
box A. The lubrication of the journal is effected by placing cotton waste soaked in
oil under the journal in the cavity of the box. A fresh supply of oil is poured into
the front opening A¹. The cotton waste is in contact with the lower side of the
journal (and by the aid of capillary attraction constantly applies oil to said journal.
The oil adhering to the axle is carried with the latter while it rotates and in practice
it is found that while the car is running, the oil travels from said journal outwardly
over the collar through the opening A³ and thence drips to the ground or is flung
by centrifugal force over the ground, against the adjacent parts of the trucks or the
bottom of the car.
Attempts have heretofore been made to stop the travel of the oil along the axle by
means of a close fitting sand board B, or a collar applied around the axle at the
opening A but such sand board or collar soon wears sufficiently to make room for the
passage of the oil, and to the time at which this improvement was made, no successful
means were known for preventing such escape of oil.
Figs. 2 and 3 show in detail the device which is applied to the axle box above
described. F is a cylindric exteriorly threaded tube terminating above in a closed
square end suitable for grasping with a wrench. G is a stem fitting loosely into the
open end of the tube F and resting with its inner end against a coiled spring H
while its outer end protrudes a short distance from said tube. Said stem or at least
the outer end thereof is preferably made of some soft metal as for example copper.
A hole is made through the wall A* or in an adjacent portion of the wall of the
box A perpendicular to the axle C and of proper size to be tapped to receive the tube
and far enough to press the outer end of the stem G against the axle (). The pressure
of such stem against the axle may be increased or diminished by screwing the tube F
nearer to or farther from the axle. When the axle rotates the end of the stem F will
constantly press upon said axle, and being of relatively soft material it will not wear
a groove into the axle but on the contrary it will itself be worn concave to conformn
to the exterior of the axle at the point where it is in contact with the latter. By
actual test it has been found that the oil in travelling outwardly from the journal ("
never crosses the path upon the axle traversed by the end of the stem G but it
accumulates contiguous to said path until the quantity is sufficient to cause it to drip
back into the box A.
When the outer end of the stem G has worn to conform to the axle as aforesaid
the entire periphery of said end will of course be in contact with the axle and the half
of such periphery or circumference toward which the axle rotates serves to scrape or
wipe the surface of the cylinder; and the half of such half of the circumference (one
fourth of the whole circumference) nearest the journal C¹ and nearest the approaching
oil serves as an oblique scraper or wiper for the surface of the axle. As the axle
rotates and brings the oil which has advanced during one rotation in contact with
such oblique portion of the circumference said oil is deflected backward to the
innermost point of such circumference. This being done continuously the oil never
progresses beyond such stem. Fig. 4 is intended to illustrate such action of the
stemi. His the quarter of the circumference of the stem which constitutes the
oblique scraper or wiper while the lines represent the oil and the arrows represent
the direction in which the surface of the axle moves.
It is obvious that the oblique scraping edge above mentioned may be had by the
use of a stem of other shapes than the cylindric form shown in the drawings but the
cylindric form is found convenient because it is not needed to give any attention to

page_text: its position when putting it in place in the axle box. The stem and the tube F are
merely screwed down to a depth sufficient to cause the proper degree of pressure of
the stem upon the surface of the axle. Then in whatever position the stem is turned
upon its own axis it is worn concave to conform to the surface of the axle.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this invention as
communicated to me by my foreign correspondent, and in what manner the same is
to be performed I declare that what I claim is :-
1. The combination with a car axle box and axle of a stem or equivalent device
pressing upon the surface of said axle and provided with a non-automatic
adjustment whereby the pressure of said stem may be controlled substantially as
shown and for the purpose set forth.
2. The combination with a car axle box and axle of a yielding stem pressing by
one end upon the surface of the axle said end being cylindric or substantially
cylindric in order that it may at all times present an oblique edge to the advancing
oil as herein described..
3. The combination with a car axle box and axle, of a stem or wiper pressed upon
the surface of said axle by a spring and a non-automatic adjustment whereby the
pressure of said spring may be controlled substantially as shown and for the purpose
set forth.
4. The combination with a car axle box and axle of a scraping or wiping stem to
impinge upon the surface of the axle a spring for making said stem yielding and a
screw for adjusting the tension of said spring substantially as shown and described.
5. The combination with the axle box A of a threaded tube F a stem G and
spring H substantially as shown and described.
6. The combination with the axle box A of a threaded tube F cylindric stem G and
spring H substantially as shown and described.
7. The combination with the axle box A of a screw F spring H stem G said stem
being composed at its lowest end at least of a metal which is softer than the metal of
the axle substantially as shown and for the purpose described.
8. The combination with the axle box A of a screw F spring H and cylindric
stem G composed at its lower end at least of a relatively soft metal whereby it is worn
to conform to the surface of the axle substantially as shown and described.
Dated this 20th day of September 1887.