IMPROVEMENTS IN AXLE BEARINGS FOR RAILWAY VEHICLES
Year: 1884

page_text: I ALEXANDER MELVILLE CLARK of the firm of A. M. and W. Clark of
53 Chancery Lane in the County of Middlesex, Fellow of the Institute of Patent
Agents, do hereby declare the nature of the said invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
AXLE BEARINGS FOR RAILWAY VEHICLES," to be as follows:
This Invention relates to axle bearings for cars and other vehicles running on
railroads, in which the axle has its bearing not in journal boxes but upon or against
superimposed. rolling bearing wheels arranged to bear upon opposite sides of the
journal of the axle above its centre, and the invention consists in certain novel
combinations and arrangements of a series of superimposed rolling bearing wheels
and their axles and bearings with a series of car axles in the same truck or frame,
whereby not only friction is reduced as also the wear of the bearings, and lubricating
material is saved and the heating of axle boxes prevented but a diminished number
of superimposed wheels and their axles suffices and said wheels are made to run
steadier, and are exposed, or certain of them, to a counteracting lateral pressure.
The invention consists in the combination, in the one truck or frame of the
vehicle, with a series of running wheels and their axles, of a series of superimposed
wheels arranged to form rolling bearings for the running wheel axles the bearing
wheels being of such diameter and so arranged that each intermediate bearing
wheel will bear upon or run against the journals of two adjacent running wheel
axles, these rolling bearing wheels being themselves connected in pairs at opposite
sides of the truck or frame by being fixed on axles that extend entirely across the
truck or frame and are mounted in ordinary journal boxes.
By this arrangement the bearing wheels will be relieved of one sided pressure
and the number necessary to form rolling bearings for the usual car axles, will be
reduced, as compared with separate opposite bearing wheels for each car axle
journal.
Thus in a six wheel truck four pair of connected superimposed bearing wheels
will support the journals of the axles of the six running wheels.

page_text: I ALEXANDER MELVILLE CLARK of the firm of A. M. and W. Clark of
53 Chancery Lane in the County of Middlesex, Fellow of the Institute of Patent
Agents. do hereby declare the nature of the said invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
AXLE BEARINGS FOR RAILWAY VEHICLES," 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 axle bearings for cars and other vehicles running on
railroads in which the axle has its bearing upon or against superimposed wheels
arranged to bear upon opposite sides of the journal of the axle above its centre,
and the Invention consists in certain novel combinations and arrangements of a
series of superimposed wheels and their axles and bearings with a series of car
axles in the same truck or frame, whereby not only friction is reduced as also the
wear of the bearings and lubricating material is saved and the heating of axle
boxes prevented, but a diminished number of superimposed wheels and their axles
suffices, and said wheels are made to run st-adier and are exposed, or certain of
them, to a counteracting lateral pressure substantially as hereinafter described.
Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this
Specification, in which similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in
all the figures.
Figure 1 represents a partly broken side view of a railroad car truck with the
Invention applied, Figure 2 a plan of the same, and Figure 3 a vertical transverse
section thereof with one of the boxes in section.
A in the drawing indicates the frame of a railroad car truck having three pairs,
that is six running wheels B B, but the Invention is not restricted to any special
number of said wheels. CC are the axles of the wheels B B fitted so as to be
capable of free play up and down within the frame A, or rather free movement up
and down of said frame relatively to them and having journals b b upon or against
opposite sides of which above the axial centre of them the superimposed wheels D D'
run and form bearings therefor. These superimposed wheels D D' are made of as
large a diameter as is practicable or convenient and so that such as are intermediate
of the car axle journals b b on the same side of the frame, will each act as a slowly
rolling bearing for and on opposite sides of the centre of the journals of two
adjacent axles. This is clearly shown for the superimposed wheels D¹ D¹ in
Figure 1, and by such arrangement said wheels D₁ will be relieved of one
sided pressure, or rather be exposed to counteracting pressures on opposite sides of
their centres, likewise the number of superimposed wheels necessary to form
rolling bearings for the usual car axles will be reduced, over, or as compared with
providing separate opposite bearing wheels for each car axle journal. The enlarged
size of the wheels D D¹ too, will cause their journals, or rather journals of their
axles, to turn at such a reduced velocity in the boxes provided for them, as that
said journals will have but very little friction, and neither they nor their boxes
will be liable to heat:
Furthermore, the superimposed wheels D D₁ are connected in pairs on opposite
sides of the truck or framé by a single axle E for each pair, such axles being
arranged to extend wholly across the truck frame. This will cause said super-
imposed wheels to run much steadier than if their axles were supported only on
one side of the frame and by the hereinbefore specified arrangement of said wheels,
whereby each intermediate one bears upon two adjacent car axle journals, the
number of axles and their boxes for the superimposed wheels is proportionately
reduced. The journals & of the axles E slowly rotate in boxes G provided for the

page_text: purpose and which may be constructed as car axle boxes have heretofore been
constructed to provide for the lubrication of the journals d, but as the ax'es E will
only rotate at the diminished velocity due to the difference in diameters of the
journals b of the car axles and the wheels D D', the journals of said axles E and
their boxes G will be exposed to very little friction.
By this Invention a large saving will be effected in the usual brass or other
metal boxes of car axles, as well as a great saving of grease or oil or waste, and the
heating of journals and their boxes to any dangerous or objectionable extent will
be done away with.
The drawing, it will be observed, shows a six wheel railway truck, and the
Invention is such that four pairs of connected superimposed bearing wheels will
support the journals of the axles of the six running wheels.
The lateral motion of
the truck is controlled by the ends of the axles of the wheels B B arranged to press
against brass or other blocks placed in the boxes of said axles.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
Invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is
1. In axle bearings for railroad cars and other vehicles in which the axle has its
bearing upon or against superimposed wheels arranged to run upon opposite sides
of the axle, the combination in the one truck or frame of the vehicle with a series
of axles C and running or supporting wheels B thereon, of a series of supe: imposed
wheels D D arranged to form rolling bearings for the axles C and so that each
intermediate one D' there f will bear upon or run against the journals of two
adjacent axles C substantially as described.
2nd The combination in a railroad car truck or frame A of the axles C and
running wheels B thereon, the superimposed wheels D D arranged to run upon
opposite sides of the journals b of said axles and so that each intermediate wheel D'
bears against the journals of two adjacent axles and the axles E arranged to
connect the superimposed wheels D D upon opposite sides of the truck or fraine,
substantially as specified.
3rd. The lubricating boxes and bearings G in combination with the frame A, the
shafts or axles E extending across the truck or frame, the rolling bearing wheels DD'
on said axle E, and the axles C with their attached running wheels B, essentially
as shown and described.
4th. A six wheel railway truck having the journals of the axles of its running
wheels supported by four pairs of connected superimposed wheels, substantially as
shown and described.