IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE, OF THE TYRES FOR RAILWAY WHEELS, AND IN THE MEANS OF SECURING THE TYRES TO THE WHEELS
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Frederick William Kitson and James Kitson the
younger, of Leeds, in the County of York, Iron Masters, for the Inven-
tion of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE, OF THE TYRES FOR RAILWAY
WHEELS, AND IN THE MEANS OF SECURING THE TYRES TO THE WHEELS."
Sealed the 10th November 1863, and dated the 26th May 1863.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Frederick William Kitson
and James Kitson the younger at the Office of the Commissioners of
Patents, with their Petition, on the 26th May 1863.
We, FREDERICK WILLIAM KITSON and JAMES KITSON the younger, of Leeds,
in the County of York, Iron Masters, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF THE TYRES FOR RAILWAY
WHEELS, AND IN THE MEANS OF SECURING THE TYRES TO THE WHEELS," to be as
follows:-
My Invention of "Improvements in the Manufacture of the Tyres for
Railway Wheels, and in the Means of Securing the Tyres to the Wheels,"
relates, in the first place, to a means of forming the tyres from a solid block
of iron, and consists, first, in preparing the blooms in a circular form, without
a joint or end weld, for rolling. This preparation of the blooms is effected by
punching out, drilling, or otherwise making a hole or slit in the solid block
of iron, and then opening out the mass by means of a conical or wedge-shaped
mandril, which is forced into the hole or opening by hydraulic or other

page_text: pressure. The rough block thus opened is then forged into an annular form,
ready for rolling in the ordinary way for rolling solid tyres.
Another improvement consists in hammering these tyres in angular or
diagonal grooves, of the required section, made in the hammer and anvil.
The grooves are so arranged in the hammer and anvil that the tyre will lie
in an inclined position, so that the full force of the blow, when delivered
vertically, will be concentrated on that part only of the tyre which is laid on
the anvil, and thus forging the tyre both in the direction of its thickness and
breadth.
The next part of the Invention relates to the means of fixing or securing
the tyre on the wheel. For this purpose an undercut or dovetail groove is
made on the inner side of the tyre, and in this dovetail groove is inserted
(previous to the tyre being placed on the wheel), either a malleable or
wrought-iron ring with a projecting flange; or instead of a ring a piece or
pieces provided with projecting tails or flanges may be used. These projecting
tails or flanges, when turned down, will overlap part of the rim of the inner
wheel, and will thereby securely bind the tyre and rim together. By this
means the rivetting or hammering of the tyre is avoided, and perfect security
is ensured, and yet the outer tyre can be removed by merely cutting away the
projecting flanges of the holding ring or pieces. As an obvious modification
of the above mode of securing the tyre on the wheel the dovetail groove may
be made in the rim of the wheel and the flange of the holding ring made to
take into a notch or groove cut in the tyre.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Frederick William Kitson and James Kitson the younger :
in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 26th November 1863.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, FREDERICK
WILLIAM KITSON and JAMES KITSON the younger, of Leeds, in the County of
York, Iron Masters, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-sixth day of May, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, in the twenty-sixth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the
said Frederick William Kitson and James Kitson, Her special license that
we, the said Frederick William Kitson and James Kitson, our executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said Frederick William

page_text: Kitson and James Kitson, our 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 "IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE MANUFACTURE OF THE TYRES FOR RAILWAY WHEELS, AND IN THE MEANS OF
SECURING THE TYRES TO THE WHEELS," upon the condition (amongst others) that
we, the said Frederick William Kitson and James Kitson, by an instrument in
writing under our hands and seals, or under the hand and seal of one of us,
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 we, the said Frederick William Kitson and James
Kitson, do hereby declare the nature of our 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
Drawing hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon
(that is to say):-
The first part of this Invention of " Improvements in the Manufacture of
the Tyres for Railway Wheels, and in the Means of Securing the Tyres to the
Wheels, relates to an improved mode of forming the tyres of railway wheels
without a joint or end weld.
In carrying out this part of our Invention we take pieces of iron broken to
shape, or selected for their suitable shape, and pack them together, as shewn
in plan view and elevation at Figs. 1 of the accompanying Drawing. These
are formed into a ball by welding or swaging in the usual manner. We next
place two, three, or more of these balls together, and unite them by welding,
to form a slab, such as is shewn in edge and plan views at Figs. 2, which slab
represents one-third of the metal that is required to form a tyre. We next
place together three of the slabs, piling them one upon the other, as shewn at
Figs. 3, and weld them into a solid block A. The next operation is to convert
the block A into the form of a ring, and this we do by first punching an
elongated hole a right through the block, as shewn by dots at Figs. 3, or other-
wise piercing the block A and reducing it to a shape somewhat resembling a
flattened ring, as shewn in plan view and longitudinal and cross sections at
Figs. 4.. In order to complete the opening out of the partially formed ring A
we carry it, while at a red heat, to a press, shewn in partial sectional elevation.
at. Fig. 5, where it is laid on an open bed 6 and placed immediately below a

page_text: conical plunger c. The nose of this plunger is made to enter the slit or. central
opening a in the flattened ring or block A, and will gradually, as the plunger
is forced down, open out the slit until it takes the circular form shewn at
Fig. 6. Instead, however, of punching an elongated hole a in the block, as
shewn at Figs. 4, we may forge the block into the shape shewn at Fig. 7, and
drill or punch two holes a, a, in it, and connect these by cutting through the
intervening metal means of a circular saw or slotting tool in the direction
of the line a¹. The pierced bar, shewn in section at Fig. 8, is now to be
opened out by wedges, and subsequently applied to the press Fig. 5, as already
explained, to convert it into a ring. The ring thereby produced is next to be
subjected to a swaging operation to consolidate the metal, and for this purpose
it is carried to an anvil, shewn in side view at Fig. 9, and front view at
Fig. 10, where B is a projecting cylindrical shoulder for receiving the ring A,
and C is a swage hammer for operating upon the ring. From this anvil the
ring is taken to another, shewn in the two elevations or side views, Figures 11
and 12, where its rectangular figure in cross section is reduced to the shape
proper for a railway wheel tyre. The anvil is formed with two inclined sides,
from which project, at right angles thereto, a horn D. These horns are
rounded on the upper face, and they are intended to receive two rings A, A',
which are simultaneously to be operated upon for the purpose of converting
them into flanged tyres. This is effected by two operations, the first serving
to beat down the outer angle of the ring, and the second to complete the
formation of the flange. The face of the hammer E is therefore shaped to
correspond to these operations, one half of the hammer operating upon the
ring a to beat down the outer angle of the ring and thrust out the inner angle,
and the other half of the hammer operating upon the ring A', which has
previously undergone this preparatory treatment, and thereby reducing it to
the sectional form required for a flanged tyre.
The next part of our Invention relates to the means of fixing or securing
the tyre on the wheel, and is illustrated at Fig. 13. For this purpose the
tyre F, provided with an overlapping lip f, as usual, is furnished on its inner
face with an undercut or dovetail groove, as at f¹. In this dovetail groove is
inserted (previous to the tyre being placed on the wheel G), a malleable or
wrought iron ring H with a projecting flange; or instead of a ring, a piece or
pieces provided with projecting tails or flanges h may be used. These pro-
jecting tails or flanges h, when turned down, will overlap part of the rim of
the inner wheel, as shewn in the Drawing, while the opposite edge of the rim
is overlapped by the lip of the tyre, and thus the wheel and tyre will be
securely held together. By this means the rivetting or hammering of the tyre

page_text: is avoided and perfect security is ensured, and the outer tyre, when worn, can
be removed by merely cutting away the projecting flanges h of the holding
ring or of the filling pieces H. As an obvious modification of the above mode
of securing the tyre on the wheel the dovetail groove f¹ may be made in the
rim of the wheel G, and the flange of the holding ring H turned over to take
into a notch or groove cut in the tyre A.
Having now described our Invention of improvements in the manufacture
of the tyres for railway wheels, and in the means of securing the tyres to the
wheels, and having explained the manner of carrying the same into effect, we
claim as the Invention secured to us by Letters Patent as aforesaid,―
First, constructing the tyres of railway wheels without a joint or end weld,
in the manner above described.
Second, we claim the mode herein set forth of securing the tyres to the
rims of railway wheels.
In witness whereof, we, the said Frederick William Kitson and James
Kitson the younger, have hereunto set our hands and seals, the Twenty-
fourth day of November, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight
hundred and sixty-three.
Signed and sealed by the said
Frederick William Kitson and
James Kitson the younger, in
the presence of
HUGH KANE,
10, Portland Crescent,
FRED. W. KITSON.
(L.S.)
JAMES KITSON, JUN'. (L.S.)
Leeds.