IMPROVEMENTS IN RAILROAD CAR AND OTHER AXLE BOXES
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Morgan-Brown, of the Firm of Brandon
and Morgan-Brown, Engineers and Patent Agents, of 38, South-
ampton Buildings, London, and 13, Rue Gaillon, Paris, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN RAILROAD CAR AND OTHER AXLE
BOXES." A communication from abroad by Stephen Fuller Gates,
Machinist, of Taunton, Massachusetts, United States of America,
and Josiah Gates, Belt Maker, of Lowell, Massachusetts, United
States of America.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Morgan-
Brown at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 6th May 1873.
I, WILLIAM MORGAN-BROWN, of the Firm of Brandon and Morgan-
5 Brown, Engineers and Patent Agents, of 38, Southampton Buildings,
London, and 13, Rue Gaillon, Paris, do hereby declare the nature of

page_text: the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN RAILROAD CAR AND OTHER AXLE
BOXES," to be as follows:-
This Invention is for improvements in railroad car and other axle
boxes, and consists partly in an improvement on the Tims and
Lightner car box.
The car axle boxes now in general use are oiled from the under side
by filling the box shell or casing with wool or waste, and turning in a
quantity of oil with it while the car is at rest or standing. This answers
the purpose as long as the oil touches the under side of the shaft, but
when the oil gets so low in the box shell as not to touch the shaft there
are no means of adding more without stopping the car, which sometimes
cannot be permitted; then the bearing will run dry, and heat, which is
not discovered until the box is hot or the bearing smokes and sometimes
takes fire while running. By placing an air-tight oil box or fountain on
the top of the box shell, I obviate this difficulty and feed the bearing
automatically with oil when oil is required, and while the car is
running.
The air-tight oil box over the axle box is fitted with a screw plug to
regulate supply of oil, and with glass peep holes let into the sides or top
of the oil box to see what quantity of oil remains.
In connection with this I have a main air-tight reservoir located in
the carriage or on the platform at the end of the carriage or car.
When the oil has been. used from the lower part of the axle box, as
in the Tims and Lightner box, and the shaft becomes dry it will beat or
become warm, this heat transmitted to the air-tight oil box will cause
the air and oil therein to expand and expel a portion of the oil, the
shaft will then become cool; as the oil in the feeder or air-tight oil box
becomes used it can be replenished from the main air-tight reservoir in
the car, or upon the platform, or this reservoir may simply be an air-
tight chamber in communication-by-pipes with the air-tight oil box or
feeder opening by a screw plug or other means for the purpose of
replenishing the air-tight oil box whilst the cars are running.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Morgan-Brown in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 22nd October 1873.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
MORGAN-BROWN, of the Firm of Brandon & Morgan-Brown, Engineers
and Patent Agents, of 38, Southampton Buildings, London, and 13,
Rue Gaillon, Paris, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Sixth day of May, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred' and seventy-tliree; in the thirty-sixth
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said William Morgan-Brown, Her special license
that I, the said William Morgan-Brown, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said William Morgan-Brown,
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
"IMPROVEMENTS IN RAILROAD CAR AND OTHER AXLE BOXES," a communication
to me from abroad by Stephen Fuller Gates, Machinist, of Taunton,
Massachusetts, United States of America, and Josiah Gates, Belt
Maker, of Lowell, Massachusetts, United States of America,, upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said William Morgan-Brown,
my executors or administrators, by an instruinent 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 William Morgan-Brown, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement thereof, that is to say :-
This Invention is for improvements in railroad car and other axle
boxes, and consists partly in an improvement on the Tims and Lightner
car box.

page_text: The car axle boxes now in general use are oiled from the under side
by filling the box shell or casing with wool or waste, and turning in a
quantity of oil with it while the car is at rest or standing. This answers
the purpose as long as the oil touches the under side of the shaft; but
when the oil gets so low in the box shell as not to touch the shaft there
are no means of adding more without stopping the car, which sometimes
cannot be permitted; then the bearing will run dry and heat, which is
not discovered until the box is hot or the bearing smokes, and sometimes
takes fire while running.
By placing an air-tight oil box or fountain on the top of the box shell
I obviate this difficulty and feed the bearing automatically with oil when
oil is required and while the car is running.
The air-tight oil box over the axle box is fitted with a screw plug to
regulate supply of oil and with glass peep holes let into the sides or top
of the oil box to see what quantity of oil remains. In connection with
this I have a main air-tight reservoir located in the carriage or on the
platform at the end of the carriage or car.
When the oil has been used from the lower part of the axle box, as in
the Tims and Lightner box, and the shaft becomes dry, it will heat
or become warm; this heat transmitted to the air-tight oil box will
cause the air and oil therein to expand and expel a portion of the oil;`
the shaft will then become cool. As the oil in the feeder or air-tight
oil box becomes used it can be replenished from the main air-tight
reservoir in the car or upon the platform, or this reservoir may simply
be an air-tight chamber in communication by pipes with the air-tight
oil box or feeder, opening by a screw plug or other means for the
purpose of replenishing the air-tight oil box whilst the cars are running.
The Invention will be more clearly ascertained by reference to the
accompanying Drawings, in which Figure 1 is a vertical section of the
car axle bearing box, oil fountain, and feeding device; Figure 2 is a a
transverse vertical section of the same.
Figure 3 is a vertical section of the box, as shewn in Figure 1, having
the feed pipe attached.
Figures 4 and 5 are a section of that part of the oil fountain, shewing
the manner of putting in the glass peep holes.
Figure 6 is a vertical section having the feed pipe attached, and
leading from the air-tight main fountain or reservoir located within the
car or upon its platform.

page_text: A is the journal of the car axle; B, the box or bearing on the top of
the axle with a small hole through it as seen at L; C, C, C, the box-shell
or outside casing; J, the cover to the shell C; D, the oil fountain attached
to the casing C; E, the glass plates fitted into each end of the oil
fountain, to look through, or for peep holes; K, the plug screw in the
oil fountain D; H, the valve or feed regulator within the oil fountain D,
and which may be employed or not as preferred; P, a plate of wood or
leather packing around the shaft; N, the feed pipe attached to the oil
fountain; a and b, brass rings to hold the plate glass E in place and keep
them oil tight. When the box shell C and the box B are in place.
under the car, and the shell C has been filled with oil, saturated. wool,
or cotton waste, and the box, casing, or shell, has been so far filled with
oil as to touch the lower part of the axle journal A in the usual manner,
the fountain D is then filled with oil, the valve or feed regulator H is.
opened a little so as to leave a passage into the hole or aperture L from
the fountain D, and through this aperture to convey the oil on to the
top of the axle bearing and journal. After this has been done, put in
the plug screw K or shut up the oil fountain D air-tight, then put on
the box shell cover J, and the apparatus is ready for usc, and its
operation is as follows:-When the oil fountain D is full of oil no light
can be seen through the glass plates E, E. The shaft at first will uso
the oil or tallow in the lower part of the box shell C; as long as the oil
touches the lower part of the shaft journal it will run as in the Tim's or
Lightner box; when the oil in the shell is wasted by being thrown out,
or if it has been used on the bearing, and the shaft does not touch the
oil below, then the shaft commences to run dry, the shaft and box
bearing will heat or become warm. This heat is transmitted to the oil
and air in the fountain D, and these consequently expand; by this
means the oil is forced out around the valve H, through the aperture L,
on to the bearing and lubricating it at once, and at the time oil is needed
any surplus oil drops from the shaft into the bottom of the casing C,
which is added to that already there and raises the oil so that the shaft
revolves in oil again, as it did at first, and thus becomes cooled again.
The flowing of oil from the fountain D will then stop. This operation
will take but part of the oil in the fountain D; when the oil has been
partly discharged its surface can be seen through the glasses E, E; when
the oil in the fountain D has gone below the glasses E, E, then the
fountain should be filled. By this means I oil the journal or shaft auto-
matically from the feeder D and when and only when it is wanted, and

page_text: when the oil in the box shell C is not available, and only in such quan
tities as to supply the deficiency. This supply is furnished when the car
is in motion. When the fountain D is cool air will draw up into it and
occupy the space of the discharged oil, this operation will be repeated as
often as the shaft heats, and while there is oil in the fountain D, thus 5
making a very economical oiler, and avoiding the delays and vexation of
leaving the car anywhere on the road caused by hot boxes and for the
want of oil. The oil fountain D can be connected to the car platform
by the pipe N, as seen in Figure 6, and filled at any time. The glasses
E, E, are made tight by grinding and held in place by the rings a, b.
'Having now described the construction and operation of the said
Invention to which the name of "Gate's axle box" has been given, I
would have it understood that what I claim and desire to secure by the
hercin-before in part recited Letters Patent is as follows:-
1. The air-tight oil fountain forming a part of the axle box as described:
and arranged to regulate automatically the supply of oil to the axle.
through the agency of heat, the heat serving to force oil from the box
by reason of the expansion of the oil or of the air and oil in the box,
substantially as set forth.
2. The glasses E, E, applied to the oil fountain of a car axle box:
substantially as described and for the purpose specified.
3. The air-tight oil fountain D, the plug screw K, or its equivalent
and the regulating feed valve H, or its equivalent, in combination with
the aperture L, bearing B, and shaſt A.
4. The pipe N in combination with an air-tight oil reservoir, in or
upon the car or platform, and with the axle box substantially as shewn
and described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Morgan-Brown, have
hereunto set my hand and scal, this Twenty-second day of
October, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred
and seventy-three
]
WILLIAM MORGAN-BROWN. (L.S.)