IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF WHEELS FOR WAGGONS, LOCOMOTIVE ENGINES, AND OTHER
Year: 1862

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Adolphus Lahousse, of Brussels, in the Kingdom
of Belgium, Mechanician, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
MANUFACTURE OF WHEELS FOR WAGGONS, LOCOMOTIVE ENGINES, AND OTHER
Sealed the 22nd July 1862, and dated the 30th January 1862.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Adolphus Lahousse at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 30th
January 1862.
I, ADOLPHUS LAHOUSSE, of Brussels, in the Kingdom of Belgium, Me-
chanician, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE MANUFACTURE OF WHEELS FOR WAGGONS, LOCOMOTIVE ENGINES, AND OTHER
VEHICLES USED FOR RAILWAY PURPOSES," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to the manufacture of wheels of wrought iron.
According to one method I form the nave in two pieces, and secure them
together by welding. For this purpose two wrought-iron discs are provided
perforated in the centre to receive the axle, and recessed to receive the spokes
which are made of strips of wrought iron bent over so that their ends are
brought into the recesses made in one of the discs. In this position they
are temporarily held until the two discs are welded together. The wheel is
then finished in the same manner as wheels with cast-iron naves are finished
at the foundry. When employing circular plates of wrought iron in place
of spokes, to make what are known as disc wheels, I stamp them out in
the ordinary manner, and turn over the outer edges of the plates. These I
secure by shrinking on a wrought-iron felloe rolled with a hollow inner face.
The nave which is constructed in one piece is carried in a heated state to. the
middle of the two iron plates and secured thereto by rivets or otherwise by

page_text: means of a hammer worked by mechanical means or by hand. In the case
of wheels for locomotives the iron plates may also be stamped out at a certain
distance from the nave to receive a piece of wrought iron which is to be
.welded into the opening and forms the crank pin.
Another mode of securing the iron plates to the nave, when formed in one
piece, is to provide it with pins or bolts which will pass through holes formed
in the plates, and when the nave is brought to a white heat are to be rivetted
on both sides by means of dies under the hammer. By this means the
welding operation is dispensed with. The felloe is formed and applied as
before explained.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Adolphus Lahousse at the Great Seal Patent Office on the
30th July 1862.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL.COME, I, ADOLPHO'S
LAHOUSSE, of Brussels, in the Kingdom-of-Belgium, Mechanician, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Thirtieth day of January, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, in the twenty-fifth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Adolphus Lahousse, Her special license that I, the said Adolphus
Lahousse, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I,
the said Adolphus Lahousse, 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 "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF WHEELS FOR WAGGONS, LOCOMOTIVE ENGINES,
AND OTHER VEHICLES USED FOR RAILWAY PURPOSES," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said Adolphus Lahousse, by an instrument in writing under
my hand and seal, 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 Adolphus Lahousse, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-

page_text: formed, 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):-
Hitherto it has been the practice in the manufacture of railway wheels to
construct the skeletons or centres in the following manners, among others, vizt.,.
either by uniting the inner ends of wrought-iron spokes to a wrought-iron boss
by the process of welding, or by forming a boss of molten metal round about
the inner ends of the spokes. The latter plan had the advantage of economy,
but possessed, the disadvantage of liability to fracture at the boss (it being of
cast metal,) while the former plan was free from this liability, but necessitated
the provision of a thickening of metal on the inner ends of the spokes to
allow for the wasting away of the metal caused by its being brought to a
welding heat, which provision involved additional expense in the preparation
of the spokes.
Now my Invention has for its main object the so making of the skeletons
or centres of railway wheels, that they shall possess the advantages of the
wrought wheel without the great expense attendant on its manufacture.
This I effect by locking the inner ends of the spokes, or the inner edge of
discs, when these are used as substitutes for spokes, into a wrought boss by
enveloping them in the wrought metal, whereby I dispense with the necessity
for raising the spokes to a welding heat.
In the accompanying Drawing, Fig. 1, shews the manner of carrying out
this part of the Invention, the spokes used in this instance being formed.of
strips or flat bars of wrought-iron or steel bent over so as to cause the ends
of each bar to approach each other as shewn at a, a, but wrought-iron spokes
of other well known constructions may be used as thought desirable, these
spokes I arrange radially in a suitably constructed frame, and lock them
firmly therein that they may not shift their position while the welding of
the boss is proceeding, I then by preference, heat the ends of the spokes by
placing them over a small fire, and while in a heated state I insert their
ends into recesses formed to receive them in a ring or pierced disc, which is
intended to form a portion of the nave or boss of the finished wheel. Before
applying the spokes to the pierced disc shewn at b, I bring the disc to a
welding heat and place it in the lower die of a pair of suitably formed dies;
I then insert the ends of the spokes in the recesses of the disc, and cover the
ends of the spokes with a second ring or pierced disc, also brought to a welding
heat, and then by means of the upper die operated by means of a steam ham-
mer or its equivalent, weld the two discs together. By this means the ends of
the spokes are firmly secured to the wrought-iron boss. To prevent the

page_text: possibility of the ends of the spokes working loose in the boss, I either bend
them as shewn, or otherwise shape them, (for example by cutting nicks in
the edges of the spokes as is now commonly practised when making wheels
with wrought spokes, and cast iron bosses), so that when dropped into recesses
of corresponding shape in the face of the pierced disc or ring, they will lock
therein after the manner of a dovetail joint. The wheel thus far formed
as described has then the appearance shewn in the edge view Fig. 2. It
may now be finished by the application of a wrought-iron tyre in the usual
manner of applying tyres to railway wheels.
.
When applying the Invention to the manufacture of what are known as
disc wheels (or wheels in which discs are used to perform the office of spokes),
I unite them to the boss or nave, in the following manner:-Fig. 3, is a
cross section of a disc wheel illustrating one mode of carrying out this object.
a, a, are two discs of plate iron of similar size pierced at the centre to receive
a wrought-iron boss 6, which consists of a tubular forging tapering towards
its ends, and made sufficiently long to admit of its extremities being turned'
over so as to bear against or overlap the edges of the central hole of the
discs as shewn at 6*. These discs having been shaped in the usual manner
to a suitable sectional figure, as shewn in the Drawing, to ensure stability,
and their outer edges being bent over as at a*, to give them a broad periphery,
the discs are applied to the boss which is first brought to a welding heat,
and then placed in a suitably shaped die under a press or steam hammer.
Pressure is then applied to the boss until its ends are lapped over in a manner
similar to that shewn at 6, 6*, and the discs are thereby firmly united to
the boss or nave.
Another mode of effecting the same object is shewn in cross section at
Fig. 4. In this case the tubular forging intended to form the boss is made
as shewn at Fig. 5, 6 is a tube having an annular projection or collar ¹;
midway between its extremities, which projection constitutes a bearing for
the discs. From either side of this collar stand out feathers or studs which
are intended to enter and project through corresponding openings in the
discs a, a.
These openings are stamped out as shewn by dots at Fig. 6,
which is an elevation of a disc wheel constructed according to this Invention.
The tube 6 may be made in a variety of ways, but the mode I prefer is to
coil a bar of iron around a mandril in helical coils with extra coils at the
part where the collar occurs, and to weld the same in a pair of dies having
previously placed above and below the collar pieces of welding hot iron, to
form the feathers or studs, the dies being provided with suitable cavities
to receive them. Or the collar when welded up may be pierced to receive'

page_text: pieces of metal to form the feathers or studs, the boss, thus constructed, is
raised to a welding heat, and is placed in one of a pair of dies in which was
already lying one of the two discs intended to be united to the boss, the other
disc is then to be placed over the heated boss, and the upper die is brought
down and forcibly pressed or hammered on the boss. By this means the
opposite ends of the boss are caused to assume the shape of the dies, and
are thereby turned over so as to embrace the inner edges of the discs as
shewn at Fig. 4.
Figures 3 and 3* shew the manner in which I secure the outer edge of
the discs of disc wheels. This I effect by shrinking on them a felloe as
shewn at c, Fig. 3, rolled with a hollow inner face, the hollow in the face
being sufficiently shallow that the expansion produced by the heating of
the hoop will admit of the discs being introduced into their place. The
hooped felloe being heated to the usual and well known heat suitable for
shrinking, is placed on a bed plate e, see Fig. 3*, on which has previously
been placed the disc wheel. An upper or moving cylindrical die terminating
in a bell mouth, towards its lower edge is forced down around the outside
of the felloe, whereby the felloe will be caused to close upon the discs
and shrink firmly thereto, a flanged tyre may then be applied in the usual
manner, and the wheel will then have the appearance shewn at Fig. 7.
Having now set forth the nature of my Invention of "Improvements in
the Manufacture of Wheels for Waggons, Locomotive Engines, and other
Vehicles used for Railway Purposes," and explained the manner of carrying
the same into effect, I wish it to be understood that under the above in part
recited Letters Patent, I claim,―
First, connecting the wrought-iron nave and spokes together as described
with reference to Fig. 1 of the Drawing.
Secondly, constructing disc wheels in the manner above described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Adolphus Lahousse, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty-fifth day of July, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two.
Witness,
FRED. WALKDEN,
66, Chancery Lane, London.
A. D. LAHOUSSE. (L.S.)