IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF WHEELS FOR RAILWAY AND OTHER PURPOSES
Year: 1855

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Olive and William Olive, both of Woolfold,
near Bury, in the County of Lancaster, Railway Carriage Builders, for
the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF WHEELS FOR
RAILWAY AND OTHER PURPOSES."
Sealed the 18th March 1856, and dated the 9th November 1855.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Olive and William
Olive at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with their Petition,
on the 9th November 1855.
We, JOHN OLIVE and WILLIAM OLIVE, both of Woolfold, near Bury, in the
County of Lancaster, Railway Carriage Builders, do hereby declare the nature,
of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF WHEELS FOR
RAILWAY AND OTHER PURPOSES" to be as follows:-
Our Invention consists in manufacturing wrought-iron wheels in the follow-.
ing manner: Two disks stamped concave, or with concentric or radiating
corrugations, are placed upon a tube of the size required to form the nave of
the wheel. A hoop of wrought iron to form the felloe of the wheel is placed
between the outer circumferences of the disks; the parts are then heated and.
welded together in a stamping press, or by other suitable means.
Our Invention also consists in attaching the tyre to the body of the wheel,
when the tyre is shrunk on by means of screws tapped into the body of the,

page_text: wheel, or by welding pieces of iron partly to the tyre and partly to the body of
the wheel. In making wheels of large dimensions, we propose to connect the
disks by means of a hoop or tubular stays, placed between the discs at a
suitable distance from the nave.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Olive and William Olive in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 7th May 1856.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, JOHN
OLIVE and WILLIAM OLIVE, both of Woolfold, near Bury, in the County of
Lancaster, Railway Carriage Builders, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Ninth day of November, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five, in the nineteenth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the
suid John Olive and William Olive, Her special license that we, the said
John Olive and William Olive, our executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as we, the said John Olive and William Olive, 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 WHEELS FOR
RAILWAY AND OTHER PURPOSES," upon the condition (amongst others) that we,
the said John Olive and William Olive, our executors or administrators, by an
instrument in writing under our, or their, or one of our or their hands and
seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Inven-
tion, 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 John Olive and William Olive, 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 Specification thereof, reference being had to the accompanying
Drawing (that is to say):-
The nature of our Invention consists, first, in manufacturing wrought-iron
wheels for railway and other purposes of two disks, connected together at the

page_text: circumference by a hoop, and at the centre by a tube forming the have, to
both of which the disks are welded.
Secondly, in attaching the tyre to the body of the wheel by means of screws
tapped into the body of the wheel.
And, lastly, in connecting the two disks of wheels of large dimensions by
means of hoops or tubular stays.
And in order that our Invention may be fully understood and readily
carried into effect, we will proceed to describe the means pursued by us.
Figure 1 is a front elevation of a wheel constructed according to our
improvements; and Figure 2 is a vertical section of the same. The body of
this wheel consists of the two disks a, a, the tube 6 forming the nave, and the
hoop c forming the inner tyre or felloe. The disks a, a, are compressed when
hot in a mould to the required concave form; the circumference of the disks.
may be cut to the proper diameter, and a hole in the centre may be punched
at the same time, or each operation may be performed separately, if preferred.
As it is desirable to increase the thickness and strength of the disks near the
centre, we punch the hole in the centre smaller than the tube forming the nave;
we then attach the disk, the centre portion being at a good red heat, to a face
plate, and introduce into the centre hole a flanged roller, revolving on a stud
fixed to a slide rest; by then giving motion to the face plate, and pressing
the roller against the circumference of the hole in the disk, the said hole is
enlarged, and the adjacent metal is compressed or jumped up until the desired
additional strength is obtained. The tube b is made with two shoulders, on
which the disks a fit, and the hoop c is welded up to the same diameter as the
circumference of the disks a. When the four parts of which our improved
wheel is composed are ready, they are placed together in a stove and heated to
a welding heat; the parts are then placed in a stamping press or under a steain
hammer, by the action of which the disks are welded to the nave and to the
felloe. The dotted lines at the nave in Figure 2 represent the shoulders of
the nave projecting a little beyond the disks. The object of this projecting
part is to give sufficient metal for ensuring a sound weld between the disks
and the nave. We prefer to make use of a mould formed with grooves, so as
to produce a V-shaped projection on each edge of the circumference of the
wheel, as shewn in Figure 2, for the purpose of securing the tyre d to the
wheel by means of the ribs e, which are let into a groove in the tyre, and then
rivetted; but any other mode of securing the tyre to the body of the wheel
may be adopted.
Figure 3 is a section of part of a wheel, representing our improved
mode of attaching the tyre to the body of the wheel. The tyre d, after

page_text: being shrunk on in the usual manner, is screwed to the body of the wheel
by means of any convenient number of screws f, which are tapped into the
hop c, are conical through the tyre, and have heads, as shewn by dotted lines
in Figure 3, for screwing them in; but these heads are turned away when the
outside of the tyre is turned true. In some cases, instead of making shoulders
on the nave b, as shewn by dotted lines in Figure 2, we propose to make the
tube 6 to fit between the disks a, as shewn by the dotted lines in Figure 3.
The disks a are connected together in four or other suitable number of places
by the tubes g, which may be welded to the disks at the same time that the
other parts are welded together. In some cases the circumferences of the two
disks may be welded together without the intermediate hoop c. The disks a,
instead of being concave, as shewn in Figures 2 and 3, may be made with
concentric or radiating corrugations, if preferred.
Having thus described the nature of our Invention, and the best means with
which we are acquainted for performing the same, we wish it to be understood
that we do not limit ourselves to the details herein set forth, but that what we
do claim is,
First, manufacturing wheels composed of two disks, a nave, and rim or
felloe, welded together, as shewn and described.
Secondly, manufacturing wheels composed of two disks and a nave welded
together, as described.
Thirdly, the improved mode of attaching the tyre to the body of the wheel,
as shewn in Figure 3.
And, lastly, connecting the two disks of wheels by means of hoops or
tubular stays to increase the rigidity thereof, as shewn and described in
reference to Figure 3.
In witness whereof, wc, the said John Olive and William Olive, have
hereunto set our hands and seals, this Fifth day of May, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-six.
JOIN OLIVE. (L.S.)
Wч OLIVE.
(L.S.)