IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF RAILWAY WHEELS
Year: 1861

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Melrose, of No. 25, Kingsbridge Place, Mill-
wall, in the County of Middlesex, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
THE CONSTRUCTION OF RAILWAY WHEELS."
Sealed the 24th January 1862, and dated the 29th July 1861.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Melrose at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
29th July 1861.
I, WILLIAM MELROSE, of No. 25, Kingsbridge Place, Millwall, in the
County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF RAILWAY WHEELS," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to an improved method of connecting the tires of
railway wheels to the spokes and nave thereof, and consists in forming the
tire in a novel and improved manner for that purpose, that is to say, instead
of simply rolling a bar with a flange at one side thereof only as heretofore
practised, I propose to form a bar with two flanges produced by passing the
bar whilst hot between rollers so shaped as to make two longitudinal grooves.
in the bar opposite to each other, bounded at the outside by a flange, so that.
these parts of the bar in cross section would be of the shape of the letter T, or
the entire bar would be of the shape of the letter H, one flange being shaped
in the ordinary way to roll on the rails of a line of railway, the other flange
being employed to connect the spokes and nave of the wheel to the rim or
tire as follows:-I take a bar of the above-mentioned shape, and join the two,

page_text: ends in the usual way for forming the tire of the wheel; I then remove by
means of a slotting machine certain portions of the inner flange to receive the
spokes of the wheel, say, eight or more in number, and I proceed to connect
the spokes and nave to the tire as follows:-I form the spokes and nave afore-
said in two parts, or, in other words, I form or shape two similar pieces of
wrought iron, each with eight or more spokes connected together by a ring or
flange, and a nave or boss projecting only on one side of the arms, the other
side or surface being perfectly flat; the flange on the spokes fits into the
grooves in the tire, the spokes fitting into the recessed parts of the inner flange
of said tire, so that one half set of spokes and nave are inserted into the tire
at one side thereof, and the other half set of spokes and nave are inserted into
the opposite side-of-the tire, and the two halves connected together by screws
or rivets passed either through the spokes or nave, or both. By-thus-con-
structing railway wheels, the tire is securely connected to the spokes without
the aid of screws or rivets for that purpose. Wheels thus made can also be
easily and cheaply fitted with new tires, and be manufactured at considerably
less cost than railway wheels as at present constructed.
I propose, if desirable, to form an entire boss on one-half of the spokes, and
to connect the other half of the spokes thereto by dovetail joints and screws-
or rivets.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Melrose in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
29th January 1862.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
MELROSE, of No. 25, Kingsbridge Place, Millwall, in the County of Middle-
sex, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-ninth day of July, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, in the twenty-fifth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said William Melrose, Her special licence that I, the said William Melrose,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
William Melrose, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any
time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make,
use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and

page_text: Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF RAILWAY WHEELS," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said William Melrose, my executors or administrators,
by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and
seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the .said In-
vention, 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 Melrose, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, that is to say:-
This Invention relates to an improved method of connecting the tires of
railway wheels to the spokes and nave thereof, and consists in forming the tire
in a novel and improved manner for that purpose, that is to say, instead of
simply rolling a bar with a flange at one side thereof only, as heretofore prac-
tised, I propose to form a bar with two flanges, produced by passing the bar
whilst hot between rollers so shaped as to make two longitudinal grooves in
the bar opposite to each other, bounded at the outside by a flange, so that
these parts of the bar in cross section would be of the shape of the letter T, or
the entire bar would be of the shape of the letter H, one flange being shaped
in the ordinary way to roll on the rails of a line of railway, the other flange
being employed to connect the spokes and nave of the wheel to the rim or tire
as follows:-I take a bar of the above-mentioned shape, and join the two ends
in the usual way for forming the tire of the wheel; I then remove by means
of a slotting machine certain portions of the inner flange to receive the spokes
of the wheel, say, eight or more in number, and I proceed to connect the
spokes and nave to the tire as follows:-I form the spokes and nave afore-
said in two parts, or, in other words, I form or shape two similar pieces of
wrought iron, each with eight or more spokes connected together by a ring or
flange, and a nave or boss projecting only on one side of the arms, the other
side or surface being perfectly flat; the flange on the spokes fits into the
grooves in the tire, the spokes fitting into the recessed parts of the inner flange
of said tire, so that one-half set of spokes and nave are inserted into the tire
at one side thereof, and the other half set of spokes and nave are inserted into
the opposite side of the tire, and the two halves connected together by screws
or rivets passed either through the spokes or nave, or both. By thus con
structing railway wheels, the tire is securely connected to the spokes without
the aid of screws or rivets for that purpose. Wheels thus made, can also be

page_text: easily and cheaply fitted with new tires, and be manufactured at considerably
less cost than railway wheels as at present constructed.
I propose, if desirable, to form an entire boss on one-half of the spokes, and
to connect the other half of the spokes thereto by dovetail joints and screws,
or rivets.
In order to explain my said Invention as completely as possible, I now
proceed to describe the best means I am acquainted with for carrying the same
into practical effect, reference being bad to the illustrative Sheet of Drawings
accompanying these Presents, and to the numeral figures and letters of refer-
ence marked thereon respectively, as follows::-
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 is-a-longitudinal side elevation of a bar of iron intended to form
the tire of a wheel according to this Invention; Figure 2; a-transverse-and
vertical section of said bar.; Figure 3, a front view of my improved wheel
complete; Figure 4, a front-view of one-half of the flanged spokes and nave;
Figure 5, section of same through the line A, B, at Figure 4; Figure 6, sec-
tion through the line C, D, at Figure 3; Figure 7, front view of tire bent and
recessed ready-to-receive-the spokes; Figure 8, a front view of one-half of the
flanged spokes of the wheel, the spokes at this Figure being a modified-form-
of construction; Figure 9 represents a solid nave, to which the aforesaid
flanged spokes are connected by dovetails; Figure 10, section of Figure 9.
At each of the foregoing Figures I employ similar letters of reference to denote
corresponding parts in so far as such parts appear or can be seen at each of
such said Figures respectively.
To construct a wheel according to my said Invention, the tire is first rolled,
into the form exhibited by the Drawing at Figures 1 and 2; the tire is then.
bent into a circle, and the ends welded or shut together; the inner flange H
has portions thereof removed as at Figure 7, by a slotting machine to receive
the spokes B of the wheel, which are formed as follows:-One-half or side of
the nave is worked by hand, or it may be struck out of a piece of metal so as
to form portions of the spokes therewith; the other parts of the spokes are.
then worked out of a piece of metal, which when bent into a circle, forms a.
flange as at D; the spokes are then welded or shut together, say, at the
points a, a, Figure 3. I form two such pieces, and having turned in a lathe
the grooves in the tire or otherwise, made then fit to receive the flanges D of
the spokes B, and also turned the said flanges true on their periphery, I
proceed to heat the tire, and then insert the flanged parts D of the spokes in
the grooves b, b, of the tire, and firmly connect the two sets of spokes and

page_text: parts of the nave C together by screws or rivets at c, c; the shrinking of the
tire as it cools assists to connect the spokes securely to the tire.
Having now fully described and set forth the nature and object of my said
Invention of "Improvements in the Construction of Railway Wheels," together
with the best means I am acquainted with for carrying the same into practical
effect, I hereby declare my Invention to consist in, and I claim, forming and
connecting together the tire, spokes, and nave of railway wheels as set forth
and described with reference to the accompanying Sheet of Drawings, as con-
stituting improvements in the construction of railway wheels.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Melrose, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-seventh day of January, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two.
WILLIAM MELROSE. (L.S.)