IMPROVEMENTS IN ROLLING IRON AND STEEL FOR MANUFACTURING RAILWAY WHEELS, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
Year: 1859

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Dixon and Robert Clayton, both of Bradford,
in the County of York, Engineers, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN ROLLING IRON AND STEEL FOR MANUFACTURING RAILWAY WHEELS, AND FOR
OTHER PURPOSES."
Sealed the 16th August 1859, and dated the 16th March 1859.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Dixon and Robert
Clayton at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with their
Petition, on the 16th March 1859.
We, JOHN DIXON and ROBERT CLAYTON, both of Bradford, in the County of
York, Engineers, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN ROLLING IRON AND STEEL FOR MANUFACTURING RAILWAY
WHEELS, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES," to be as follows:-
In manufacturing railway wheels of rolled iron it is desirable to make that.
part of the bar which forms the felloe or rim wider than the spokes or arms;
this cannot be accomplished in the ordinary mode of rolling iron, but it.is
easily performed by our improvements, which consist in first rolling bars that
are parallel in width but of unequal thickness, that is to say, the part of the
bar required to form the rim is thicker than the part for the spokes; the bars
thus rolled are cut off to the required lengths, and then passed sideways
through another pair of rolls, the action of which expand or widen the thicker
part forming the rim, and leaves that part forming the spokes untouched, or

page_text: if tho spokes require to be tapered sideways, the rolls act slightly on the
thinner parts to expand or widen them also. It is necessary to pass the bar
twice through the second rolls in contrary directions, in order that the lateral
expansion may be effected evenly. When our improvements in rolling are
applied to the manufacture of wheels with wrought-iron bosses, the angular
ends of the bars can be expanded laterally in the manner described, thereby
making the angular ends of the required width before the washers are welded
on to complete the boss. These improvements in rolling can be used in all
cases where bars of unequal breadths are required.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Dixon and Robert Clayton in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 15th September 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, JOHN
DIXON and ROBERT CLAYTON, both of Bradford, in the County of York,
Engineers, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Sixteenth day of March, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, in the twenty-second year of Her
reign, lid, for Hersclf, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us,
the said John Dixon and Robert Clayton, Her special licence that
we, the said John Dixon and Robert Clayton, our executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said John Dixon and
Robert Clayton, 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 ROLLING IRON AND STEEL FOR MANUFACTURING RAILWAY
WHEELS, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES," upon the condition (amongst others)
that we, the said John Dixon and Robert Clayton, 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 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.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that we, the said John Dixon and Robert Clayton, 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 (that is to say):-
In manufacturing railway wheels of rolled iron it is desirable to make that
part of the bar which forms the felloe or rim wider than the spokes or arms;
this cannot be accomplished in the ordinary mode of rolling iron, but it is
easily performed by our improvements, which consist in first rolling bars, that
are parallel in width but of unequal thickness, (that is to say,) the part of the
bar required to form the rim being thicker than the part for the spokes; the
bars thus rolled are cut off to the required lengths, and then passed sideways
through a pair of rolls, the action of which expands or widens the thicker part
forming the rim, and leaves that part forming the spokes untouched; or if the
spokes require to be tapered sideways, the rolls act slightly on the thinner.
parts to expand or widen them also. It is necessary to pass the bar twice.
through the second rolls in contrary directions, in order that the lateral expan-.
sion may be effected evenly. When our improvements in rolling are applied
to the manufacture of wheels with wrought-iron bosses, the angular ends of
the bars can be expanded laterally in the manner described, thereby making:
the said angular ends of the required width before the washers are welded on
to complete the boss. These improvements in rolling can be used in certain.
other cases where bars of unequal breadths are required.
And in order that our Invention may be fully understood and readily
carried into operation, we will proceed to describe the means pursued by us,
reference being had to the accompanying Sheet of Drawings, and to tho
figures and letters marked thereon.
Figure 1 is an edge view, and Figure 2 a flat view of a bar of rolled iron.
suitable for making the spokes and part of the rim or felloe of a railway carriage
wheel; this bar is parallel in width, but of unequal thickness, (that is to say.)
the part of the bar between the points a and b, which is required to form part.
of the rim, is thicker than the two extremities, which are of tho requisito
dimensions to form the spokes; these bars are rolled in continuous lengths,.
and then cut off to the exact lengths in the usual manner, they are then re-
heated, if necessary, in a suitable furnace, and each bar is afterwards passed
sideways between the rolls shewn in Figure 3, care being taken to keep the
bar parallel to the axes of the rolls; the upper roll c is a plain cylinder, with
the exception of the groove c', the object of which will be explained hereafter,
but the lower roll d is furnished with a groove d', corresponding to the
groove c', and with shoulders d², corresponding to the thick part between the.

page_text: points a and b of the bar shewn in Figuro 1 to be operated upon; the dotted
lines between the rolls represent the ends of the bar forming the spokes, which
ends are at liberty to pass between the rolls without being acted upon by them.
We wish to remark here, that if the spokes require to be tapered sideways, the
rolls must be so shaped as to act slightly on the extremities of the bars to
expand or widen them also. Figures 4 and 5 are two views of the bár shewn
in Figures 1 and 2 after it has been passed between the rolls c and d; the
first passage of the bar between the said rolls causes the centre part of the bar
to expand laterally, so as to form one side projection, as shewn at e, f, in
Figure 5, and the second passage, which must be effected in the contrary
direction after the rolls have been brought sufficiently close, expands the: iron
laterally to form the projection e', f'; the bar is then passed lengthwise
through the rolls between the shoulders d to flatten it, and then edgewise in
the grooves c¹ and d', to make the edges true, and to give them the requisite
bevil, so that when bent they may become square; the distance between the
bottoms of the grooves c³ and d¹ must correspond to the width of the rim.
When the requisite number of bars have been rolled to the form shewn in
Figures 4 and 5, they are bent over a block in the usual manner, as shewn
at 9 in Figure 6, which represents part of a railway wheel with eight spokes
united by a cast-iron nave in various stages of completion. Some of these
spokes are straight and others curved, as they may be made in either way..
When the eight bars have been united in the cast-iron nave, the rim is com-
pleted by welding the glutting or angle pieces into the spaces at the extremities
of the spokes, as is now customary, and the wheel is completed by boring out
the the hole in the nave, turning up the rim, and then putting on the tire, all
of which operations form no part of our Invention. Figure 7 is an edge view,.
and Figure 8 a flat view of a bar of iron suitable for making the spokes and
parts of the rim and nave of a solid wrought-iron railway wheel; in this case
the angular ends of the bar forming part of the nave are first rolled in pieces,
shewn in Figures 9 and 10, these pieces are then cut off at the lines h, h, and
welded to the ends of the spokes, as shewn in Figure 8; or the angular end
picces can be rolled with the bar, according to method patented by Matthew
Kirtley in One thousand eight hundred and forty-eight, and then the angular
end pieces are expanded laterally at the same time as the centre portion of the
bar by suitably shaped rolls, in the manner above described with reference to
Figure 3. Figure 11 represents one of the bars shewn in Figures 7 and 8
when bent up to form part of the wheel; Figure 12 is a front view, and
Figure 18 a section of part of a solid wrought-iron railway wheel, constructed:
(at the left-hand side of Figure 12) out of bars similar to the one shewn in

page_text: Figures 7 and 8, and at the right-hand side out of bars with double angular
ends, as shewn in Figure 14. When solid wrought-iron wheels are made on
this plan, the washers marked i, i, in Figure 18, are welded on the angular
ends of the spokes to make the boss of the required width. Figures 15 and
16 represent two views of part of a pair of rolls suitable for expanding
laterally and imparting a rounded shape to that part of the bar forming the
rim or felloo; Figure 17 is a section of a bar when expanded and rounded;
in this case the roll k is made with shoulders k², and the roll / has a projection
of the proper height to impart the requisite curve to the bar, which is first
rolled parallel and of unequal thickness, as shewn in Figures 1 and 2, and
then passed between the rolls and 7, care being taken that the edge of the
bar in entering comes in a line with the edge of the projection ; the grooves
and in the rolls k and are to bevel the edges of the bars and to make
them true when the bar has been expanded laterally, and the groove in the
roll is to receive the rounded part of the bar when it is passed between the
rolls to be flattened.
Our improvements in rolling iron and steel are also applicable in making
the ends of steam engine connecting rods.
Having thus stated the nature of our Invention, and described the manner
of performing the same, we wish it to be understood that we do not limit
ourselves to the details given, as the same may be varied or modified; and we
declare that we claim the passing of bars of iron or steel sideways between
rolls, for the purpose of expanding them laterally in certain parts, in the
manner and for the purposes described.
In witness whereof, we, the said John Dixon and Robert Clayton, havo
hereunto set our hands and seals, this Thirteenth day of September,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-
ning
JOHN DIXON.
(L.S.)
ROBERT CLAYTON. (L.S.)
JOHN DIXON.
(L.S.)
ROBERT CLAYTON. (L.S.)