CERTAIN IMPROVE- MENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF BOXES OR AXLETREES OF LOCOMOTIVE ENGINES AND CARRIAGES, AND FOR THE BEARINGS OR JOURNALS OF MACHINERY IN GENERAL, AND ALSO IMPROVEMENTS IN OILING OR LUBRICATING THE SAME
Year: 1843

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the
County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Fifteenth day of May, in the sixth year of Her reign, did,
for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
William Edward Newton, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and
authority, that I, the said William Edward Newton, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, and such others as I, the said William Edward Newton,
my executors, administrators, or assigns, should at any time agree with, and
no others, from time to time to time and at all times during the term of years
therein mentioned, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend,
within England, Wales, the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and in all Her
Majesty's Colonies and Plantations abroad, and in the Islands of Jersey,
Guernsey, Alderney, Sark, and Man, an Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF BOXES OR AXLETREES OF LOCOMOTIVE ENGINES AND
CARRIAGES, AND FOR THE BEARINGS OR JOURNALS OF MACHINERY IN GENERAL, AND
ALSO IMPROVEMENTS IN OILING OR LUBRICATING THE SAME," being a communica-
tion from a Foreigner residing abroad; in which said Letters Patent is
contained a proviso obliging me, the said William Edward Newton, by an
instrument in writing under my hand and seal, particularly to describe and
ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is

page_text: to be performed, and to cause the same to be inrolled in Her Majesty's
High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and immediately
after the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in and by the
same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
William Edward Newton, do hereby declare that the nature of the said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, are parti-
cularly described and ascertained in and by the following description thereof,
reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the letters
and figures marked thereon (that is to say):-
This Invention, which has been communicated to me from a certain
Foreigner residing abroad, consists, first, of certain improvements in the
manner of making or constructing the boxes within which the gudgeons or
journals of machinery of various kinds, and particularly the axles of railroad
cars of locomotive engines, and of other cars and carriages, are to run; and
these improvements are applicable, not only to boxes for axles or gudgeons,
which are divided so as to form semi-cylinders, but also to boxes, bearings, or
sockets that are not divided, and which form a continuous circle, and also to
sockets which are square or of any other desired form, and within which a
rod or bar is to slide, as, for example, the guide rods used in locomotive and
other steam engines.
Second, an improved method of constructing oil boxes for oiling the axles
of locomotive steam engines, cars, and other vehicles, and of combining the
same with the lower boxes within which such gudgeons or axles are to run.
The boxes in which the gudgeons or axles are to run are to be formed and
prepared in the ordinary way of those which are to be received into the
housings or plummer blocks of locomotive engines, cars, and other machinery,
they being made of brass, bell metal, or any other metal or metallic com-
pound which has sufficient strength, and is capable of receiving a coating of
tin. The inner parts of these boxes are to be lined with any of the harder
kinds of metallic compounds or alloys known under the names of Britannia
metal or pewter, and of which compounds or alloys block tin is the basis. An
excellent compound or alloy for this purpose may be prepared by taking about
fifty parts of tin, five of antimony, and one of copper; but other compounds
or alloys analagous in character may be used. To prepare the boxes for this
composition, they are to be cast with projecting rims or fillets along their
interior edges and on their ends, within their semi-cylindrical parts, or on the
ends only of the boxes or sockets when they are not divided; the interior
of these boxes and the ledges, fillets, or rims above named are then to be

page_text: cleaned and tinned in the usual way of performing that operation. A cylin-
drical or semi-cylindrical core of the exact size (in its cylindrical part) of the
gudgeon or axle which is to run within the bearing, or of such shape and
dimensions as may be necessary for the socket of a slide, or of the stem of a
valve, is then to be taken; and upon such core the box to be lined is to be
placed in such manner as that the core shall coincide within the situation that
the axle or gudgeon, slide or stem, is to occupy within such box when in use.
The boxes are to be of such size as that when the core is so placed it shall.
not touch, but shall be nearly in contact with the projecting rims or fillets.
Its distance therefrom may be about the thirty-second part of an inch, more
or less. The ends of the boxes are then to be closed by any suitable means,
so that the interior shall form a mould to receive the lining of composition,
metal or alloy, which is to be fused and poured into it, a proper aperture.
being prepared for that purpose. This aperture in the boxes for railroad
cars and locomotive engines may consist of a hole, an inch more or less in
diameter, left through their middles in the act of casting them; and in all
cases the opening may be so proportioned as to suit the size of the box that
is to be lined. The metallic composition, when melted and poured into the
box which has been prepared by being tinned, will unite firmly with its inte-
rior, and will cover the edges of the rims or fillets so. as to prevent contact
between them and the gudgeons, axles, slides, or stems which they are to
receive, whilst the ledges will, at the same time, effectually prevent any
tendency in the composition, metal, or alloy to spread, from the weight or
friction of the load, or the motion of a slide or stem. In boxes thus prepared
the heating and abrasion which are so apt to occur in boxes as ordinarily
constructed, do not take place, and their durability is consequently increased..
In the accompanying Drawings, Figs. 1 and 2 are perspective views of a semi-
cylindrical box suited to the axle of a locomotive steam engine or railroad car
as it appears before it receives the metallic alloy, with which it is to be lined.
Fig. 3 is a cross section of such a box; Figs. 4 and 5 are longitudinal sections
through the middles of the same; and Fig. 6 is a section through the socket
or bush of a pulley or sheave of the kind used in the blocks on board of.
vessels, and for other purposes. These several Figures will serve fully to
exemplify the manner in which the within-described improvement is carried
into operation. a, a, are the rims or fillets along the edges of the boxes,.
b, b, those around their ends, and c, the hole left through the middles of the
boxes for pouring in the melted alloy to form the lining. In Figs. 2 and 5
the ledges b, b, near the ends of the boxes, are so situated as to leave a projec..
tion forming a recess or rebate d, d, beyond them at each end of the box,

page_text: within which rebate the metallic composition or alloy is to be received as
well as within the interior of the box; and when thus formed the alloy
received in this rebate is adapted to the sustaining of the end bearings of the
shoulders of axles or gudgeons or of such other parts of the machinery as
may run against them. In Fig. 6, e, e, are the ledges which are to confine
the metallic lining that is to occupy the space between the box and the dotted
lines ff; the projecting parts 9, g, are the flanches of the bush which are
to be let into the sheaves in the usual way. By the employment of the
metallic alloy in sheaves and other articles of this description, and the substi-
tution of a hard compound metal of copper and tin for the iron boxes, and for
the iron pins or axles upon which the sheaves are to run, the injurious con-
sequences frequently resulting from the oxidation of the iron are obviated,
such sheaves always turning freely on their pins or axles, whilst, when made
of iron, they are often obstructed, and sometimes set fast, from the cause
above named.
I claim as the first part of the Invention, which is secured to me by the
herein-before in part recited Letters Patent, making or constructing the boxes
within which the journals or axles of machinery are to run, or within which
the rods of slides or the stems of valves and other analagous parts of
machinery are to slide, by providing them with rims or fillets along their
edges and at their ends, or at their ends only, according to the nature and
form of the box, in the manner and for the purpose herein set forth, and
lining such boxes, prepared in such or a similar manner, with a metallic com-
position or alloy of which tin is the basis, for the purpose herein fully made
known and described. Instead of employing rims or fillets for the purpose
of holding or retaining the metallic compound or alloy, other methods, such
as making knobs, projections, or holes, may be adopted. I do not therefore
intend to confine myself to the precise manner in which the Invention is
carried into effect, as it is evident that the mode may be varied without
departing from the nature of the Invention.
The second part of the Invention is for an improved method of constructing
oil boxes for oiling the gudgeons or axles of machinery of various kinds, and
of combining the same with the lower box, within which such axles or
gudgeons are to run. In the box which surrounds the lower half of the axle
of a locomotive steam engine, railroad car, or other analagous vehicle, an oil
box, chamber, or trough is formed, which chamber is so constructed as to
have a spout or opening leading into it from the outer end of the box, through
which opening oil may be supplied so as to fill, or nearly to fill, the chamber
or trough. Into the said opening a tube- is inserted which is so constructed

page_text: as to adapt it to the retaining of the oil, so as to prevent its being thrown
out by any sudden concussion, even when the opening is not closed by a
cover; but a cover is also provided to the said opening, which cover is borne
down upon it by a spring, and closes it firmly; such spring serving also to
keep the cover up when oil is to be poured into the chamber. Through the
upper side of the oil box or chamber an opening is made which is imme-
diately under the middle of the lower side of the axle, and through this
opening rises one end of a weighted lever which turns on pivots within the
chamber. The rising or outer end of the said lever is borne up by the weight
of its inner end, and it is thus kept in contact with the lower side of the
gudgeon or axle, which it supplies with oil by means of a flat cotton wick of
the kind employed in Argand lamps, or by a strip of loosely-woven cotton
cloth, or of any other analagous substance, which may be affixed to the outer
end of the weighted lever, and which will convey the oil up from the box to
the axle by capillary attraction, the lower ends of such wick or analagous
article being allowed continually to dip into the oil contained within the
chamber. The main body of the apparatus containing the oil chamber and
its appendages is usually formed in two principal parts, which may be united-
together by means of rivets. One of these parts constitutes the lower or oil
box, and contains the oil chamber, and the other forms a cap or cover which
closes the opening in the pedestal for the axle boxes; and to this latter part
is appended the cover that closes the entrance into the oil chamber. These
two principal parts may be cast together in one piece; but the making of
them is facilitated by casting them separately, and subsequently.uniting them
by rivets or otherwise. In the accompanying Drawing, Fig. 7 is a perspective
representation of the oil box and cap, A, A, being the cavity within which the
axle is to be received, and B, B, the interior of the cap. Fig. 8 is a vertical
section through the apparatus from front to back; Fig. 9 is a top view of the
oil box, with the cap B removed; Fig. 10 represents the inner side of the cap
when separated from the oil box or part shewn in Fig. 9. In these Figures
the respective parts are shown of one half the actual size of the instrument.
In Figures 11, 12, and 13 the parts represented are drawn of the full size of
those in use.
After the parts, Figures 9 and 10, are cast, the two are rivetted
together, the part D of Fig. 9 being received within the cavity E of Fig. 10,
when the whole may be united by two rivets passing through openings at
a, a, Fig. 10. The opening through which the oil is to be poured to enter
the chamber C, C, is seen at F, Figures 8 and 9. This opening is occupied
by a tube shown separately at Fig. 13. This tube consists of two pieces, one
within the other, and is so constructed as to allow the oil poured into its

page_text: upper end to flow freely into the oil chamber, whilst it is intended to prevent
the escape of oil back again through it in consequence of any agitation to
which the box may be subjected. It is for this purpose that the tube is
made double. Its exterior portion 6', 6', which is cylindrical, extends down
to the bottom of the oil chamber, and has an opening made through it, as at
c¹, for the passage of the oil into the oil box C. d is a conical tube which
fills the tube b', 6', at its upper end, and the mouth of which is below the
opening in the outer tube, as shown in the Drawing. This manner of
forming the supply tube effectually answers the intended purpose. As a
further security, however, and to prevent the entrance of any foreign matter
into the oil chamber, a cover G, which works on a hinge joint, is borne upon
by a spring e, which keeps it firmly down upon the opening F, or retains it
when turned up, as shown in the Drawing, Fig. 8. H is the weighted lever
that carries upon its outer edge H', the wick or fibrous strip I, the ends of
which are tucked through the slots J, J, shown in the top view of the
weighted lever Fig. 11, and extend down into the oil chamber. This weighted
lever turns on pivots f, f, on a stand g', g', placed within the chamber. The
outer end H¹ of the lever rises through an opening K, in the upper part of
the chamber, and is borne against the axle by the weight of its inner end H.
This bearing will be thus rendered gentle and uniform, and will be free from
the danger of being altered, as is often the case with springs, the tension of
which may be, and often has been, increased by those having the care of
them, so as sometimes to cut through the wick or fibrous strip in a short
space of time.
A side view of the lever and its stand is given in Fig. 12.
When the oil box is slipped into its place, in the pedestal under the axle, it
may be retained there by passing under it a plate having on it a spring or
springs which will force it up towards and nearly into contact with the said
axle, and cause it to follow the motions of the upper box. The offsets or
projections at h, h, are also made to catch into notches, which prevent its
being drawn out until it is suffered to drop down by the removal of the
springs below it.
:
Having thus fully described the manner in which the oil box for oiling the
axles of locomotive steam engines, railroad cars, and other vehicles is con-
structed, I wish it to be understood that I do not intend to claim as new the
forming of the lower box of the axles of such vehicles, so as to contain an oil
chamber from which oil is supplied to the lower sides of the axles, and is
carried up thereto by capillary attraction, this having been effected by means
of a sponge, or of a cotton wick borne up by springs. But I claim, as the
second part of this Invention, the application of the weighted lever, and the