CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN DIMINISHING FRICTION IN WHEELED CARRIAGES TO BE USED ON RAIL AND OTHER ROADS, AND WHICH IMPROVEMENTS ARE APPLICABLE TO OTHER PURPOSES
Year: 1829

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, Ross
WINANS, of Vernon, in the County of Sussex, and State of New Jersey, in the
United States of North America, at this time resident in London, send
greeting.
WHEREAS His present most Excellent Majesty King George the Fourth,
by His Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Thirtieth day of May, in the tenth year of His reign, did,
for Himself, His heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Ross Winans, His special licence that I, the said Ross Winans, my exors,
admors, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Ross Winans, my exors,
admňors, or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to
time and at all times during the term of years therein expressed, should and
lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and the
Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and also in all His said Majesty's Colonies and
Plantations abroad, my. Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN DIMINISHING
FRICTION IN WHEELED CARRIAGES TO BE USED ON RAIL AND OTHER ROADS, AND
WHICH IMPROVEMENTS ARE APPLICABLE TO OTHER PURPOSES;" in which said Letters
Patent is contained a proviso, obliging me, the said Ross Winans, by an
instrument in writing under my hand and seal, particularly to describe and
ascertain the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, and cause the same to be enrolled in His said Majesty's High.
Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and immediately after the

page_text: date of the said 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
Ross Winans, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention, and
the manner in which the same is to be performed, are particularly described
and ascertained in and by the Drawings hereunto annexed, and the following
description thereof (that is to say)
In diminishing friction in wheeled carriages to be used on railways or roads,
I employ four secondary or friction wheels, or two if applied to two-wheel
carriages, made of cast iron or other proper materials, and of about one-third
to one-half the size of the running wheels, and having a rim projecting on one
side of each of then, the inside periptury of which is turned smooth and
cylindrical; the necks, pivots, or gudgeons of these secondary or friction wheels
being but short, they may of course be proportionably small in diameter, and
they must be made to turn in brass or other proper bearings affixed to the
frame of the carriage, in order to reduce or diminish their friction as much as
possible. The four main cast-iron wheels which run upon the surfaces of the
two rails of the railway may either be fast or loose upon their axles, or one of
thom be fast and the other loose, as occasion may require, and as will be
described hereafter. These axles are made to extend on each side beyond the
naves of the main wheels, and are formed into cylindrical necks or pivots,
which act underneath the inside peripturies of the friction wheels on cach
side, and thus hold up or support above the rails the friction wheels and the
frame and body of the carriage, together with its load, and when the carriage
is moved forward the necks or pivots of the axles roll or turn within the
peripteries of the friction wheels, causing them also to revolve slowly, whilst tho
necks or pivots upon the ends of the axles of the friction wheels revolve still
more slowly in their brasses or bearings, and thus the friction is reduced.
In Drawing No. 1, Figure 1 is a side view or elevation of a railway
carriage; Figure 2, a bird's-eye view or plan of it; and Figure 3, an end
view of it; in all of which Figures the same letters of reference indicate
the similar parts. A, the body of the carriage; B, B, the side rails of the
frame; C, C, C, the cross bearers of the body A; D, D, D, D, Figure 2, the
four main wheels; and E, E, E, E, the four secondary or friction wheels. In
Figure 4, E is a section of one of these friction wheels; F, F, its two cylin-
drical necks or pivots; G, one of the cylindrical necks or pivots upon the end
of one of the axles of the main wheels, shewn as acting or revolving within
and underneath part of the inner periphery of the friction wheel E; the necks
or pivots of the axles of the friction wheels turn in brass or other proper

page_text: bearings affixed in the side rails B, B, &c., as shewn at H, H, in Figure 1.
I, I, parts of the iron rails of the road. As it is, however, desirable to have a
more complete supply of oil afforded to the necks or pivots of the main and
friction wheels, as well as to the inner periphries of the latter, than is provided
for in the construction of the carriages shewn in the above-described Figures,
and likewise to exclude dust therefrom, so I can accomplish these ends in the
following manner:-I enclose the friction wheels E, E, E, E, in metal boxes,
each composed of two separate parts or checks K and L, Figure 5, fitted
together oil-tight at their rims M, M, and each having a hole O through its
inner side or cheek, as shewn in Figure 8, to permit the necks or pivots of the
axles of the main wheels to pass through, and likewise two other cylindrical
holes, one on each side, in its centre, but not passing through the cheeks, for
the necks or pivots F, F, of the friction wheels to turn in, and as shewn in
Figure 5. Each of these metal boxes is affixed to the frame of the carriage iu
the following manner :-Each outside cheek K has a bar N, N, and plate P, P,
Figure 6, cast entire with it, and which said bars are secured to the cross
bearers of the carriage C, C, by screws and nuts, as shewn in Figures 6 and 7.
Each plate P, P, has two holes made through it at Q, Q, Figure 6, for screws
to pass through, and which also pass through two other holes made in ears
R, R, Figure 8, which are formed upon each side of the inner cheeks L, and are
screwed by screwed nuts, as shewn in Figure 7. Above, round, and over the
hole O, Figure 8, a metal plate S is affixed, answering the purpose of what is
termed the sand box in carriages, and still more effectually to exclude the
dust I introduce a metal collar T, shewn in Figure 5 and in Figure 9, and
also another U upon the end of the main axis, and which apply themselves
upon each side of the inner cheek L, as shewn in Figure 5; they also serve to
prevent the oil with which each box is partly filled from escaping through the
hole O. This oil, as the necks or pivots and the friction wheels turn round,
is continually taken up and distributed over the moving parts, so as to oil or
lubricate them in a most effectual manner. Figure 9 is an edge view of one
of the friction wheels E with the necks or pivots F, F, upon its axis, and the
neck or pivot upon the end of one of the main axles G (shewn by dotted lines)
as acting within the inner periphery of the friction wheel; T, U, are the two
metal collars. Figure 10 is an inner side view of the friction wheel E and one
of its necks or pivots F. In order to allow the four oil boxes to keep their
relative positions with respect to the main axles, the tops of the bars N, N,
Figure 6, are formed of a cylindrical shape, as shewn in the section of one of
them at N in Figure 11, and are fitted into cylindrical grooves made across
and underneath the cross bearers C, C, &c. to receive them, as shewn in the

page_text: section through one of them at Figure 11, and the holes for the screws to pass
through, by which they are affixed to the cross bearers, being widened above;
and these cylindrical bearings and the pivots of the axles of the main wheels
being all in one right line, and the oil boxes being permitted to vibrate side-
ways, they can thus assume their proper positions with regard to the bearing
of the inner peripheries of the friction wheels upon those pivots. Figure 12
is an under view of the parts shewn in Figure 11; Figure 18 is a plan of
part of a railway carriage fitted up in the manner last described.
As various kinds of wheels are used for railway carriages, the rims or
peripheries of some of them being conical and others cylindrical, and with
flanches or guides upon one side of each, such as are shewn, for instance, in
Figures 14 and 15 of Drawing No. 2, the former being conical and the latter
cylindrical wheels, and as one of my said improvements is for the purpose of
enabling such carriages to turn in lesser curves upon the roads than usual,
and as conical wheels possess greater advantages in some respects over the
cylindrical ones, although in others the cylindrical ones may be preferable,
so I shall proceed to describe the application of my said improvement to the
conical wheels.
In Figure 16, I, I, I, I, are parts of two curved rails of a railway; B, D,
and C, C, C, the frame of a railway carriage; G, G, the axles of the main
wheels; D, D, D, D, the four main wheels; E, E, E, E, the four secondary
or friction wheels. The axles G, G, are here shewn as being made to
approach nearer to each other on one side than at the other side, or to
lock, as it is termed, and which effect is produced as follows:-The waggon
being supposed to be moving in the direction indicated by the arrows, the
wheel tis rolling with its smaller diameter upon one of the rails, whilst
the wheel 2 is rolling with its greater diameter upon the other rail, and con-
sequently the wheel 2 is advancing farther upon the rails than the wheel 1,
and causes the axle of the wheels to assume the position shewn, both wheels
being here supposed to be firmly affixed upon the axle. In like manner the
wheel 3 is moving with its lesser diameter upon the one rail and the wheel 4
with its greater diameter upon the other rail, thus causing their axle also to
take the position shewn, and as both axles are thus inclined in the direction of
the radii of the circle in which they are moving, so the carriage is enabled to
turn in a lesser circle then usual. In order to permit these changes of the
positions of the axles to take place, the holes through the inner sides of the
four oil boxes are made rather wider than the diameters of the axles, and thus
allow sufficient play to the axles backwards and forwards within those holes.
In the case of employing cylindrical wheels, one or both of the wheels must-

page_text: be permitted to turn loose upon their axles, and their flanches be made to run
upon the outsides of the rails, and when either of the flanches comes into
contract with one of the rails it causes the wheel to recede, and thereby to
relieve itself, and thus in turning curves upon the railway or guiding carriages
upon the railroad a similar effect is produced as in the case of using conical
wheels, and as before described.
In order to apply my improvement to carriages employed on the ordinary
roads, I employ two pairs of springs on the outside of the carriage on each
side, as shewn at V, V, V, V, in Figure 17 of Drawing No. 2, underneath
which the necks or pivots of the axles of the secondary or friction wheels E, E,
turn in proper brasses or bearings affixed to the said springs, and the necks or
pivots formed upon the ends of the axle of the main wheels turn or roll
underneath the inside peripheries of the friction wheels, as in the carriages
for railways before described. The body of the carriage W, Figure 18, is
here shewn as being hung upon two other springs X, X. In Figure 19 the
friction wheel is shewn in dotted lines at E, and the pivot of the main wheel
axle at G as connected with one of the springs V, V. In case of applying
the improvements to a four-wheeled carriage, I in like manner affix two
springs upon each side upon the fore axletree bed, and connect the two friction
wheels and the pivots of the axle of the fore wheels therewith, as in the case
of a two-wheeled carriage. These improvements are equally capable of
being applied to the diminishing of friction in carriages employed upon
inclined planes, and also in the spindle frames or carriages of the mule
spinning machines for cotton and wool, when applied in either of the herein
described methods to the necks or pivots of the main wheels, which support
the said spindle frames or carriages upon their guide rails.
Having thus described the application of my said improvements in diminish-
ing friction in carriages for railways and common roads, as well as its application
to other purposes also, I hereby declare that I do not mean or pretend hereby
to claim as my Invention any of the various parts herein described which
may have already been known or in use; but I do hereby claim as my
Invention the application of secondary or friction wheels with a rim project-
ing on one side, and the causing the necks or pivots of the axles of the main
or supporting wheels of carriages upon railways, common roads, and inclined
planes, or the spindle frames of spinning machines, to roll underneath the
inside peripheries of the said secondary or friction wheels, in the manner herein
described; also the mode of connecting the oil boxes with the frames of the
carriages, herein described, so as to cause the friction wheels turning within
the said oil boxes to apply their inner peripheries in the most a:lvantageous

page_text: manner upon the necks or pivots of the axles of the main wheels, so as to
diminish the friction greatly; likewise the manner of allowing the axles of
the main wheels to assume an angular or radial position, whereby they are
made capable of turning in lesser circles upon the railways than usual.
In witness whereof, I, the said Ross Winans, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, the Eighteenth day of November, in the year of our Lord
nd twenty nine