IMPROVEMENTS IN RAILWAY WHEELS
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Henry Johnson, of 47, Lincoln's Inn
Fields, in the County of Middlesex, Gentleman, for the Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN RAILWAY WHEELS."-A communication from
abroad by George Granville Lobdell, of Wilmington, in the County
of Newcastle, and State of Delaware, United States of America.
Sealed the 13th April 1869, and dated the 14th November 1868.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Henry Johnson
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 14th November 1868.
I, JOHN HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County
5 of Middlesex, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN RAILWAY WHEELS," a communication to
me from abroad by George Granville Lobdell, of Wilmington, in the

page_text: County of Newcastle, and State of Delaware, United States of America,
to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to a peculiar construction of that class of
railway wheels which are made entirely of cast iron, and the rims of
which are hardened by causing the molten metal in casting the wheels
to come in contact with cast iron which forms a part of the mould.
The first part of the Invention, which relates to the construction of
spoke wheels in which both hub, rim, and spokes are cast hollow,
consists in arranging strengthening ribs within the hollow rim, and in
making the flanged side of the rim straight, or nearly so, and at right
angles or thereabouts to the internal strengthening ribs above referred to,
the the objects of this part of the Invention being, first, the affording of
facilities for easily casting the hollow rim with its internal ribs; second,
the obtaining an uniform chill and a deep penetration of the same; third,
the attainment of strength where the greatest strength is demanded;
and, fourth, the effecting an economical distribution of the metal
composing the wheel.
The second part of this Invention consists of a cast-iron railway
wheel in which the hub and rim are connected together partly by two
concavo-convex plates and partly by a single plate or web forming a
continuation of the said concavo-convex plates from the point where
the two mect; also of an annular rib made on the inner circumference
of the rim and forming a continuation towards the centre of the wheel
of the flange, whereby greater strength is obtained.
is obtained. Strengthening
ribs extend from the concavo-convex plates above referred to, and
terminate at their outer ends up on the annular rib before mentioned.
The objects of this part of the Invention are similar to those mentioned
in reference to the improved cast-iron spoke wheel.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said John Henry Johnson in the Great Seal Patent 3
Office on the 14th May 1869.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of Mid-
dlesex, Gentleman, send greeting.

page_text: agree
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fourteenth day of November, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, in the thirty-
second year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said John Henry Johnson, Her special
license that I, the said John Henry Johnson, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said John Henry Johnson,
my executors, administrators, or assigns, should at any time
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 RAILWAY WHEELS," a communication from abroad by
George Granville Lobdell, of Wilmington, in the County of Newcastle,
and State of Delaware, United States of America, upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said John Henry Johnson, my executors or
administrators, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal
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.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Henry Johnson, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in
and by the following statement, reference being had to the accom-
panying Drawings, and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is
o say:-
The said Invention relates to a peculiar construction of that class of
ailway wheels which are made entirely of cast iron, and the rims of
hich are hardened by causing the molten metal in casting the wheels
o come in contact with cast iron which forms a part of the mould..
The first part of the Invention, which relates to the construction
f spoke wheels in which both hub, rim, and spokes are cast hollow,
onsists in arranging strengthening ribs within the hollow rim, and in
aking the flanged side of the rim straight, or nearly so, and at right
ngles or thereabouts to the internal strengthening ribs above referred

page_text: to, the objects of this part of the Invention being, first, the affording of
facilities for easily casting the hollow rim with its internal ribs; second,
the obtaining an uniform chill and a deep penetration of the same;
third, the attainment of strength where the greatest strength is
demanded; and, fourth, the effecting an economical distribution of the
metal composing the wheel.
The second part of this Invention consists of a cast-iron railway wheel
in which the hub and rim are connected together partly by two concavo-
convex plates, and partly by a single plate or web forming a continuation
of the said concavo-convex plates from the point where the two meet;
also of an annular rib made on the inner circumference of the rim, and
forming a continuation towards the centre of the wheel of the flange
whereby greater strength is obtained. Strengthening ribs extend from
the concavo-convex plates above referred to, and terminate at their outer
ends upon the annular rib before mentioned.
The objects of this part of the Invention are similar to those mentioned
in reference to the improved cast-iron spoke wheel.
And in order that the said Invention may be fully understood, I
shall now proceed more particularly to describe the same, and for that
purpose shall refer to the several Figures on the annexed Sheet of
Drawings, the same letters of reference indicating corresponding parts in
all the Figures.
Figure 1 of the Drawings annexed is a transverse section of part of an
improved cast-iron car wheel, with hollow hub, spokes, and rim;
Figure 2 is a sectional view of part of the wheel on the line 1-2,
Figure 1; Figure 3 is a transverse section of one of the spokes on the
line 3-4, Figure 1; Figure 4 is a transverse section of part of an
improved cast-iron car wheel, having solid rim, and a web partly hollow;
Figure 5 is a view of the rear side of part of the wheel; and Figure 6 is
a detached view shewing a modification.
On reference to Figures 1, 2, and 3, which illustrate the first part of
the Invention, A represents part of the hub of the wheel; B, one of the
spokes (there being eight of the latter in the present instance); D, the
rim, and E, the flange. The hub, spokes, and rim are made hollow, as
shown in the Drawing, and the interior of the hub communicates with
the interior of the spokes, and the latter with the interior of the rim, as
clearly shown in Figure 2.

page_text: In constructing cast-iron car wheels of this class considerable difficulty
has been experienced in making the rim sufficiently strong, and in some
cases attempts have been made to obtain the desired strength by an
increased thickness of tread, that is, an increased thickness of metal on the
line x-x (Figure 1), but this can only be accomplished by a sacrifice
of the efficacy of the chill, for the thicker the metal is at this point the
less perfect is the chill. To strengthen the rim without thus increasing
the thickness of the tread throughout ribs a, a, are arranged adjacent to
the tread throughout the interior of the rim at suitable distances apart,
as shown in the Drawing.
It has been the practice to make the hollow rim of the form or
approximating to the form shown by the dotted line n, Figure 1, the
interior space being thus contracted to an objectionable extent, as it is
difficult to cast the internal ribs in the rim when the latter is thus con-
tracted. Moreover the rim is weak where strength is most necessary,
that is to say, in the direction of the red line y-y, Figure 1, where
fractures are most apt to occur.
It will be seen that in the improved wheel the flanged side m of the
rim is made with a straight face continued beyond the strengthening
rib a, the edge of which is represented by the line t, t, (Figure 1,) the
straight face m of the rim being at right angles or nearly so to this line.
By this arrangement the rib has an increased sectional area, the
strengthening ribs a do not interfere with the ready casting of the
wheel, and the straight mass of metal at right angles to the ribs a adds
greatly to the strength of the rim and flange; in addition to which
advantages a very perfect chill is obtained.
On reference to Figures 4 and 5, which illustrate the second part of
the improvement, A is the hub of the wheel, from which project two
concavo-convex plates a and a¹ enclosing an annular space m and
meeting at x, from which point the single plate or web e forming a
continuation of the plates a and a¹ extends to the rim D of the wheel,
and on the concave portion of the plate e are a number of curved ribs f
which extend to the rim. Although the flange h may be of the form
shown in Figure 6, it is preferable to continue it towards the centre of
the wheel, so as to form on the inner edge of the rim an annular rib i,
at the edge of which the strengthening ribs f terminate. By this
annular rib i great additional strength is obtained, as will be readily

page_text: understood by referring to the usual line of fracture w, Figure 4, in fact
the rim D, its flange h, annular rib i, plate e, and strengthening ribs f
all contribute by their peculiar relative arrangement to add strength to
the wheel at the point where strength is most desirable.
In addition to the strength thus imparted it has been found that
when the flange h has been widened by the addition of this rib i the chill
will penetrate to a greater depth adjacent to the flange h than when the
said strengthening rib is absent. This will be understood by reference
to Figures 4 and 6 of the Drawing, the line p' in Figure 6 representing
the limit of the chill in the wheel in which the rib i is wanting, and the
line p in Figure 4 representing the extent of the penetration of the
chill in a wheel provided with the rib i.
This important result is also obtained in the wheel shown in Figures 1,
2, and 3, where the extension of the rim to the line m forms a body of
mctal equivalent to the rib i at the inner side of the flange E, and it is
the presence of this body of metal which insures a deeper and more
perfect chill.
By the arrangement of the plates a, a, e, and the ribs f, in respect to
the hub and rim of the wheel, as shown in Figure 4, a wheel is
produced possessing great strength and durability, but containing a
comparatively small amount of metal. If desired the ribs f may vary
in form from that represented in the Drawing.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of the
said Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or
carried into effect, I would observe in conclusion that what I consider
to be novel and original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured to
me by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is,―
First. A cast-iron car wheel, having a hollow rim D, within which are
arranged strengthening ribs a, substantially as and for the purpose herein
set forth.
Second. A cast-iron wheel, having a hollow rim, with internal ribs a
and a straight flanged side m arranged at right angles or thereabouts to
the said ribs, as herein set forth and illustrated in Figure 1 of the
Drawings.
Third. A cast-iron car wheel composed of concavo-convex plates a

page_text: and a¹, single plate or web e, ribs f, hub A, and rim D, all substantially
as and for the purpose herein set forth.
Fourth. A cast-iron car wheel, having an annular strengthening rib i
arranged in respect to the flange h, substantially as described and
illustrated in Figure 4 for the purpose specified.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Henry Johnson, have to
this my Specification set my hand and seal, the Fourteenth day
of May One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine.
J. HENRY JOHNSON. (L.S.)
J. HENRY JOHNSON. (L.S.)