IMPROVEMENTS IN THE BOXES OR BEARINGS OF AXLES OF RAILWAY AND OTHER SIMILAR CARRIAGES, AND IN THE METHOD OF OR ARRANGEMENTS FOR LUBRICATING SUCH AXLES
Year: 1866

page_text: LETTERS. PATENT to Francis Wise, of the Office for Patents, Chandos
Chambers, Adelphi, in the City of Westminster, Consulting Engineer,
for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE BOXES OR BEARINGS OF AXLES
OF RAILWAY AND OTHER SIMILAR CARRIAGES, AND IN THE METHOD OF OR
ARRANGEMENTS FOR LUBRICATING SUCH AXLES."-A communication from
abroad by Wilhelm Basson and Ferdinand Lüdecke, both of Berlin, in
the Kingdom of Prussia.
Sealed the 20th July 1866, and dated the 25th January 1866.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Francis Wise at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 25th January
1866.
I, FRANCIS WISE, of the Office for Patents, Chandos. Chambers, Adelphi,.
in the City of Westminster, Consulting Engineer, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE BOXES OR BEARINGS OF
AXLES OF RAILWAY AND OTHER SIMILAR CARRIAGES, AND IN THE METHOD OF OR
ARRANGEMENTS FOR LUBRICATING SUCH AXLES," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in the boxes or bearings of
axles of railway and other similar carriages, and in the method of or arrange-
ments for lubricating such axles, for which purpose I construct such boxes in.
two portions divided horizontally and fitting together at their edges by means
of a V or equivalent joint, in such manner as that vertical pressure alone, by
holding the two parts firmly in contact with each other, may by means of the

page_text: V or equivalent joint referred to suffice to prevent any lateral movement
between the two parts. In order to give the requisite vertical pressure for
bolding the two parts together I make use of a screw tapped into a stirrup
link or forked sling carried by lugs formed on or attached to the upper part,
so that the screw may be made to act beneath the lower part and hold it
firmly in contact with the upper, or by being more or less withdrawn or
unscrewed may lower the lower part of the box out of contact with the upper,
and thus enable it to be withdrawn when required without disturbing the
upper part containing the brass or other metal lining which rests upon the
neck of the axle. The lubrication of the axle neck is effected by means of a
surface of fibrous material saturated with the oil or other lubricant employed,
and resting upon a plate or table, by which it is pressed upward against the
under side of the axle. The centre of the plate or table is perforated and
attached to a tube working through a guide formed in or attached to a
perforated plate beneath, so that by means of a helical or other spring or
springs the tube and table or plate may be pressed upward as required to
maintain the necessary contact between the surface of fibrous material and the
axle neck,
From the fibrous material referred to a wick of like fibrous material
passes downward through the tube into a receptacle of oil or other lubricant
beneath, and any excess of oil or other lubricant after passing on to the axle
neck and falling therefrom passes through a filtering medium formed of fibrous
or other suitable material contained between two plates, and thence into the
reservoir from which it was originally drawn by the wick, instead of through
a film of leather, as described in the Specification of the Patent No. 133,
granted the 18th day of January 1864 to Charles Augustus Beckman.
The lubricating apparatus described may in many cases be applied to axle
bozos of ordinary or other construction
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Francis Wise in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 25th s
July 1866.
-TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, FRANCIS
WISB, of the Office for Patents, Chandos Chambers, Adelphi, in the City of
Westminster, Consulting Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters 8
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fifth day of January, in the year of our Lord One

page_text: thousand eight hundred and sixty-six, in the twenty-ninth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Francis Wise, Her special licence that I, the said Francis Wise; my executors,
administrators, and assigns, of such others as I, the said Francis Wise, my
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 THE BOXES OR BEARINGS
OF AXLES OF RAILWAY AND OTHER SIMILAR CARRIAGES, AND IN THE METHOD OF OR
ARRANGEMENTS FOR LUBRICATING SUCH AXLES," a communication to me from
abroad by Wilhelm Basson and Ferdinand Ludecke, both of Berlin, in the
Kingdom of Prussia, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
Francis Wise, 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 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 Francis Wise, do hereby declare the
nature of the 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:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in the boxes or bearings of
axles of railway and other similar carriages, and in the method of or arrange-
ments for lubricating such axles, for which purpose I construct such boxes in
two portions divided horizontally and fitting together at their edges by means
of a V or equivalent joint, in such manner as that vertical pressure alone, by
holding the two parts firmly in contact with each other, may by means of the
V or equivalent joint referred to suffice to prevent any lateral movement
between the two parts. In order to give the requisite vertical pressure for
holding the two parts together I make use of a screw tapped into a stirrup
link or forked sling carried by lugs formed on or attached to the upper part,
so that the screw may be made to act beneath the lower part and hold it
firmly in contact with the upper, or by being more or less withdrawn or
unscrewed may lower the lower part of the box out of contact with the upper,
and thus enable it to be withdrawn when required without disturbing the,
upper part containing the brass or other metal lining which rests upon the
neck of the axle. The lubrication of the axle neck is effected by means of a,

page_text: surface of fibrous material saturated with the oil or other lubricant employed;
and resting upon a plate or table, by which it is pressed upward against. the
under side of the axle. The centre of the plate or table is perforated and
attached to a tube working. through a guide formed in or attached to a per-
forated plate beneath, so that by means of a helical or other spring or springs
the tube and table or plate may be pressed upward as required to maintain
the necessary contact between the surface of fibrous material and the axle
neck.
From the fibrous material referred to a wick of like fibrous material passes
downward through the tube into a receptacle of oil or other lubricant beneath,
and any excess of oil or other lubricant after passing on to the axle neck and
falling therefrom passes through a filtering medium formed of fibrous or other
suitable material contained between two plates, and thence into the reservoir
from which it was originally drawn by the wick, instead of through a film of
leather, as described in the Specification of the Patent, No. 133, granted the
18th day of January 1864 to Charles Augustus Beckman.
The lubricating apparatus described may in many cases be applied to axle
boxes of ordinary or other construction.
Fig. 1 of the accompanying Drawings represents a vertical longitudinal
section of an axle box constructed according to my said Invention; Fig. 2, a
transverse section through the line A, B, of Fig. 1; Fig. 3, an end view of
the box and Fig. 4, a side view thereof.
The box in this case is constructed in two portions a and b, divided
horizontally and fitting together at their edges by means of the V joint c,
constructed by forming the upper edges of the lower part (6) in the shape of
a V, which edges fit into a corresponding recess formed at the lower parts or
edges of the upper portion a of the box, and are held in secure contact there-
with by means of a screw d tapped into a stirrup e carried by lugs f formed
with the upper portion of the box. The screw d is prevented from becoming
loose by means of a lock nut d¹, and acts against the under side of the lower
portion of the box as shewn. The upper portion a of the box is fitted with
the brass or other metal block or lining 9, resting upon the neck h of the axle
in the usual manner, the neck itself being lubricated from beneath by means
of the surface of fibrous material i, supported upon the plate or table j pressed
upwards by means of springs k. The plate or table is attached to a tube j',
which passes vertically downward through an opening in the inclined division
or diaphragm formed with the part 6 of the box, as also through a like
opening formed in a thin perforated plate 7, between which and the division
or diaphragm a small amount of fibrous material is placed, so as to

page_text: surround the tube where it passes through the diaphragm. To the fibrous
material i is attached the wick i', which passes downward through the tube j¹
into the space or reservoir m containing the lubricating oil, and at the lower
end of the division or diaphragm b'a space is left, in which beneath the
plate is inserted a wick of fibrous material o passing downward and com-
municating with the reservoir m. A hole closed by a screw n in the upper
part of the box enables oil to be poured in as required. In working oil is
drawn up from the reservoir m by the capillary action of the wick to the
surface of fibrous material i, which being pressed upward by the springs k rubs
against and transfers the oil to the neck h of the axle, any superabundance of
oil falling upon the perforated plate l, and thence through the openings therein
on to the diaphragm 6', from whence it passes (being filtered in its course)
downward through the wick o into the reservoir m, from whence it is again
drawn up and transferred to the axle neck as before.
Figs. 6, 7, 8, and 9 represent similar views of an axle box somewhat
modified from the foregoing; the filtering medium o being in this case rect-
angular in form, and secured in position by a rectangular frame or washer
plato o, between which and the removeablo division or diaphragm b' it is
firmly pressed by means of screws 0%. A plan of the division or diaphragm b',
showing the form of the frame or washer o¹, whereby the filtering medium is
secured, is given at Fig. 10.
Figs. 11, 12, 13, and 14 are views similar to Figs. 6, 7, 8, and 9 of a
lubricating apparatus formed separately from the axle box. Lubricators thus
constructed may be modified in form to suit tho particular shape of axle box
required.
Figs. 15 and 16 are respectively a longitudinal and a transverse section of
a lubricating apparatus differing somewhat from the foregoing. In this case
the perforated plate is hinged to the shell of the box or reservoir for con-
taining the oil at ; the filtering medium consisting of a thickness of fibrous
material held near its upper edge between the plate and a transverso wire
attached to the diaphragm 6', and hanging down into the reservoir as shewn.
In this arrangement a short tube fixed to the plate serves as a guide for the
tube to work through; a rim raised somewhat above the level of the
diaphragm b' preventing the passage of oil downward into the reservoir other-
wise than by passing through the filtering medium o. In this case the
necessary upward pressure is given to the tube j¹ and plate or table j by
means of a spiral spring k surrounding the wick.
It is obvious that the several parts of the Invention described are susceptible
of being variously modified without departing from its distinctive features, I

page_text: do not therefore confine or limit myself to the precise forms or arrangements
represented; but I claim,-
Firstly, the construction of axle boxes for railway and other carriages in
two parts fitting together by a V or equivalent joint, and kept in contact by
means of an arrangement of stirrup and screw, substantially as described.
Secondly, the construction of lubricators with a wick or wicks passing
through a moveable tube, and communicating with a surface of fibrous or
equivalent material for the purpose of transferring oil from the reservoir to
the axle neck, substantially as described.
Thirdly, the arrangements or methods of securing and employing filtering
mediums for lubricating purposes substantially as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Francis Wise, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-fourth day of July, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six.
FRANCIS (L.s.) WISE.
Witness,
W. LLOYD WISE.