IMPROVEMENTS IN AXLE BOXES
Year: 1859

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Richard William Johnson, of Oldbury, in the
County of Worcester, Railway Carriage Builder, and William Stableford,
of the same: Place, Manager, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
AXLE BOXES."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Richard William Johnson
and William Stableford at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents,
with their Petition, on the 21st February 1859.
We, RICHARD WILLIAM JOHNSON, of Oldbury, in the County of Worcester,
Railway Carriage Builder, and WILLIAM STABLEFORD, of the same Place,
Manager, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE.
MENTS IN AXLE BOXES," to be as follows:-
Our Invention is intended to facilitate the more ready application of grease,
oil, or other lubricating matter to the axle boxes and journals of railway
rolling stock, and the protection of the same from dust. We use a syphon
or case, inserted in the present grease chainber. On the back part of the
axle-box we use a cover or shield with a lubricator, and support the same in
position by spiral, bow, or other springs connected to the axle, box, or we use a
double self-adjusting slide with lubricator supported in position from a staple
[Price 8d.]

page_text: or slide, or from the bottom part of the axle box, and worked by a lever or
levers or with racks and wheels; springs may be used with these slides, if
necessary.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Richard William Johnson and William Stableford in the
Great Seal Patent Office on the 20th August 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, RICHARD
WILLIAM JOHNSON, of Oldbury, in the County of Worcester, Railway Carriage
Builder, and WILLIAM STABLEFORD, of the same Place, Manager, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-first day of February, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, in the twenty-second year
of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
us, the said Richard William Johnson and William Stableford, Her special
licence that we, the said Richard William Johnson and William Stableford,
our executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said
Richard William Johnson and William Stableford, our executors, adminis-
trators, 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 AXLE BOXES," upon the condition (amongst
others) that we, the said Richard William Johnson aud William Stableford,
or one of us, our executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing
under our or their, or one of our or their hands and seals, should par-
ticularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manuer 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 we, the said Richard William Johnson and
William Stableford, 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 thereof, reference being had to
the Drawings hereunto annexed, that is to say :-
Our Invention is intended to facilitate the more ready application of grease,

page_text: oil, or other lubricating matter to the axle boxes and journals of railway
rolling stock, and the protection of the same from dust. We use a syphon
or case inserted in the present grease chamber. On the back part of the axle
box we use a cover or shield with a lubricator, and support the same in
position by spiral, bow, or other springs connected to the axle box. Or we use
a double self-adjusting'slide with lubricator supported in position from a staple
or slide or from the bottom part of the axle box, and worked by a lever or
levers or with racks and wheels; 'springs may be used with these slides if
necessary.
Figure 1, Sheet 1, of the accompanying Drawings is a longitudinal section of
an axle box, with one form of our improvements applied thereto; and Figure 2
is a section through the line a, b, of the same with the outside casing removed.
A is the grease chamber, divided into two compartments, by a partition B.
Into these compartments we place cases or troughs C, C, one of which is
shewn detached in plan at Figure 3, and in longitudinal section at Figure 4,
through the line c,d,of the latter Figure. Grease or other lubricating material
is placed in these troughs, and conveyed to the axlein the following manner :-
E, E, are passages formed at the sides of each trough, which, when the
troughs are placed in position, communicate with other passages E1, E1, made
in and through the bush F. This bush is shewn detached in plan at Figure 5,
in side elevation at Figure 6, in end view at Figure 7, and in vertical section
at Figure 8. Cotton or other wicking or capillary fibres is or are placed in
the troughs, and led through the passages E, E, to those in the bush F.
This cotton acts as a syphon, and keeps up a continuous supply of lubricating
material to the journal of the axle. G is a cover to the grease chamber
provided at back with a spring H, to keep it closed. I is a chamber formed
at the back of the box, containing at its upper part a lubricating shield or
slide J, the bottom of which is curved to correspond with and fit down upon
the boss of the axle. Through the thickness of the shield, and at or near the
centre, a hole is formed, affording a communication between the upper
part of the chamber I and the boss of the axle. Lubricating material is
placed in the reservoir f,which, flowing through the hole e, lubricates the boss
of the axle. K is a screw stopper, to close the chamber I. The lower part
of the chamber I holds a similar shield or slide J1, inverted. In order to keep
this shield in contact with the boss, we connect to it a weighted lever L,
centred at g, as shewn in the partial side elevation at Figure 9; p is a wooden
peg to prevent the lever rattling. The shield J¹ being thus maintained against
the under part of the boss of the axle, and the upper shield J resting on it,
dust and dirt are prevented from entering the box. Figure 10 shews in

page_text: longitudinal section a modified arrangement to that just described, for effecting
the lubrication of the boss of the axle. Figure 11 is a back elevation of the
shields or slides, and Figure 12 shews the lubricating shield on the reverse
side to that shewn at Figure 11. Figure 18 is a plan; Figure 14 is a
longitudinal section; and Figure 15 is a vertical section of the same. The
upper lubricating shield M'is placed in the chamber I, formed at the back of
the axle box; in this case the chamber is closed by a spring cover N. The
shield M is formed with an upper compartment O, as shewn in the longitudinal
section Figure 14, for the reception of grease or other suitable material ;
passages P, P, lead from the bottom of this compartment O to the boss of the
axle, through which the lubricating material passes. The lower shield Q is
connected to a weighted lever as before, to keep it in contact with the boss.
Instead of a weighted lever, spiral or other springs may be placed on the
bottom of the chamber I, to keep the lower shield against the boss. Though
not shewn in the Drawings, we fit a screw plug at the bottom of the box,
through which to draw off the waste oil or greasy matter. Figure 1, Sheet 2,
is a longitudinal section, and Figure 2 is a back elevation of an axle box,
fitted with our Invention in another form. Figure 3, Sheet 3, is a plan taken
through the line A, A, of Figure 1, Sheet 2. Figure 4, Sheet 3, shews views
in half section through the lines B, B, and C, C, of Figure 1, respectively.
Figure 5, Sheet 3, is a front, and Figure 6, Sheet 3, is. a side elevation of
the bottom shield, and Figures 7 and S, Sheet 3, are views in side elevation
and plan respectively of the balance shield. The same letters of reference
refer to like parts in all the Figures, Sheets 2 and 3, all of which are drawn
on a larger scale than those in Sheet 1. D is the trough for the reception of
the lubricating material; it is made somewhat different to that last described;
first, the upper part or top E is partially covered, and second, the passages
leading to the bush are provided with internal conical funnels F, F, through
which the cotton or other capillary fibrous material, for conveying the
lubricating substances to the journal, passes. The boss of the axle is shielded
and lubricated in the following manner:-Gis a rod passing through or hiuged
to the bottom slide or shield H. This rod G is connected to one end of two
rocking shafts I, I, which are centred at I, 1. To the other end of these
shafts, rods or bars J, J, are hinged or jointed, one of which is shewn detached
at Figures 7 and 8, Sheet 3. K is the upper shield or slide, which rests on
the boss of the axle. The upper shield contains the oil or other lubricating
material, and has passages through it communicating with the boss of the
asle. L is a weighted cover to the chamber in which the slide K moves.
The rods or bars J, J, project upwards beyond the mouth of this chamber, aud

page_text: when the weighted cover L is placed on,the bars are pushed down,and,con-
sequently, through the rocking shafts I, I, the bottom shield H is driven
up in contact with the boss of the axle. 'Tis a circular hole formed in
the front of the axle box and stopped by a plate secured by a nut or nuts.
Through this hole any waste that collects in the bottom of the box may be
cleared out. Figure 1, Sheet 4, is a longitudinal section, and Figure 2,
Sheet 4,is a transverse secti m through the line 2, y, of Figure 1 of an axle-
box,fitted with our Invention in another form, where the brush or a part of
the metal cast in a piece with the brush enters the grease chamber,and forms
a passage or passages for the lubricating material to pass through. M,M,M,
are the passages for the grease or other lubricating material. Nis a shield
or guard, formed with a lip N' at its upper part, over which the cotton or
other like fibrous material passes. The back boss of the axle is lubricated
as in the box last described. Figure 1,Sheet 5,is a longitudinal section,and
Figure 2, Sheet 5, is a back clevation of an axle box, in which the shield is
differently constructed, and fitted in a manner differing from those before
described. The front of the axle-box is cast with flanges A, A', projecting
outward; B is the shield formed in one piece,and furnished with flanges C,C,
and D, D, projecting inward. The movable shield is placed over the flanges
A, A, and secured to the box by screws and nuts E, E. F, F, are spiral
springs,resting upon the top of the flange A¹,A',and bearing against the inner
flange on the top of the shield; the screws are passed through the springs,and
the holes in the flanges of the shield both at top and bottom are made oblong
to allow of lateral play to the shield. The screws maintain the shield against
the under part of the boss of the axle,and the flanges prevent grit and dirt
entering the box. G is a plug for the introduction of lubricating material into
a-chamber in the shield.
The Drawing shewn in Sheet 6 is a longitudinal section of an axle box in
which the metal that forms the bush projects up into the grease chamber, and
forms a passage for the admission of lubricating material to the journal of the
axle. The bush is held by a nut V screwing on to the neck W; Y is a
conical funnel placed in the neck W; Z, cotton fibres for conveying the
lubricating material to the journal.
And having now described the nature of our said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, we declare that we claim, ―
First, the employment of a case or trough, or cases or troughs, in the
interior of the grease chambers of axle boxes, which cases are fitted with
cotton or other capillary fibres, for lubricating thejournals of axles.as herein-
before described and illustrated in the accompanying Drawings.

page_text: Second. the arrangements and appliances herein-before described and
illustrated for lubricating the bosses of axles.
And, third, the employment in axle boxes of shields or slides,substantially
in manner and for the purpose herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Stableford, for myself and on-
behalf of the said Richard William Johnson, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Nineteenth day of August, One thousand eight
hundred and fifty-nine.
WM. STABLEFORD. (L.B.)