IMPROVEMENTS IN CASTING STEEL RAILWAY WHEEL TYRES
Year: 1865

page_text: LETTERS PATENT. to Joseph Whitley, of Bowman Lane, Leeds, in the
County of York,. for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN CASTING STEEL
RAILWAY WHEEL TYRES."
Sealed the 16th May 1865, and dated the 4th March 1865...
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Joseph Whitley at the
Office of the: Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
4th March 1865.
I, JOSEPH WHITLEY, of Bowman Lane, Leeds, in the County of York, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN CASTING
STEEL RAILWAY WHEEL TYRES," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in casting steel railway
wheel tyres. For these purposes a mould is used which when at work is
caused to revolve at a high speed, which, however, is not new. This mould is
caused to revolve in a horizontal plane. The inner surface of the periphery of
the mould is as heretofore of a like contour or section as the periphery of the
tyre. The top and bottom surfaces are inclined or at an angle to each other
to allow of the tyre to move from the surfaces of the mould as the shrinkage of
the tyre takes place; and in place of using rotatory moulds in a cold or

page_text: comparatively cold state, the mould is first heated to a high heat, say a good
red heat, and is used in that condition. When desired, a steel tyre after it
has been cast in the revolving mould may be retained in and be allowed to
cool down with the mould, and thus by protracting the time of cooling more
or less anneal the tyre, or the tyre may be annealed separate from the mould.
Steel tyres thus manufactured when not sufficiently true or not of the gauge
desired may be rolled or further formed after casting.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Joseph Whitley in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
4th September 1865.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOSEPH
WHITLEY, of Bowman Lane, Leeds, in the County of York, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fourth day of March, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, in the twenty-eighth year
of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant
unto me, the said Joseph Whitley; Her special licence th, the said Joseph
Whitley, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or sucu others as I, the
said Joseph Whitley, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at
any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after 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
CASTING STEEL RAILWAY WHEEL TYRES," upon the condition (amongst others)
that 1, the said Joseph Whitley, my executors or administrators, by an instru-
ment 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 1, the said Joseph Whitley, 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 thereof, that is to say:―
This Invention has for its object improvements in casting steel railway
wheel tyres. For these purposes a mould is used which when at work is

page_text: caused to revolve at a bigh speed, which, however, is not new. This mould is
caused to revolve in a horizontal plane, and the inner surface of the periphery
of the mould is as heretofore of a like contour or section to the periphery of
the tyre. In place of using these rotatory moulds in a cold or comparatively
cold state, the mould is first heated to a high heat, say a good red heat, and is
used in that condition. When desired, a steel tyre after it has been cast in
the revolving mould may be retained in and be allowed to cool down with the
mould, and thus by protracting the time of cooling more or less anneal the
tyre, or the tyre may be annealed after it has been removed from the mould.
Steel tyres thus manufactured when not sufficiently true or not of the gauge
desired may be rolled or further formed after casting.
And in order that my Invention may be more fully understood and readily
carried into effect, I will proceed, aided by the accompanying Drawings, to
describe the means I prefer to employ in carrying out my Invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
α, α,
Figure 1 is a section of a mould and table arranged as I prefer for carrying
out my Invention; Figure 2 is a vertical section, and Figure 3 is a horizontal
section, of a furnace such as I prefer to employ for heating the moulds.
is the mould, shell, or box in which the mould 6 may be formed as usual of
loam or sand, but the material which I prefer to employ consists of a mixture
of silicate and plumbago in the proportion of about 75 per cent. of silicate to
about 25 per cent. of plumbago; the inner surface of the mould, that is the
surface next the tyre, I coat with pure plumbago, but I do not confine myself
to this description of mould, as a cast-iron mould of suitable form may be
employed for this purpose, but cast-iron moulds are found to be not so durable
as a mould formed of silicate and plumbago as above described. The mould
when formed is heated in a furnace to a high heat, say a good red heat; it is
then placed upon a table c, the upper surface of which is faced with fire-brick,
as shown at d, d; this table is provided with three or it may be other number
of rollers e, e, upon which the mould is supported with its under surface a short
distance above the table c. Upon the top of the mould box are cast or other-
wise secured three or more inclines f, and to the table are hinged a corre-
sponding number of cramps g, which when it is desired to secure the mould
box on the table are thrown up to the position shown in the Drawing, and
then upon rotary motion being given to the shaft h, or on the mould being
caused to turn upon the rollers e, e, in one direction, the mould will be firmly
fixed on the table c by means of the inclines f becoming wedged under the
cramps g. By giving rotary motion to the mould box in the contrary direction

page_text: independently of the table the mould box will be released. The mould, shell,
or box is provided with pins or spikes on its inner and outer surfaces, the
inner ones are to assist in holding the material of which the mould is
composed, and the outer ones are for the purpose of attaching a protecting
material to protect the mould box or shell from the direct action of the fire.
whilst being heated in the furnace. The metal is poured into the mould by
the funnel, and the mould is kept revolving until the metal has entirely set ;.
the tyre is by preference allowed to remain in the mould until it is cold, as
it then cools very gradually and becomes annealed in cooling; a separate:
annealing process may however be resorted to. The mould box has also
numerous perforations which assist in .holding the moulding and protecting
material, and allow the gases to escape which are generated in the casting
process.
The furnace shown at Figures 2 and 3 is constructed as I prefer for the
purpose of heating the moulds; it is, as shown, of a circular form, having a
heating chamber k in the centre thereof formed of fire-brick in the shape of a
retort, and having a cover or lid to exclude the air from the moulds whilst
being heated; in the chamber kan annular fire supplies heat to the chamber,>
the products of combustion from which are conveyed away by the outlet formed.
in the cover m, which is hinged at m¹ to the shell of the furnace. When it is is
desired to introduce moulds into the furnace to be heated, or to remove them:
when heated, the covers or lids and m are removed and the moulds are
introduced or removed by a crane or other suitable contrivance.
Having thus described the nature of my said Invention, I would have it
understood that I do not confine myself to the précise details herein shown's
and described, so long as moulds (which when at work are caused to revolve
at a high speed) are heated to a high heat preparatory to the casting process
substantially as herein shown and described; the annealing the tyres by cooling
them in the revolving moulds in which they are cast is also an important
feature of my Invention.
In witness whereof, I, the said Joseph Whitley, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this First day of September, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five.
JOSEPH WHITLEY.
(L.S.)