IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF TYRES FOR RAILWAY WHEELS
Year: 1878

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Kitson, the younger, of Leeds, in the County of
York, Iron Master, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE
OF TYRES FOR RAILWAY WHEELS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Kitson at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 25th June 1878.
JAMES KITSON, the younger, of Leeds, in the County of York, Iron Master,
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF TYRES FOR RAILWAY WHEELS."
The object of my Invention is to produce weldless tyres for railway wheels in n
more expeditious and economical manner than heretofore; to this end I dispense
with the piling and reheating of the iron, and I produce the tyre direct from tho
puddled ball.
In carrying out my Invention the iron is puddled in the usual way, so as to
produce a ball of suitable size and weight for a tyre; or, by preference, I produce
the puddled ball in a rotary puddling furnace. The puddled ball when made is
removed from the furnace and squeezed or hammered, in order to remove the slag
or cinder therefrom and to bring it into a suitable shape for the subsequent
operation of rolling; a hole is then punched in the centre of the bloom, which
should then be placed for a few minutes in a heating furnace, in order to bring it
up to the proper heat for working, as it will have lost some of its heat during the
previous hammering and punching processes; the bloom is then hammered into the
form or section required for the rolling mill. The most suitable form is that of n
thick ring, which is then placed on the mandril of a rolling machine, such as that
usually employed for rolling or forging weldless tyres, and is rolled down to the
proper size and thickness.
It will of course be understood that the puddled ball may be taken out of the
furnace either in the state of puddled steel, or by being suffered to remain longer it
may be had in the state of wrought iron. Tyres produced in this manner, direct.

page_text: from the puddled ball, will not be liable to lamination, as is sometimes the case
when they are made from piled iron.
I would also remark that as I prefer to make the puddled balls in a rotatory
furnace I am enabled to produce balls of great bulk and weight, such as are in fact
suitable for producing two or more tyres from oue ball. When a heavy ball of this
kind is obtained it may be forged or hammered into a cylindrical form, and then
divided or cut up into lengths, cach of which will be suitable for one tyre, into
which form they may be rolled when the central hole for the mandril has been
made therein, as already explained. Steel tyres may thus be made cheaply and
expeditiously, and will be found very durable and economical in use.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said James Kitson in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 24th December
1878.
JAMES KITSON, the younger, of Leeds, in the County of York, Iron Master.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF TYRES FOR RAILWAY WHEELS."
The object of this Invention is to produce weldless tyres for railway wheels in a
more expeditious and economical manner than heretoforo; to this end I dispense
with the piling of the iron to form a bloom, and I produce the tyre direct from the
puddled ball.
In carrying out my Invention I puddle the iron in the usual way in a rever-
beratory furnace, and thereby produce a ball of a size and weight suitable for
forming a railway wheel tyre; or, by preference, I produce the puddled ball in a
rotary puddling furnace. The puddled ball when removed from the furnace I
subunit to a squeezing or hammering process, in order to remove the slag or cinder
therefrom and bring it to a form approximating to that of a disc or cylinder; I
then punch a hole through the centro of the bloom and place it for a few minutes
in a reheating furnace, in order to raise it to the proper temperature for working,
as it will have lost some of its heat during the hammering and punching processes;
when reheated I hammer the bloom into the sectional form required for the rolling
mill, the form of bloom preferred being that of a thick ring; this bloom I next
placo on the mandril of a rolling mill, such as that usually employed for rolling or
forging weldless tyres, and roll it down to the proper size and section for a railway
wheel tyre.
It will be understood that the puddled ball may be taken out of the furnace
either in the state of puddled steel, or if suffered to remain longer in the state of
wrought iron. Tyres produced in this manner direct from the puddled ball will not
be liable to lamination, as is the case when they are made from piled iron.
I would remark that one advantage in making the puddled balls in a rotatory.
furnace is, that I am enabled to produce balls of a bulk and weight sufficient to

page_text: supply metal for two or more tyres from one ball. When a heavy ball of this kind
is obtained it may be forged or hammered into a cylindrical form, and then divided
or cut up into lengths by any approved means to form blooms for two or more
tyres. By this process of manufacturing from the puddled ball steel tyres may bo
cheaply produced, and will be found to possess great durability.
Having now set forth the nature of my Invention of "Improvements in the
Manufacture of Tyres for Railway Wheels," and explained the manner of carrying
the same into effect, I wish it to be understood that under the above in part
recited Letters Patent I claim, the manufacture of railway wheel tyres from tho
puddled blooms, in the manner and for the purpose above described.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Kitson, the younger, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, the Twenty-first day of December, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and seventy-eight.