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Page 10
Many of the wheels that were still in use with the long hub were put
into a lathe, and a groove was cut an inch and a half back from the
face, leaving our cast collar, which was easily split off as before.
(Fig. 24.)
With tender wheels, as with our car wheels, the case was different.
Originally, the axle for the 5 ft. gauge was longer than for the 4 ft.
9 in.; but latterly the 5 ft. roads had used a great many master car
builders' axles for the 4 ft. 9 in. gauge, namely, 6 ft. 11� in. over
all, thus making the width of the truck the same as for 4 ft. 9 in.
gauge. To do this a dished wheel, or rather a wheel with a greater
dish by 1� in. than previously used, was needed, so that the tread of
the wheel could be at its proper place. (See Fig. 25.) There were, of
course, many of the wheels with small dish and long axles still in
use. Their treatment, however, when the day of change came, did not
vary from that of the short axle.
[Illustration: FIG. 24 and FIG. 25]
It had been the rule for some years that all axles should be turned
back 1� in. further than needed; but unfortunately the rule had not
been closely followed, and many were found not to be so turned. To
make the matter worse, quite a number of the wheels were found to have
been counterbored about � in. deep at the back end, and the axle
turned up to fit this counterbore; a good idea to prevent the running
in, in case the wheel worked loose, but bad from the standpoint of a
change of gauge. In such cases the wheels had to be started off before
the axle could be turned back, so that the wheels could be pushed on
in their proper position. (Fig. 26.)
[Illustration: FIG. 26]
If the work was done where they had a lathe large enough to swing a
pair of wheels, they were pressed off but half an inch, the wheels
swung in the lathe, the axles turned back 1� in., and the wheels then
pressed on 2 in. or 1� in. inside of their first position.
Where no large lathe was in use, the wheels came entirely off before
the axles could be turned back. The work in the former case was both
the quicker and the cheaper. Where the large lathes were used they
were either set down into the floor, so a pair of wheels would easily
roll into place, or a raised platform was put before the lathe, with
an incline up which the wheels were rolled and then taken to the
lathe. These arrangements were found much quicker and cheaper than to
hoist the wheels up, as is usually done.
In pressing the wheels on, where the axles had previously been turned
back, much trouble was at first experienced because of the rust that
had gathered upon the turned part behind the wheel, forming a ridge
over or upon which the wheel must be pushed. Some of the roads, at the
start, burst 10 or 15 per cent. of the wheels so pressed on. By
saturating this surface with coal oil, however, it was found that the
rust was easily removed and little trouble was had. It was found,
sometimes, that upon axles newly turned back a careless workman would
leave a ridge at the starting point of the turning. Frequently also
the axles were a little sprung, so that the new turning would be a
little scant upon one side when compared with the old surface, and
upon the opposite side a little full. As an indication that these
difficulties were overcome as they appeared, I will say that upon our
line only 202 wheels burst out of nearly 27,000 pressed on--an
exceedingly small percentage.
After the change upon the early roads they were troubled for weeks
with hot boxes, caused, as we believed, by the changing of brasses. A
brass once fitted to a journal will work upon it without trouble, but
when placed upon some other journal will probably not fit. If the
journal had been worn hollow (and it was surprising to see how many
were so worn), the brass would be found worn down to fit it. (See Fig.
27. Exaggerated, of course.)
[Illustration: FIG. 27 and FIG. 28]
The next wheel may have an axle worn little or none. (See Fig. 28)
Now, if these brasses are exchanged, we have the conditions as shown
in Figs. 29 and 30, and we must expect they will heat. The remedy was
simply to keep each brass upon its own journal. To do this the brasses
were fastened to the axle by a piece of small wire, and went with it
to the lathe and press. When its truck was reached, the brass was
there with its journal. Worn-out brasses, of course, could not be put
in, and new ones were substituted. The little trouble from that source
that followed the change showed the efficacy of the remedy.
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