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TIIK CIVIL EXGIKEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 



f Apsii., 



iiients and inquiries, wliiih are confirmed by all the writer's pre- 

 vious experience and information, are — 



1st. 'i'hat tlie axles of all railway en'jines, carriapes, and vehicles 

 should be inaile of the best ascertained (|uality of iron for the 

 ])urpose, both tough and strong, and of uniform clean fil)rous 

 texture. 



2nd. The proportion of an a\le in all parts to be determined 

 from sound experience and calculation; the load it has to carry, 

 the speed at which it is run, and the description of wheel in which 

 it is ]daced, and strains to which it is liable in working from curves 

 or ineciualities of the road, or other deteriorating causes, being 

 fully considered. 



3rd. That previous to any axle being allowed to run on any line, 

 the maker's name should be legibly marked thereon and the date 

 of manufacture, and also when it was first put to work. It is of 

 course manifestly im]iracticable to record the number of miles run; 

 but as all railway stock in a general way is worked nearly uniform, 

 the above particulars w ould afford the necessai-y data to guide the 

 opinion which may be formed of the age beyond which limit the 

 iron becomes comparatively unsafe. 



4-th. That it be part of the duty of the proper officer to see 

 that fill a.xles are working in good condition and receiving careful 

 treatment. 



.5th. The next point the writer would press is, that all in whose 

 power is the opportunity for registering facts in connection with 

 railway axles, should by this, or some recognised scientific Insti- 

 tution, be requested to note and carefully collect their information 

 on all ]toints, in order that a certain average result for tlie guidance 

 and benefit of all interested may be arrived at. 



0th. That attention should be given to ascertain the description 

 and working condition of wheels which in all points cause the 

 least deteriorating effects on the axle ; and for this he proposes to 

 ])roduce some further experiments and also results from practice. 



7tli. That the quality of lubrication and description of bearings 

 used should also be considered; and for this he also proposes to 

 give a paper to the Institution, with the results of experiments 

 and experience. 



It is obviously of most material advantage to all who are con- 

 nected with or have the management of machinery, whether for 

 railway, manufacturing, or mining jiurposes, to have their atten- 

 tion directed to tlie jihenoniena bearing u])un the nature, use, 

 stability, and durability of the iron or other material of which 

 that macliinery is constructed; as it must be manifest that we 

 must first obtain a clear knowledge of the best quality, the best 

 form, and the best treatment necessary to select and prepare it for 

 use, and to pi-eserve it from any deteriorating causes as far as pos- 

 sible, in order to obtain the greatest safety, efficiency, and economy 

 in working the macliinery for the purpose it is intended to effect. 



With the above views kept prominently before them in all their 

 inquiries in this as well as in other branches of practical research 

 in developing improvements of commercial utility, the members 

 of this Institution, from their different positions, with large and 

 varied opportunities, will be enabled to effect great good; they 

 will assist the progress of useful mechanical inventions, and entitle 

 themselves to the respect and gratitude of all classes, as being the 

 means of producing and encouraging lasting and substantial ad- 

 vantages to the commercial and manufacturing interests of the 

 country. 



Rpmarks made at the Meeting after the Reading of the foregoing Paper, 



The Chairman (Mr. McConnell) remarked, that it was much to be 

 rcgrutteil that tfioir President, who took a gre.it interest in the suliject, was 

 a'jsent, and perhaps it wuiiUi be well not to conchule the investigation tliat 

 evening, in order to ofTord him an opportunity of being present. 



Mr. CowPER inquired with reference to the hrnken axle exhihiled, 

 wl.elher it had been niiked to a square shoulder and broken to test tlie 

 qiiility of the iron, or whetiicr it liad only been bent by pressure? 



The Chairiian replied, that the axle was broken at one end whilst 

 mailing on the railv\ay, and was broken off short at the other end hy 

 falling to the ground; and then in order to see whether the crystallisation 

 was local or otherwise, it was afterwards bent in the centre by three or four 

 blows from a weight of 17 cnt., falling npnn it, without the axle being 

 nicked, and it was then donhled up liy the hydr.iulic press, hut it did not 

 show any aiiprarance of breaking. 



Mr. Wright oliserved, that the fractnre was at a very deep square 

 sbnilder, and a great deal of the appearance round the fracture might be 

 the result of the shoulder. 



The Chairman replied, that this to a certain extent might be the case, 

 but even without the shoulder there seemed to be an annular crystalline 

 ^p.;ce going on fuiming. ^ 



Mr. Valtbr Williams expresstyl bis full eoneurren'-e in the views 

 stated by Mr. Gibbons in his coiumunication, which were founded on very 

 1 ing experience. He could also speak from the experience of many yeais, 

 that he had invariably found that iron much used as axles broke in the 

 manner described hy the Chairman. He was therefore quite satisfied tnat a 

 change takes place in tlie strurture of iron, and was rather surprised that a 

 different opinion was entertained, because he had observed hundreds of 

 instances where after having produced a good tough finrous iron, yet after 

 hanunering it had broken crystalline. But to show how well it was known 

 that iron was affected in structure, be would mention that in making iron tor 

 particular purposes it was desirable to have it of very close fihre, and it wa8 

 customary to throw the hot iron into a water bosh in th.e state in wbieh it 

 came from the rolls, and that injured its fibre. The ohject in thus dealing 

 with the iron was to clean it, and when next put through the rolls ii8- 

 li'irons character was restored; hence he was of opinion that in the case- 

 of axles deteriorated hy wear their fibrous character might he restored hy 

 drawing down hot, for there was no doubt it was the a.tion of the wliseln 

 which made the change. 



Mr. Hodge considered the subject as one of great importance, and sug- 

 g'^sted that the discussion should he deferred until after the members had 

 been furnished with a copy of the paper and the experiments, with such 

 diagrams as were necessary for their illustration. So important was the 

 question which presented itself with reference to changes in the structure of 

 iron, that it bad occujiied the attention of the American Institute for twf) 

 sessions, and be thought that this Institution should not allow the subject 

 to pass without a long and careful consideration, because it was necessary to 

 have regard to the various circumstances under which the iron was manu- 

 factured, and the particular character of the iron itself. 



Mr. Henry Smith, in reference to his promise at the last meeting to 

 furnish some results at the present meeting, observed that the experiments 

 on cold-hammered iron, which v\ere described in Mr. McConnell's paper, 

 bad been tried at his works, and he fully concurred in all that Mr. .McCunuell 

 had said with reference to them. 



Mr. P. R. Jackson inquired wliich class of iron the chairman considered 

 best for railway axles — malleable iron or steel.' For his own part, when he 

 required great strength he employed good steel, and found that answer 

 the best. 



The Chairman, in reply, repeated tlie first practical deduction contained 

 in his paper — viz., "that the axles of all railway engines, carriages, and 

 vehicles, should be made of the best ascertained quality of iron for the 

 purpose, both tough ami strong, and of uniform clean fibrous texture."' 

 That was his opinion with reference to the quality of iron to be employed ; 

 and he thought the Institution would be departing from its province were ii 

 to consider any particular district or manufacture. They were now treating 

 of the deterioration of railway a.rles, and the question to be decided by 

 proofs adduced to the members was whether they underwent such a change 

 as from fibrous to crystalline iron ; that question being determined, they 

 might then not only consider the quality of iron, but the form of railway 

 axles most advantageous to be adopted. 



Mr. Hodge observed, that when steel was employed it was in order to 

 produce stiffness and not to resist torsion ; he did not think that the mere 

 imparting of carbon to iron would give it the properties required for the 

 present purpose. 



Mr. Slate doubted whether the term fibrous, as applied to iron, properly 

 described the state or condition of the material to which it referred. He 

 could understand a fibre of cotton or wool, or other such material, hut in 

 the case of fibrous iron, as it was termed, they found a series of small crys- 

 tals united longitudinally, giving the appearance of fibre ; and when that 

 changed to larger crystals the peculiar cohesion seemed to be destroyed, and 

 the whole became a conglomerate mass without an\' appearance of fibre. 



Mr. CowPER said, it appeared to him that fibre in iron was composed of 

 the separate particles of iron existing in the puddling furnace of different 

 sizes, and that these were afterwards elongated in the process of forging 

 and rolling, so that a number of long particles were obtained lying near to 

 each other, though there was not perfect contact, ow ing to the interlying 

 cinder. Crystalline iron w.is that in which the particles assumcil any other 

 form than the elongated form. .\ll iron contained a portion of cinder or 

 silicate of iron, which was more or less squeezed out in the process of 

 forging and rolling. 



Mr. HoDGK remarked, that to arrive at any true results as to the struc- 

 ture of iron it would be necessary to call in the aid of the microscope, to 

 examine the fibrous and crystalline structure. 



Mr. W'alter Williams adverted to the well-known fact that the con- 

 tinued working of macliinery, such for instance as the crank pins of engines, 

 destroyed the fibrous structure of the iron and made them crystalline. 



Mr. Cowper remai kcd, that it was bis opinion that iron could not become 

 crystallised unless it was hammered or so strained hy force as to alter its 

 form and produce a permanent set or ch.inge of form; he did not think 

 however that an iron railway axle became crystallised from llie action of the 

 concussions of the wheels; because be did nnt think that the effect produced 

 was equivalent to cold-hammering; he thought a fair experiment would be to 

 turn a square shoulder in the centre part of the broken axle which had been 



