Engineers and Mechanics Encyclopedia 1839: Railways: John Hanson

A patent was sealed on the 31st of August, 1830, for "certain improvements in locomotive carriages," by John Hanson, of Huddersfield, in Yorkshire. The objects of the patent are twofold; that of communicating the power of the engine from the crank axle to the four running wheels, by means of pitched chains and wheels; and that of applying a ball and socket to the ends of the running wheel axes, inside the naves, so as to permit the wheels to roll in an inclined direction, as well as parallel to the sides of the carriage, in order that they may roll more easily over curved portions of the road.

In the first-mentioned division of the patent, we can discover nothing that is new in principle, or better in detail, than what every mechanic is familiar with; we therefore omit further notice of it in our condensed treatise.

The second-mentioned claim of invention possesses some novelty, and is not without merit; accordingly, we give it a place here. In the annexed cut is represented a vertical section of one of the wheels; a is the axis, terminated by a spherical ball b, into which is fixed a stout pin c, that comes against a stop in the interior of the nave or box d, and causes the wheel to revolve with the axle. The wheel is kept at pleasure in the vertical position, by means of a frame, not shown in the drawing; and this frame is placed under the control and management of the steersman, who sits in front of the carriage, and who, by means of connected levers, inclines the frame to the right or left, and thus causes the wheels instantly to assume the same position, and make the deviating cosine required.

It is obvious that a common axis would not effect this operation. and there is, perhaps, no better mode of attaining the object of the patentee than the one he has adopted. The ball, it will be seen, has sufficient play by letting one side turn against a conical piece e, formed spherically on its inner edges, and bringing out a boss f from the outer plate, having at its end a concavity, which fits the sphericity of the ball; and as these opposite cavities may be made to recede or approach, by means of the screw-bolts g-g, which connect them, they thus afford ready means of adjusting the surfaces, so as to make the axis work pleasantly.

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