Mansell wheel: Difference between revisions
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{{short description|Railway wheel}} |
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[[File:Mansell wheel.png|thumb]] |
[[File:Mansell wheel.png|thumb]] |
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The '''Mansell Wheel''' is a [[railway wheel]] patented by [[Richard Mansell]], the Carriage and Wagon superintendent of the [[South Eastern Railway (UK)|South Eastern Railway]] in the UK.<ref >{{Cite book |
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The '''Mansell Wheel''' is a [[railway wheel]] patented by [[Richard Mansell]], the Carriage and Wagon superintendent of the [[South Eastern Railway (UK)|South Eastern Railway]] in the UK.<ref >{{Cite book |last=Dendy Marshall |first=C.F. |authorlink=C.F. Dendy Marshall |title=History of the Southern Railway |publisher=Ian Allan |year=1963 |isbn=0-7110-0059-X}}</ref>{{page needed|date=March 2021}} The design was created in the 1840s and was eventually used widely on passenger railway stock in the UK. It is an interesting example of a composite wooden wheel, using the same principle as an [[artillery wheel]] but with a solid wooden centre instead of spokes. The drawing (right) is from a railway design book{{Sfn|Warner|1923|pp=119-123}} of the early 20th century. |
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|last=Dendy Marshall |first=C.F. |
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|authorlink=C.F. Dendy Marshall |
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|title=History of the Southern Railway |
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|publisher=Ian Allan |
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|year=1963 |
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|isbn=0-7110-0059-X |
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}}</ref> The design was created in the 1840s and was eventually widely used on passenger railway stock in the UK. This is an interesting example of a composite wooden wheel, using the same principle as an [[artillery wheel]] but with a solid wooden centre instead of spokes. The drawing (right) is from an old railway design book<ref>''Railway Mechanical Engineering'', a practical treatise by engineering experts, Volume 1. the Gresham Publishing Company Ltd. London, 1923. The design and construction of carriages and wagons section by S Warner Carriage and Wagon Superintendent London and South Western Railway.</ref> from the early 20th Century. |
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==Overview== |
==Overview== |
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[[File:Mansell wheel set.jpg|thumb|left|A preserved Mansell wheel set at the [[Buckinghamshire Railway Centre]]]] |
[[File:Mansell wheel set.jpg|thumb|left|A preserved Mansell wheel set at the [[Buckinghamshire Railway Centre]]]] |
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| ⚫ | The reason for using wood was to reduce the noise. Having a wooden centre eliminated the ringing noise that emanated from early railway wheels. Made from [[teak]] this type of wheel endured for a long time. Besides the reduction in noise there was an increased safety factor. While some of |
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| ⚫ | The reason for using wood was to reduce the noise. Having a wooden centre eliminated the ringing noise that emanated from early railway wheels. Made from [[teak]], this type of wheel endured for a long time. Besides the reduction in noise, there was an increased safety factor. While some of that might be attributed to the extra attention paid to what were specifically passenger carriage wheels, the potential for [[casting]] faults was also reduced. |
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{{clear right}} |
{{clear right}} |
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[[File:Gazelle at Longmoor Camp - geograph.org.uk - 1577186.jpg|thumb|''Gazelle'']] |
[[File:Gazelle at Longmoor Camp - geograph.org.uk - 1577186.jpg|thumb|''Gazelle'']] |
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| ⚫ | Mansell wheels were used almost exclusively on passenger coaches but there some examples of their use on a locomotive. |
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| ⚫ | Mansell wheels were used almost exclusively on passenger coaches, but there are some examples of their use on a locomotive. The [[Shropshire and Montgomeryshire Railway]]'s 0-4-2WT locomotive "Gazelle" has trailing wheels of the Mansell type. "Gazelle" is preserved at the [[Kent and East Sussex Railway#Colonel Stephens Railway Museum|Colonel Stephens Railway Museum]]. |
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| ⚫ | The first examples |
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| ⚫ | |||
== Re-use of wooden segments == |
== Re-use of wooden segments == |
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The wooden segments of the wheel had a shorter life than other parts and |
The wooden segments of the wheel had a shorter life than other parts, and were replaced at intervals, usually because they had become loose in the wheel rim, not because the timber was otherwise damaged. The valuable teak was often re-used. As the segments were too short for most woodworking uses, they were typically re-used as wooden [[parquetry|flooring blocks]]. |
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The blocks were common for outdoor use at railway stations, particularly around milk loading docks and on platforms that handled postal traffic. Those platforms were regularly in use overnight and the wooden blocks provided a quieter surface, which made for less disturbance for the station's neighbours than [[cobblestones]], even with iron-tyred carts running over them. An example of a wood block pavement made from wheel segments survives at Liverpool's [[Edge Hill railway station|Edge Hill]]. |
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== See also == |
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* [[Paper car wheel]], a US design using a compressed paper inner |
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==References== |
==References== |
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{{reflist}} |
{{reflist}} |
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* {{Cite book|last=Sekon|first=G. A.|date=1899|title=The Evolution of the Steam Locomotive (1803 to 1898) |
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|edition=2|publisher=The Railway Publishing Company Ltd|location=London|url=https://archive.org/details/evolutionofsteam00sekouoft|ol=OL23298699M|oclc=4838939}} |
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* {{cite book|last=Warner|first=S.|year=1923|title=The design and construction of carriages and wagons |
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|series=Railway Mechanical Engineering: a practical treatise by engineering experts|volume=1 |
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|publisher=the Gresham Publishing Company Ltd.| location=London| oclc=1051762139 |
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|url=https://archive.org/details/railwaymechanica01bell/page/86/mode/2up}} |
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==External links== |
==External links== |
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Latest revision as of 02:10, 27 June 2023
The Mansell Wheel is a railway wheel patented by Richard Mansell, the Carriage and Wagon superintendent of the South Eastern Railway in the UK.[1][page needed] The design was created in the 1840s and was eventually used widely on passenger railway stock in the UK. It is an interesting example of a composite wooden wheel, using the same principle as an artillery wheel but with a solid wooden centre instead of spokes. The drawing (right) is from a railway design book[2] of the early 20th century.
Overview
[edit]
The reason for using wood was to reduce the noise. Having a wooden centre eliminated the ringing noise that emanated from early railway wheels. Made from teak, this type of wheel endured for a long time. Besides the reduction in noise, there was an increased safety factor. While some of that might be attributed to the extra attention paid to what were specifically passenger carriage wheels, the potential for casting faults was also reduced.
However, the wooden centres acted as electrical insulators, so Mansell wheels would not operate the track circuits used in railway signalling. That problem was solved by fitting copper bonding to the wheels.
Mansell wheels were used almost exclusively on passenger coaches, but there are some examples of their use on a locomotive. The Shropshire and Montgomeryshire Railway's 0-4-2WT locomotive "Gazelle" has trailing wheels of the Mansell type. "Gazelle" is preserved at the Colonel Stephens Railway Museum.
The first examples of the GWR 4-4-0 Duke class of 1895 also used Mansell wheels for their bogie and tender. Another tank locomotive 0-4-4T class bogie used Mansel (sic) wheels.[3]
Re-use of wooden segments
[edit]The wooden segments of the wheel had a shorter life than other parts, and were replaced at intervals, usually because they had become loose in the wheel rim, not because the timber was otherwise damaged. The valuable teak was often re-used. As the segments were too short for most woodworking uses, they were typically re-used as wooden flooring blocks.
The blocks were common for outdoor use at railway stations, particularly around milk loading docks and on platforms that handled postal traffic. Those platforms were regularly in use overnight and the wooden blocks provided a quieter surface, which made for less disturbance for the station's neighbours than cobblestones, even with iron-tyred carts running over them. An example of a wood block pavement made from wheel segments survives at Liverpool's Edge Hill.
See also
[edit]- Paper car wheel, a US design using a compressed paper inner
References
[edit]- ^ Dendy Marshall, C.F. (1963). History of the Southern Railway. Ian Allan. ISBN 0-7110-0059-X.
- ^ Warner 1923, pp. 119–123.
- ^ Sekon 1899, pp. 297, 299.
- Sekon, G. A. (1899). The Evolution of the Steam Locomotive (1803 to 1898) (2 ed.). London: The Railway Publishing Company Ltd. OCLC 4838939. OL 23298699M.
- Warner, S. (1923). The design and construction of carriages and wagons. Railway Mechanical Engineering: a practical treatise by engineering experts. Vol. 1. London: the Gresham Publishing Company Ltd. OCLC 1051762139.
External links
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