"Hercules' Wheels for Heavy Loads.
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The Levenshulme Works will now Supply the Trade as well as Users.
Messrs. The Atlas Engineering Company, of Levenshulme, Manchester, have lately turned their attention to the marketing of their composite wheel for use on motor omnibuses, and they are now offering several types sui:able for lorries, buses, or delivery vans. The wheel question is so important for users of commercial vehicles that there is room for further improvement in this direction. It is acknowledged that wooden wheels are capable of standing long and continued hard work by all who are interested in selfpropelled vehicles, but, on the other hand, they require scrupulous attention and constant watching to keep them in economical running order. Up to the present, no wooden wheel has been found to give such all-round good results as a wheel built throughout of English oak and ash.
Messrs. The Atlas Engineering Company have designed a wheel which, whilst having all the advantages of the ordinary type, has some new features of its own. Fig. / illustrates the pattern which is manufactured for bus work. It will be seen that the hub and tubular spokes are one steel casting. The steel spoke-rim is of a channel section, into which is placed a wooden felloe, and this is clamped in position by a rim suitable for the rubber tyre which is intended to be used. The flanges of the spoke-rim are specially designed to extend the full width of, and to firmly retain, the wooden fences, so that all lateral expansion of the felloes, with possible splitting due to the contraction of the steel tyre rim, is obviated.
Fig. z shows the inner face of a complete driving wheel of
the omnibus pattern with a chain sprocket Lotted in position. It will be observed that the casting which holds the sprocket is bolted to the outer end of each steel spoke. This forms a strong combination, and one which keeps the sprocket true with the wheel and gear centres. The cast steel spokes, which, of course, are not novel, possess the great advantage of ensuring the ready interchange of wheels, and greater silence owing to standard construction. The hubs are manufactured to fit any size of axle bearings, and the bushes are composed of hard phosphor bronze. The makers claim that this type of wheel is relatively light in weight, and that it can be produced cheaply: they are prepared to supply the trade. It is expected that a large business will be done in the types for rubber tyres.