Mansell Wheel
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A railway wheel patented by the Carriage and Wagon superintendent of the South Eastern Railway in the UK. The design was created in the 1850s and was eventually widely used on passenger railway stock in the UK. This is an interesting example of a composite wooden wheel.
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 this might be attributed to the extra attention paid to what were specifically passenger carriage wheels, the potential for casting faults are also reduced.
The wheels survived into the era of electric track signalling as the later specifications called for copper bonding to be fitted to these wheels.
The attached drawing is from an old railway design book[1] from the early 20th Century. It is large to enable a good print to be obtained. 
- ^ 1
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
