The Patent Shaft & Axletree Company

In the early 19th century coach axles were made by welding together a bundle of wrought iron strips. Such axles would often fail because some of the strips were not as strong as others. The Patent Shaft took its name from an improved axle which overcame the problem, and was founded by the inventor to manufacture the new axle.

Around 1830 James Hardy, a minister at the Independent Chapel in Holyhead Road, and an enthusiast about anything mechanical, developed the new axle. According to F.W. Hackwood in his “Wednesbury Workshops” Hardy got the idea from the cross section of an orange when cut in two horizontally. The new axle consisted of a central bar surrounded by smaller bars to form a circle. The outer bars were round instead of flat to avoid cross graining the iron, when they were heated and welded under the hammer. This produced an axle of equal strength throughout its whole length.

A Bessemer Converter.

They purchased a forge at Leabrook for £1200 from Joseph Rollason. At the forge were 2 puddling furnaces, a scrap furnace, and an engine.

Hardy soon found four other partners and began to devote his whole life to the project, but production still didn’t get underway and the business got into more and more debt with the Birmingham and Midland Bank. The bank’s manager Charles Geach realised that the axles would be ideal for use on the rapidly growing railway network, and that large numbers of reliable axles would be required. Geach didn’t waste any time, and along with 12 men, including Hardy, he purchased the works and the patent, and formed the Patent Shaft & Axletree Company in 1838.

In 1844 thanks to Walker’s efforts, the London & North Western Railway adopted the patent axle, and the company’s future was secured. In 1852 the company purchased the adjoining Victoria Iron Works from Fletcher, Rose & Company.

Blast furnaces at night.

An advert from 1909.

In 1864 the business became a limited company with a capital of £300,000. Thomas Walker became Chairman, and his assistant manager Richard Williams became General Manager. The works now covered over 12 acres and employed 1,500 men working around the clock. They produced large numbers of products including axles, wheels, tyres, rails and boiler plate.

In December 1866 the company purchased Old Park Works from Lloyds & Fosters after their large losses from the Blackfriars Bridge project. The works and collieries were bought for £400,000. The company could now produce wrought iron, Bessemer steel, and constructional ironwork, all made from their own raw materials.

At the time the company had 86 puddling furnaces, 3 blast furnaces and became one of the most prosperous factories in the country.

The Patent Shaft acquired a furnace using this process in 1882, but difficulties led to its temporary abandonment. The company also used Siemens open-hearth regenerative furnaces, where the waste gases were used to heat the air for the blast. The furnaces were lined with refractory dolomite brick to allow them to efficiently use the local iron ore. They also had another advantage, they could use scrap.

At this time the company also had four 12 ton traditional Bessemer converters, and a 12 ton and an 8 ton Bessemer, both lined with dolomite brick. The slag from the furnaces was sold to Germany for use in agriculture.

In 1902 The Patent Shaft & Axletree Company became part of a new conglomerate, the Metropolitan Railway, Carriage, Wagon & Finance Company.

The new business prospered and the Patent Shaft spent over £300,000 on new plant, including electrically driven machinery, new buildings, and greatly increased its workforce. Many of the double-decked trailers that were pulled by the local steam trams were built at the works during the early years of the 20th century.

The business continued to thrive, even during the severe depression in 1907 when the annual profit was over £300,000. In 1911 the company received an order from the Great Central Railway for 6,500 wagons, the frames for which were made at the Patent Shaft.

An advert from 1949.

At the time the Patent Shaft produced a wide range of products including:

Railway bridges had been built for all of the railway companies in the UK, and the company also built some of the largest bridges in Egypt, India, Japan, South Africa, and South America.

During the First World War the company concentrated on war work, and as a result made record profits. Some of the first tanks were built at Old Park Works, which at the time had between 1,300 and 1,500 employees.

At the end of the war part of Old Park Works was used by Vickers Limited of Sheffield, who in 1919 purchased the Metropolitan Railway, Carriage, Wagon & Finance Company.

In 1929 Vickers Limited and Cammell Laird & Company of Birkenhead amalgamated their steel making and carriage building businesses. This resulted in the formation of the Metropolitan Cammell Railway Carriage and Wagon Company who took over the assets of the Metropolitan Railway, Carriage, Wagon & Finance Company. The take over had one immediate effect at Wednesbury, the separation of Old Park Works and the Patent Shaft. Vickers, who had already been using part of Old Park Works took over the remainder.

A wagon plate from 1947.

75% of its shares were purchased by Cammell Laird, and the remaining 25% by Metropolitan Cammell. In 1959 its name was changed to the Patent Shaft Steel Works Limited, and by 1961 the company had 1,500 employees.

In the late 1950s a development scheme costing £8.75 million was undertaken, during which the 4 existing open hearth furnaces were converted to oil firing, and two 75ton oil fired furnaces were added.

The company also had a 15inch section rolling mill and produced over 300,000 tons of steel a year.

Sadly the works were also a victim of the 1970s depression and closed in 1980. The buildings were demolished in 1986.

An advert from the early 1960s.

Courtesy of Brian Groves and John Hellend.

Courtesy of Brian Groves and John Hellend.

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