Janney Coupler Improves Safety for Railroad Workers

Janney Coupler Improves Safety for Railroad Workers. . , Eli H. Janney, of Alexandria, Virginia, patented his railway coupler in 1873. It was a semi-automatic form of joining rail cars and locomotives so they securely linked together. His knuckle-style coupler became the standard and is still used today., A coupler is placed at either end of a railcar making it possible to connect cars and form a train. It needs to be the strongest link in a train and able to withstand the expansion and compression as the train moves., The Janney coupler replaced the earlier way of linking cars - the link and pin coupler. When railworkers did the job manually, they had to get between cars to link the train together. Now a worker could go between the cars after they were securely coupled., Safety had been a significant issue prior to the Janney coupler. Congress enacted the Safety Appliance Act (SAA) in 1893, and it took effect in 1900. At the time they passed the legislation making the Janney coupler the standard, there were more than 8,000 patented alternatives under consideration. Prior to the SAA, 38 percent of railworker accidents resulted from coupling and uncoupling cars. By 1902, two years after the adoption of the Janney coupler, worker accidents related to coupling had dropped to 4 percent., Along with the increased safety, adoption of Eli H. Janney's automatic coupler allowed for use of power air brakes. They had not been used with the link and pin coupler because of excessive slack in the coupling., The Jenny Coupler, too , Born enslaved in Alabama in 1849, Andrew Jackson Beard lost a leg from a coupling accident. Between 1887 and 1905, he patented several rail coupler inventions including the Jenny Coupler. Like the Janney Coupler, it allowed railcars to be remotely connected. From other patents, he received royalties that made him a millionaire. In 2006, he was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame., (captions) , Mated Janney couplers, seen from above. , Above and below the connected couplers are air hoses for braking capabilities on a train. , Eli H. Janey's patent for car-coupling., Black Inventors Contribute to Rail Safety, Railroad companies employed many Black workers. As a result of their first-hand rail knowledge along with their education and training, they made significant contributions to the railroad industry., Elijah McCoy worked as a fireman and oilman for the Michigan Central Railroad. Every few miles the trains had to stop to have the moving parts oiled. McCoy's job was to apply the oil to axles and bearings. He invented a lubricating cup that automated the process. McCoy received more than 50 patents for his inventions., Lewis H. Latimer co-patented with Charles Brown an improved water closet for railcars. Their invention protected the passenger from dust and dirt coming up from the exposed tracks. This improved the safety of using the water closet. Latimer would go on to work with Alexander Graham Bell and Thomas Edison., Granville T. Woods started out as a fireman with the railroad. He became an engineer and then a full-time inventor. Woods holds patents for a steam boiler furnace and an electromechanical brake. He invented many devices to improve electric railcars., McCoy and Latimer were the children of enslaved parents. Woods's mother was part Native American and his father was African American. These men, along with Andrew Jackson Beard (story at left), worked during the same period to improve rail safety., (caption) Elijah McCoy (1844-1929) . Lewis Latimer (1848-1928) . Granville Woods (1856-1910)