﻿MECHANICAL 
  TRANSPORT 
  MITMAN" 
  545 
  

  

  operation, 
  strength 
  of 
  parts, 
  cheapness 
  of 
  manufacture, 
  and 
  the 
  like. 
  

   Eight 
  years 
  passed 
  during 
  which 
  he 
  converted 
  the 
  clutching 
  fingers 
  

   idea 
  into 
  a 
  workable 
  mechanism 
  of 
  cold 
  steel 
  and 
  applied 
  for 
  a 
  patent. 
  

   It 
  was 
  granted 
  April 
  29, 
  1873. 
  

  

  Janney 
  was 
  in 
  no 
  position 
  to 
  go 
  into 
  the 
  manufacture 
  of 
  the 
  coupler 
  

   nor 
  had 
  he 
  any 
  market 
  for 
  it, 
  but 
  with 
  the 
  help 
  of 
  friends 
  he 
  succeeded 
  

   in 
  making 
  several 
  in 
  a 
  local 
  foundry 
  and 
  having 
  them 
  tried 
  out 
  on 
  the 
  

   old 
  Loudoun 
  & 
  Hampshire 
  Railroad. 
  They 
  gave 
  full 
  satisfaction 
  in 
  

   this 
  test, 
  but 
  as 
  Janney 
  soon 
  realized, 
  this 
  was 
  not 
  sufficient 
  to 
  attract 
  

   the 
  attention 
  of 
  the 
  great 
  railroad 
  companies. 
  Car-coupler 
  inventions 
  

   and 
  inventors 
  then 
  were 
  the 
  bane 
  of 
  the 
  railroad 
  officials' 
  existence 
  and 
  

   Janney, 
  after 
  a 
  few 
  discouraging 
  experiences 
  with 
  them 
  struck 
  out 
  on 
  

   another 
  tack. 
  For 
  10 
  years 
  he 
  went 
  from 
  one 
  iron 
  founder 
  to 
  another 
  

   with 
  his 
  coupler, 
  improved 
  year 
  by 
  year, 
  until 
  he 
  found 
  one 
  in 
  Pitts- 
  

   burgh 
  who 
  had 
  sufficient 
  faith 
  in 
  it 
  to 
  undertake 
  its 
  manufacture 
  at 
  his 
  

   own 
  expense 
  and 
  try 
  to 
  introduce 
  it, 
  paying 
  Janney 
  a 
  royalty. 
  Be- 
  

   cause 
  of 
  his 
  perseverance 
  he 
  finally 
  induced 
  the 
  Pennsylvania 
  Rail- 
  

   road 
  to 
  permit 
  the 
  equipping 
  of 
  100 
  cars 
  with 
  the 
  coupler. 
  Again 
  

   the 
  test 
  proved 
  successful. 
  

  

  By 
  this 
  time, 
  however, 
  coupler 
  patents 
  were 
  numbered 
  by 
  the 
  thou- 
  

   sands. 
  The 
  most 
  likely 
  ones 
  were 
  in 
  trial 
  use 
  and 
  each 
  had 
  its 
  cham- 
  

   pions 
  among 
  railroad 
  men. 
  All 
  realized 
  that 
  for 
  the 
  betterment 
  of 
  

   the 
  service 
  some 
  one 
  form 
  of 
  coupler 
  should 
  be 
  adopted 
  by 
  all 
  railroads, 
  

   but 
  no 
  agreement 
  could 
  be 
  reached 
  as 
  to 
  which 
  one. 
  Then, 
  too, 
  vari- 
  

   ous 
  cliques 
  had 
  been 
  organized 
  on 
  different 
  railroads 
  in 
  the 
  interest 
  of 
  

   some 
  patent, 
  and 
  in 
  such 
  cases 
  arguments 
  addressed 
  to 
  them 
  were 
  

   generally 
  wasted. 
  Things 
  went 
  along 
  in 
  this 
  chaotic 
  way 
  for 
  a 
  number 
  

   of 
  years 
  and 
  until 
  public 
  indignation 
  and 
  the 
  stimulus 
  of 
  legislation 
  in 
  

   several 
  States 
  and 
  in 
  Congress 
  compelled 
  railroad 
  officers 
  to 
  give 
  seri- 
  

   ous 
  attention 
  to 
  the 
  subject. 
  The 
  burden 
  of 
  maldng 
  a 
  selection 
  fell 
  

   to 
  the 
  Master 
  Car 
  Builders' 
  Association, 
  composed 
  of 
  officers 
  of 
  rail- 
  

   road 
  companies 
  who 
  were 
  in 
  charge 
  of 
  car 
  construction, 
  A 
  special 
  

   track 
  was 
  laid 
  outside 
  of 
  Buffalo, 
  N. 
  Y., 
  in 
  1887, 
  having 
  all 
  conceivable 
  

   sorts 
  of 
  curves, 
  bumps, 
  and 
  hollows, 
  and 
  every 
  coupler 
  maker 
  was 
  

   invited 
  to 
  submit 
  his 
  device 
  for 
  test. 
  

  

  The 
  Janney 
  coupler 
  came 
  through 
  with 
  flying 
  colors 
  and 
  was 
  recom- 
  

   mended 
  for 
  general 
  adoption 
  by 
  the 
  association. 
  To 
  insure 
  the 
  carry- 
  

   ing 
  out 
  of 
  this 
  recommendation 
  completely, 
  Janney 
  magnanimously 
  

   relinquished 
  his 
  rights 
  to 
  that 
  part 
  of 
  his 
  patent 
  bearing 
  on 
  the 
  unique 
  

   curvature 
  of 
  the 
  coupler 
  jaw, 
  so 
  that 
  this 
  essential 
  part 
  could 
  be 
  made 
  

   by 
  every 
  manufacturer. 
  From 
  that 
  time 
  on, 
  anyone 
  desiring 
  to 
  make 
  

   couplers 
  simply 
  applied 
  to 
  the 
  Master 
  Car 
  Builders' 
  Association 
  for 
  

   drawings 
  and 
  specifications 
  and 
  Janney 
  's 
  invention 
  became 
  known 
  

   universally 
  as 
  the 
  M. 
  C. 
  B. 
  To-day 
  every 
  railroad 
  car 
  in 
  the 
  United 
  

  

  