The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1891-01-01
THE CAR COUPLER PROBLEM.
The Great Invention of Mr.. William Z.
Harris, of Sewberry.

Mechanical and Financial Times.
There is no subject that has at
tracted so much attention from in
genious inventors on either side O
the Atlantic as that of freight ca
coupling. According to the mos
complete statistics that are at pres
ent available, there is at least on
brakeman killed on American rail
roads every day in the year in con
sequence of the continued use of th'
old link-and pin system of car coup
ling. In other words, 3G5 human
beings lose THERE lives every yea
because the railroads have not beer
able to obtain some effective device
for coupling cars without the brake
men going between them. And thi:
horrible slaughter is supplemented
by an equally frightful catalogue 0:
mutilations, no fewer than 6,S21
cases of injuries, such as loss O.
fingers, hands, arms, legs, ETC., hav
ing been reported to the InterstatE
I Commerce Commission for the yeal
ending June 30, 1890.
At last, however, solution of the
car coupler problem has been ar
rived at. Mr.. William Hamilton
Harris, of the firm of Holmes &
Harris, of Newber:y, South Carolina
has given to the world device thai
is at once simple, effective, reliable
safe and economical.
AS the Interstate Commerce Com
mission has pointed out, it is mis-,
take to suppose that the required
mechanism is easily devised Al,
though some thousands of couplers
have been patented, the difficulty
has not been to choose among good
ones, but TO find any good one. Nor
can any mechanic, however great his
experience, judge by looking at a
eon1ling device, or by merely me-
.nlcal tests, what defects it may
have. The conditions are so com
plex that only various and extended
trial in actual service will determine
the merits of coupler, and many
which gave the greatest promise have
failed in such trial. But Mr. Hac-
ris has hit upon new and improved
car coupler in which some highly
important mechanical principles are
embodied 1t is device that does
away with all necessity for brakemen
going between the cars to couple
them, and lis adoption on American
roads would tend 10 do away with
the frightiul slaughter and mutila-
ton already referred TO. 1t seems
to meet every possible requirement
of the case and certainly stamps the
gifted inventor as man Of genius.
The "Oficial Records" of the United
States Patent Office at Washington
contain full technical details as to
the mechanism employed Mr.. Har-
ris' invention, upon which LetF0rs
Patent No. 436,660, were granted on
the 10Th day of September, 1890, re-
lates to that form of automatic car
coupling in which each drawhead is
made with a rigid and movable
jaw, in which The movable jaw is
articulated about a vertical axis and
is provided with locking devices for
holding it in position.
1t consists in the peculiar con-
struction and arrangement of parts
operating upon this principle, where
by a simpler and cheaper construc-
tion is obtained and the coupling
and uncoupling are effected in a
mere certain, safe and convenient
manner. Each drawhead is formed
of cast metal in one piece, with a
rigid jaw upon one side and ears
upon the other side, between which is
pivoted or hinged the lug of the
movable coupling jaw, which swings
horizontally about an axial bolt, pass
ing vertically through both the ear
and the lug Of the coupling-jaw
The drawheads themselves are free
from all superfuous metal and are
made as light as possible consistent
with strength, and their rear tubular
extensions are intended to be pro-
vided with spring-braft connections
after the usual manner. On the out
side of the lug of the coupling-jaw
are formed two stop-shoulders, which,
when this coupling is thrown to its
extreme open position, strike against
stationary stop-shoulders formed on
the drawhead, which thus limit the
outward movement of the coupling
jaw. Upon the inside of the lug of
the coupling-jaw is formed a projec-
ton which is intended to be struck
by the coupling-jaw of the opposite
car to cause the coupling jaws to turn
inwardly upon their vertical bolts
and lock together, so as to couple the
cars.
To hold these coupling Jaws in the
closed position and lock them so as
to stand the draft strain, a notch is
formed in the outer surface of the
lug of this coupling-jaw, and spring
detent is arranged in a recess IN the
outside surface of the drawhead so
as to drop into this notch and lock
this movable jaw in its closed posi-
ton. This detent is arranged as
lever fulcrumed about the vertical
pin fixed in the drawbar, and has its
forward end formed with notch.
affording two locking ends, one
slightly in advance Of the other. The
Il