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

There is no subject that has at
tracted so much attention from in
genious inventors on either side Of
the Atlantic as that of freight car
coupling. According to the most
complete statistics that are at pres
ent available, there is at least one
brakeman killed on American rail
roads every day in the year in con-
sequence of the continued use of the
old link-and pin system of car coup
ling. In other words, 3G5 human
beings lose THERE lives every year
because the railroads have not been
able to obtain some effective device
for coupling cars without the brake
men going between them. And this
horrible slaughter is supplemented
by an equally frightful catalogue of
mutilations, no fewer than 6,S27
cases of injuries, such as loss of
fingers, hands, arms, legs, etc., hay
ing been reported to the Interstate
Commerce Commission for the year
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 a device that
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
coupling device, or by merely me-
chanical tests, what defects it may
have. The conditions are so com
plez that only various and extended
trial in actual service will determine
the merits of a coupler, and many
which gave the greatest promise have
failed in such trial. But Mr.. Har-
ris has hit upon new and improved
car coupler in which some highly
important mechanical principles are
embodied. It is a device that does
away with all necessity for brakemen
going between the cars to couple
them, and It's adoption on American
roads would tend 10 do away with
the frigihtiul 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 Letters
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 rigid and movable
jaw, in which The movable jaw is
articulated about vertical axis and
is provided with locking de7ices for
holding it in position.
It consists in the peculiar con-
struction and arrangement of parts
operating upon this principle, where
by simpler and cheaper construc-
ton 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 superfueus 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-iaw
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 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, 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 SC
as to drop into this notch and lock
this movable jaw in its closed posi-
ton. This detent is arranged as a
lever fulcrumed about the vertical
pin fixed in the drawbar, and has its
forward end formed with a NOTCH
affording two locking ends, one
slightly in advance of the other. The
rear end of this detent projects past
the swelled end of the drawhead as
a handle. and is forced outwardlv by