Eli H. Janney
Eli Hamilton Janney (November 12, 1831 – June 16, 1912) was the inventor of the modern knuckle coupler that replaced link and pin couplers on North American railroads.
Biography[edit]
He was born in 1831 to Daniel Janney and Elizabeth Avis Haines in Loudoun County, Virginia. He studied briefly at a seminary.[1] He married Cornelia Hamilton (1833–1889).
In the American Civil War, Janney achieved the rank of major for the Confederate States of America,[1][2] and served on the staff of General Robert E. Lee.[2]
After the war, he was a dry goods clerk in Alexandria, Virginia; he spent many of his lunches whittling his concept out of a block of wood for a replacement to the railroads' link and pin couplers that were in wide use. On April 1, 1873, Janney filed for a patent titled "Improvement in Car-Couplings" describing the knuckle-style couplers that are in use on railroads today. He was awarded U.S. patent 138,405 on April 29, 1873.[1]
He died on June 16, 1912, in Alexandria, Virginia and was buried in Ivy Hill Cemetery. The City of Alexandria named one of their streets in his honor, Janney's Lane.[3]
Janney's coupler and the Westinghouse air brake are generally regarded as being the two most significant safety inventions in U.S. railroads between the end of the Civil War and 1900.
References[edit]
- ^ a b c White, John H. Jr. (2007-02-19). "The Strongest Handshake in the World". American Heritage. Archived from the original on 2007-02-19. Retrieved 2018-11-11.
- ^ a b tombstone at Ivy Hill Cemetery
- ^ Kelly, John (2011-11-11). "Janneys Lane in Alexandria named for railroad innovator". Washington Post. Retrieved 2018-11-11.
Further reading[edit]
- Railcar Coupler History in North America, by J.H.White at American Heritage Magazine
- CPRR.org (2004), Link and Pin Couplers; includes a scanned copy of the patent application. Retrieved March 31, 2005.
- Union Pacific Railroad, UP - Chronological History. Retrieved March 30, 2005 Jim
- White, John H. Jr. (Spring 1986). "America's Most Noteworthy Railroaders". Railroad History. 154: 9–15. ISSN 0090-7847. JSTOR 43523785. OCLC 1785797.
Patents awarded[edit]
- U.S. patent 77,046 Improved Car Coupling, April 21, 1868
- U.S. patent 138,405 Improvement in Car-Couplings April 29, 1873
- U.S. patent 156,024 Improvement in Car-Couplings October 20, 1874
- U.S. patent 207,183 Improvement in Car-Platforms August 20, 1878
- U.S. patent 207,525 Improvement in Car-Coupling Draw-Bars August 27, 1876
- U.S. patent 212,703 Improvement in Car-Couplings February 25, 1879
- U.S. patent 214,043 Improvement in Car-Buffers April 8, 1879
- U.S. patent 215,363 Improvement in Car-Buffers May 13, 1879
- U.S. patent 251,594
- U.S. patent 254,093
- U.S. patent 628,329
- U.S. patent 628,330
- U.S. patent 717,686
- U.S. patent 766,042
- U.S. patent 781,949
- U.S. patent 781,950
- U.S. patent 974,153
- U.S. patent 974,154
- U.S. patent 1,045,091
- U.S. patent 1,095,211
- U.S. patent RE8153
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