Eli H. Janney
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For other people named Eli Janney , see Eli Janney .
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For other people named Janney, see Janney (disambiguation).
Eli H. Janney, also known as Eli Hamilton Janney or simply Eli Janney (1831 – 1912), was the inventor of the modern knuckle coupler that replaced link and pin couplers on North American railroads.
In the American Civil War, Janney achieved the rank of Major for the Confederate States of America.
After the war, he was a dry goods clerk in Alexandria, Virginia; he spent many of his lunches whittling his idea in 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.
[edit] References
- 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.
- White, John H., Jr., (Spring 1986), America's most noteworthy railroaders, Railroad History, The Railway and Locomotive Historical Society, 154, p. 9-15.
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