Janney coupler

Janney couplers were first patented in 1873 by Eli H. Janney (). Andrew Jackson Beard was among various inventors who made many improvements to the knuckle coupler. In 1934, the MCB was renamed as the AAR. Knuckle couplers of the 1880s and 1890s had a chaotic mixture of proprietary internal components, but all had the standard MCB external contour, making them compatible. There was a multitude of makes and models — Burns, Climax, Gould, Miller, Sharon and Tower. Some worked better than others. In 1913, American Steel Foundries (ASF) developed the Janney "Type D" coupler, which was then made the MCB standard coupler for North America: new and rebuilt rolling stock had to be fitted with that coupler. That ended the market for knuckle couplers with proprietary components, excepting those exported from the US to other countries not complying with MCB standards. The Alliance coupler, named after the ASF-owned foundry in Alliance, Ohio, was developed as a lighter build than the "Type D", and was marketed by the Amsted Corporation, parent of ASF, as the "Standard for the World". It is still the most-used knuckle coupler in the world. The modern Alliance coupler still uses the modern AAR-10 or 10A contour, but has a shorter thus weaker head length, and therefore cannot be used on North American interchange rolling stock. Manufacturers of modern "Type E", "Type F Interlock" and "Type H Tightlock" couplers include McConway & Torley, ASF, and Buckeye, also known as Columbus Castings. The external contour of Janney knuckle couplers was the first aspect to be standardized by the MCB in the 1880s. Prior to this, there was a chaotic variety of constantly evolving and proprietary external contours and internal components. In 1893, manufacturers standardized on the MCB-5 or Type C contour, then in 1915 on the improved MCB-10 or Type D contour, and again in 1932 on the AAR-10A or Type E contour. The 1893, 1915, and 1932 contours are measurably different with slight dimensional changes that improved performance, yet remain compatible. Janney couplers still use the 1932 contour, though tolerances, metallurgy and machining techniques have improved, resulting in notable reductions in coupler slack. Type H tightlock couplings used on passenger stock have a variation of the 10A contour that nearly eliminates slack during normal operation and minimizes the possibility of "telescoping" during a derailment. ==Purpose==

The purpose of couplers is to join rail cars and locomotives to each other so they all are securely linked together. Major Eli Janney, a Confederate veteran of the American Civil War, invented the semi-automatic knuckle coupler in 1868. It automatically locks the couplers on cars or locomotives together without a rail worker having to get between the cars, and replaced the link and pin coupler, which was a major cause of railroad worker injuries and deaths. The locking pin ensures that Janney couplers remain fastened together until withdrawn manually by a worker using the "cut lever", which is operated from either side of the railroad car and does not require the person to go between the cars. The only time the worker has to go between cars is after they have been securely coupled, to hook up the air lines for the pneumatic brakes, and the head-end power cables in the case of passenger cars. Modern Janney couplers typically mount to rail cars and locomotives via draw gear; early Janney couplers often had transitional shanks which mounted into legacy link and pin coupler pockets, or bolted directly to steam locomotive headstocks. ==Janney/MCB/ARA/AAR/APTA coupler==

Knuckle couplers are used in the Americas, Africa, Asia-Pacific, UK, Belgium and Spain (narrow gauge railway only). Among its features: • Maximum tonnage as high as such as on the Fortescue railway line. • Minimum ultimate tensile strength: • Grade E knuckles: • Grade C or Grade E knuckles are required for interchange service. • Grade E coupler bodies: • Lighter weight railways, notably narrow-gauge lines with no need for interchange, sometimes use smaller (three-quarter- or half-size) versions of the Janney MCB coupler. Such as Victorian narrow gauge lines. • Janney couplers are always right-handed, i.e., their shape resembles the human right hand with fingers curled, as viewed from above. • Required coupler heights, in North America Operation or uncoupling is accomplished by lifting the release pin with a lever extending to the corner of the car; this pin is locked when the coupler is under tension, so the usual uncoupling steps are to compress the coupling with a locomotive, lift and hold up the pin, then pull the cars apart. "Buckeye" and "SASKop" couplers are side operated variants of knuckle couplers. • Trains fitted with knuckle couplers can accommodate heavier loads than any other type of coupler. • In North America, knuckle couplers are typical per AAR and APT standards; mainline freight trains often exceed long; in Europe freight trains are typically much shorter, with the legacy buffers and chain coupler remaining the de facto standard. • In New Zealand, heavy coal trains were first fitted with knuckle couplers in 1972; a full transition began in 2013 to replace remaining Norwegian couplers with knuckle couplers on freight stock and Scharfenberg couplers on passenger stock. == Janney Type E ==

Janney Type E double-shelf couplers are yet another variety, typical on North American hazardous material tank cars. The Janney coupler is commonly used on railway couplings, as it is strong and locks automatically. Janney coupler was patented by Eli Janney after the US Civil War. The Janney interlocking coupling system is much safer than the links before it. The Janney coupler best resembles two human hands. == Gooseneck coupler ==

With gooseneck couplers or offset shank couplers, the horizontal centerline of the coupler head is above the horizontal centerline of the coupler shank, or shaft, and the draw gear. This arrangement is designed for use with low-floor freight cars, to lift the coupler head high enough to match the couplers on other rolling stock. The large bogie boxvans for car parts, used on the Victorian Railways, were fitted with gooseneck couplers for that reason. ==Henricot coupler==

The Henricot coupler, a variation on the Janney coupler, was introduced by Belgian engineer and entrepreneur of Court-Saint-Étienne. It is used on certain electric multiple units of the Belgian State Railways, including the NMBS/SNCB class 75. ==Development of the knuckle coupler==

Janney was a dry goods clerk and former Confederate Army officer from Alexandria, Virginia, who used his lunch hours to whittle from wood an alternative to the link and pin coupler. The term Buckeye comes from the nickname of the US state of Ohio, the "Buckeye state" and the Ohio Brass Company which originally marketed the coupling. In 1893, satisfied that an automatic coupler could meet the demands of commercial railroad operations and, at the same time, be manipulated safely, the US Congress passed the Safety Appliance Act. Its success in promoting switch-yard safety was stunning. Between 1877 and 1887, approximately 38% of all railworker accidents involved coupling. That percentage fell as the railroads began to replace link and pin couplers with automatic couplers. By 1902, only two years after the SAA's effective date, coupling accidents constituted only 4% of all employee accidents. Coupler-related accidents dropped from 11,710 in 1893 to 2,256 in 1902, even though the number of railroad employees steadily increased during that decade. When the Janney coupling was chosen to be the American standard, there were 8,000 patented alternatives to choose from. The only significant disadvantage of using the AAR (Janney) design is that sometimes the drawheads need to be manually aligned. During the transition period from link-and-pin couplers, knuckle couplers on many locomotives had a horizontal gap and a vertical hole in the knuckle itself to accommodate, respectively, a link and a pin, to enable it to couple to vehicles which were still equipped with the older link-and-pin couplers. File:Janney coupler drawing.png|Janney CouplerSketch From 1873 Patent File:Syracuse-malleable 1899.jpg|Syracuse Malleable Iron Works – 1894. MCB5 Transition Coupler, compatible with link and pin coupling File:Early Janney-type AAR coupler.JPG|MCB Type 5 coupler circa 1893. Split knuckle accommodates link and pin coupler or Johnston coupler. Vertical hole in knuckle accommodates the pin. Could also have accommodated a buffers and chain coupler with an extra pin. Changes since 1873 The knuckle coupler has withstood the test of time since its invention, with only minor changes: • Type D coupler, adopted in 1916 by the MCBA (predecessor of ARA), had individual parts interchangeable, simplifying maintenance. Earlier designs had compatible profiles, but component parts differed between manufacturers, creating maintenance problems when cars were interchanged with other railroads. • Type E coupler, adopted in 1930 by the ARA (predecessor of AAR), also had individual parts interchangeable, though not with Type D due to improvements. Still the most widely used design today. Tank cars carrying hazardous materials are equipped with Type E double shelf couplers. • Type F coupler, a vertically interlocking variation to prevent accidents, derailments and wrecks from disconnecting the coupler. Type F also includes versions with rotating shafts for hopper car rotary dumpers, such as on the Pilbara railways and Transnet Freight Rail's Sishen-Sandanha Iron Ore and Ermelo-Richards Bay Coal Terminal lines. • Type H coupler, a "tight-lock" variation to reduce slack action and improve safety for passenger cars. Now under the supervision of the APTA (American Public Transportation Association). • Improvements in metallurgy and casting techniques to increase maximum trailing load. • Some narrow-gauge railways such as the Victorian Puffing Billy Railway use a three-quarter- The National Malleable Castings Bazeley Coupler 1905-1918 M.C.B. D Type as Universal M.C.B. Standard Adopted 1915 At a joint M.C.B. Coupler Committee meeting on July 15, 1913, out of numerous studied competing railway coupler manufacturers and designs two couplers were selected for the new proposed universal U.S./Canadian coupler design standard, adopted, June 15, 1916, by the M.C.B. The two couplers accepted were the Malleable Castings Company Bazeley Coupler, and the American Steel Foundries No.3 modified Alliance Coupler, out of nine couplers submitted to the committee as embodying the joint specification of design, The TYPE D coupler design based on The National Malleable Castings Bazeley Coupler patented designs and improvements was selected as the standard M.C.B Association's standard from 1918., after M.C.B. performance tested it along with the Type C designs. The Type “D” Experimental Standard M.C.B. Coupler was unanimously recommended by the Master Car Builders Association and its Coupler Committee for adoption as the National/International (United States/Canadian) standard for coupler design and manufacturing specification uniformity by the M.C.B. Master Car Builders’ Association on June 15, 1916, after its 1915 Convention. This resulted in the sharing of U.S. Patent improvements and agreed to by The National Malleable Castings Company, Henry Pope President; The Buckeye Steel Castings Company, The Gould Coupler Company, American Steel Foundries and The Monarch Steel Castings Company, and to be the active standard M.C.B. D Type forward from January 1, 1918. Buckeye Steel Castings Company was founded in 1881 as the Murray-Hayden Foundry before changing to The Buckeye Automatic Car Coupler Company and in 2002 after filing bankruptcy was reformed as Columbus Castings. Railway couplers were manufactured in accordance with the Standard Specifications of the AAR covering the purchase and acceptance of couplers, knuckles, locks and other working parts as shown in their "Mechanical Division Manual of Standards and Recommended Practice". Specifications as of March 1939 required that the fabrication casting material be of open hearth or electric furnace grade "B" steel with specific metallurgic requirements to insure proper tensile strength and reliability of the coupler and its moving parts. In order to govern uniform standards for the interchangeability and the proper relation between fitting parts, the A.R.A. Committee on Couplers and draft gears designed and distributed templates, gauges, and master guides to assure the proper interchangeability and fitting of parts to maintain the proper operation of various multi-source manufactured railway couplers. ==Gallery==

Image:Train coupling.jpg|Mated Janney Type E couplers, as seen from above. Left is top-operated on locomotives. Right is bottom-operated on cars File:Tow hitch 5.jpg|AAR Type E coupler with top operator on mobile crane. File:GNER-91116-coupling-01.jpg|"Drophead" coupler swung down reveals buffers and chain coupler on a British Rail Class 91. File:SMS 301-coupler.jpg|AAR Type E couplers. Upper is bottom operated on car. Lower is top operated on locomotive File:Railroad Coupling (CMRR).jpg|AAR Type E coupler (left) , MCB Type 5 coupler (right) required by 1893 Railroad Safety Appliance Act. File:Northern-321901-coupling-02.jpg|AAR Type H coupler on British Rail Class 321 with full auto power and control connections. File:AAR Type E couplers.jpg|Two AAR Type E couplers Image:USAF aviation gas placard 160120-F-GU448-011.jpg|Type E double-shelf coupler on a tank car. The double shelf holds the pair of couplers in place in a derailment, which reduces the chance of the coupler puncturing the tank. File:Railroad coupler.agr2.jpg|Two type E Janney couplers == See also ==