Bullet. (open access)

Bullet.

Patent for a new and improved bullet. This design calls for a cavity at the base of the bullet and a tube of flexible material to be inserted snugly into the cavity. This results in less wobbling after the bullet has been fired.
Date: October 12, 1880
Creator: Petmecky, Joseph C.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Spark-Arrester. (open access)

Spark-Arrester.

Patent for Spark-Arrester. The author claims his invention catches sparks and throws them to the bottom of the chamber to the discharge pipe. Used in locomotive smoke stacks.
Date: October 12, 1880
Creator: Swan, Robert F.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Sand-Band. (open access)

Sand-Band.

Patent for a sand band which will prevent sand and dirt from working in between the axle and hub and into the axle-box of a vehicle.
Date: October 12, 1880
Creator: Lupton, Lewis R.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Car Coupling. (open access)

Car Coupling.

Patent for a new and improved coupling for railroad cars. This design "consists in a jointed rod which has its lower end fastened to one of the hooks of the coupling and its upper end fastened to a vertically-moving ring that slides upon the brake-rod, whereby the coupling hook can be raised upward and supported in such a position that it will not couple when the cars run together" (lines 14-20).
Date: October 12, 1880
Creator: Haltom, Samuel
System: The Portal to Texas History