Ballast-Scraper. (open access)

Ballast-Scraper.

Patent for new and useful improvements in ballast scrapers, including instructions and illustrations.
Date: August 22, 1899
Creator: McElvaney, Charles T.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Animal Trap. (open access)

Animal Trap.

Patent for a new and improved animal trap. This design consists in "the combination of the base-board having the opposite recesses and the transverse shaft, the yoke having the spring-coils mounted on the projecting ends of the shaft in said recesses, the standard having the holding-rod, the trigger, and the guards or prongs secured in the base-board" (lines 20-26).
Date: August 19, 1890
Creator: Anderson, Henry C.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Punching-Machine. (open access)

Punching-Machine.

Patent for a simple and durable punching-machine for metalworking that punching metal and feeds it forward. The invention is made up of " a carriage adapted to support the sheet to be punched, and provided with a toothed bar, a rock shaft carrying a pawl adapted to engage the said toothed bar to move the carriage forward, and a punch lever adapted to receive a swinging motion from the said shaft, the said lever being connected with the punch to move the latter downward to punch the sheet" (lines 14-22).
Date: August 14, 1894
Creator: Walsh, Richard
System: The Portal to Texas History
Nut-Lock. (open access)

Nut-Lock.

Patent for a nut lock meant to be used with railway joints and fish plates. It has a slotted locking plat that sits between two nuts and can be removed. It is simple and inexpensive, easy to use, and effective.
Date: August 8, 1893
Creator: Taylor, Harris
System: The Portal to Texas History
Gate Latch. (open access)

Gate Latch.

Patent for a new and improved gate-latch. This design is "so constructed as to permit of its ready adjustment to different gates, and also its adjustment, as may be required, subsequent to its attachment to the gate, without necessitating its removal" (lines 20-24). It "compris[es] the latch-bar having therein a longitudinal slot, the arm connected to the intermediate portion of said bar by a bolt or pin passing adjustably through said slot, said arm being curved forwardly at its upper portion, and a transverse handle-bar rigidly secured to the upper end of said arm" (lines 84-91).
Date: August 2, 1892
Creator: Fox, James T.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Engineer's Graduating-Valve. (open access)

Engineer's Graduating-Valve.

Patent for an graduating valve that is used with air brake systems in railroad trains. The invention is meant to "produce a comparatively simple valve which is constructed in such a way that it is not likely to clog or get out of order, which is arranged so that successive regular reductions may be easily made in the pressure of air in the train service pipe, which is adapted to automatically act on the governor of the air pipe from pressure either above or below the main valve, which is constructed in such a way that if the train parts the pressure in the main reservoir will not be reduced, which generates excess pressure when the brake handle is in running position and acts through said excess pressure on the governor of the pump, which is not likely to leak, and which in general may be easily controlled and places the train brakes under the complete control of the engineer" (lines 11-29).
Date: August 15, 1893
Creator: Pelham, Walter O.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Railway-Car. (open access)

Railway-Car.

Patent for a railway car that runs close to the railroad tracks, to prevent damage should it become derailed or in another accident. Includes instructions and illustrations.
Date: August 24, 1897
Creator: Finley, Jefferson L.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Railroad-Rail. (open access)

Railroad-Rail.

Patent for a new and useful railroad rail, including instructions and illustrations.
Date: August 16, 1898
Creator: Hariman, George V.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Design for a Pocket-Cuspidor. (open access)

Design for a Pocket-Cuspidor.

Design patent for a pocket-cuspidor with a bowl that has an approximately trunco-conical shape.
Date: August 15, 1899
Creator: Pollard, Philip D.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Design for Tack or Nail. (open access)

Design for Tack or Nail.

Design patent for a tack or nail that is both useful and ornamental.
Date: August 24, 1897
Creator: Bogar, Fred A.
System: The Portal to Texas History