Car Coupling. (open access)

Car Coupling.

Patent for a new and improved coupling for railroad cars. This design "consists in a shaft journaled at its lower end in the ordinary draw-bar and at its upper end in a bracket . . . and in the combination therewith of a brace . . . adapted to support the lower end of said shaft, a hook placed between the brace and the draw-bar, and a spring surrounding the shaft and arranged to hold the shaft and hook normally . . . It also further consists in . . . the hook, . . . a spring-actuated uncoupling-rod extending through a bracket . . . and a retaining-latch. . . adapted to hold the said rod in a retracted position" (lines 22-37).
Date: July 26, 1887
Creator: De May, Eugene A.
Object Type: Patent
System: The Portal to Texas History
Upper Barker Watershed Flood Protection Planning Study Final Report (open access)

Upper Barker Watershed Flood Protection Planning Study Final Report

Report on a flood protection and management plan for the Upper Barker Watershed.
Date: June 26, 2015
Creator: Halff Associates
Object Type: Report
System: The Portal to Texas History
Gate. (open access)

Gate.

Patent for an improved farm gate that pivots in its center and can be swung in either direction. It is operated by a pull chord and levers. The pull chords are set on posts on either side of the gate, each side having two chords in order to open the gate in either direction. The posts also act as a brace to stop the gate from swinging further.
Date: December 26, 1893
Creator: Mulcahy, Richard T.
Object Type: Patent
System: The Portal to Texas History