Janney couplers .

Janney couplers were introduced in the mid-1890s .They were the first knuckle coupler design ,and their superiority over other designs like the standard link-and-pin were manifold .There were ,however ,competing designs for "automatic" couplers . The closest runner-up was the Miller coupler , which ,like the Janney ,saw its first use on passenger equipment . Automatic knuckle-style couplers were adapted as the standard 100 years ago ,but Janney faded into history ,partly because they didn't (and still don't)work all that well .You had to hit the couplers pretty hard to make them close , and likewise they were hard to open . Nevertheless ,they are on a number of older passenger cars in Durango and a few MOW cars in Chama . Unlike standard couplers that open by lifting a pin vertically from the top , Janneys were actuated by moving a horizontal lever either way at the bottom .Hence the cutting levers going under the coupler .