Abstract: A lightweight knuckle weighing substantially less than an AAR Standard Knuckle, is described for use in a railroad car coupler. This lightweight knuckle can be used, for example, to replace AAR Standard knuckle which becomes broken or otherwise damaged during operation and requires replacement in the field. Both the contouring and inner coring of an AAR Standard knuckle are radically changed to produce this lightweight knuckle which has all the functioning features of the standard knuckle, so as not to adversely effect the coupling and uncoupling operations of a coupler in which the lightweight knuckle is used.

Abstract: A slackless drawbar or coupler head rotary connection between adjacent cars of a train which is movable along a fixed trackway, is described as having a ball and socket swivel-type connection which allows the elongated shank of a drawbar or coupler head to swivel freely in any direction, contrary to existing devices which employ a cylindrical connector which rotates in a cylindrical recess, thereby allowing the shank to rotate about its longitudinal axis rather than the center of a ball-shaped connector. In the existing designs, angling is achieved by distorting the shape of the pin hole in the shank of the drawbar or coupler head. This is undesirable and causes greater wear of the shank. The swivel connection eliminates the need for such a distorted pin hole which can be cylindrical and only slightly larger, in diameter, than that of the pin.