"We were satisfied that, with proper lubrication..., a little more power could be expected."
Orville Wright, aviation pioneer
Elijah McCoy (1843-1929) was the son of former African slaves who had escaped to slavefree Canada. At around the age of sixteen he traveled to Edinburgh, Scotland, where he studied engineering. Upon his return to the United States he worked as a fireman and Oilman on the Michigan Central Railroad. It was his job to ensure that the moving parts of the train's engine, as well as axles and bearings, were well lubricated.
Locomotive trains suffered considerable wear and tear on all their moving parts. Engineers had already devised a way to keep the axles lubricated by encasing them within oil-filled chambers. But since many parts of the engine ran under the immense pressure of steam, oil would tend to get propelled away from the moving parts. It was to this problem that McCoy turned his attention. His solution was a simple "lubricating cup"—a vessel containing oil that automatically dripped lubricant into the moving parts at a rate that kept the engine oiled and prevented it from overheating.
McCoy produced more patents than any other black inventor before him. Attempts at selling imitations of his inventions almost certainly spawned a well-known catchphrase. Well-informed engineers would always seek out the best-designed model for their machinery and so they asked for "the real McCoy."
