The technical demands of railroads soon provided him with further challenges. He also worked as an industrial consultant, assisting the Detroit Lubricator Company and other firms. McCoy left the Michigan Central in 1882 and moved to Detroit, where he devoted a great deal of time to his inventions. Versions of this cup became standard components on many types of heavy machinery, entering service on railways of the West, on Great Lakes steamships, and even on transatlantic liners. McCoy's lubricating cup proved adaptable to other types of steam engines, which were used in factories and at sea. This proved to be quite useful, for locomotives lasted longer and needed less maintenance. Installed on operating locomotives, it provided lubrication that was more regular and even than could be achieved by the old method of using an oilcan during intermittent stops. He took his invention to officials of the Michigan Central Railroad and received their support. McCoy received a United States patent for this device on June 23, 1872. Steam pressure pushed on the piston and thereby drove the oil into channels that carried it to the engine's operating parts. It relied on a piston set within an oil-filled container. Working in a home-built machine shop in Ypsilanti, McCoy devised an invention that became known as the lubricating cup. McCoy saw that he could keep the engine running by using steam pressure to pump the oil where it was needed. This made it necessary to stop the engine when oiling it. Many parts of this engine operated under the pressure of steam, which acted to push oil away from the moving parts. However, the direct use of oil-filled chambers did not apply to a locomotive's steam engine, which provided its power. The rotation of the axle carried oil into its bearing, and the oiled bearing allowed the axle to turn freely while reducing wear to a minimum. But engineers had arranged for them to rotate within oil-filled chambers.
MACCY MCCOY FULL
These axles carried the full weight of locomotives and railroad cars, and were particularly subject to wear. Lubrication was essential for these parts-many of which were applied to railroad axles. Locomotives were heavy, and subjected their moving parts to considerable wear. He also had to walk around the locomotive and lubricate its moving parts using an oilcan during frequent stops, while it took on water. As a fireman, McCoy had to shovel coal into the firebox of his locomotive, at the rate of two tons per hour. Work as a fireman was a far cry from engineering, and it proved to be a physically demanding job. This was a responsible position, for service as a fireman was a customary prelude to promotion to the post of locomotive driver. Nevertheless, he obtained a job as a fireman and oiler on the Michigan Central Railroad in 1870. Young Elijah sought work as an engineer, but met with defeat due to racial prejudice.
Following the Civil War, the McCoys returned to the United States and settled near Ypsilanti, Michigan, outside of Detroit. In Edinburgh, McCoy won the credentials of a master mechanic and engineer. At the age of 16, he traveled to Edinburgh, Scotland, to serve an apprenticeship in mechanical engineering. As a boy, he was fascinated with tools and machines. His father's ties to Britain proved useful as young McCoy pursued his education. In return for his loyal service, he received 160 acres of farmland near Colchester, Ontario. George McCoy enlisted with the British force. When the Canadian leader, Louis Riel, launched a rebellion in 1837, the British government used troops to defeat the rebels. At the time, Canada was part of the British Empire, which had abolished slavery in 1833. His parents, George McCoy and the former Mildred Goins, were fugitive slaves who had escaped to Canada from Kentucky. The date of McCoy's birth is not known various sources give it as Maand May 2, 1844. These were demanding indeed, for they operated at high temperatures and pressures. He kept pace with the progress of locomotive design, devising new lubricating systems that served the steam engines of the early twentieth century. Elijah McCoy made important contributions to the design of railroad locomotives after the Civil War.