Not
only are the busboys, laborers, and other black railroad workers as much the
real McCoy as Pullman porters, their numbers include the original real McCoy.
Elijah McCoy was trained as an engineer, but, because he was a Negro, one of
the few jobs he could land on the railroad in the mid-1800s was as a fireman
shoveling coal and oiling the engine. He quickly realized the inefficiencies of
using a tiny oil can like his and having to stop the engine to lubricate it. So
he devised, then patented, a system that provided continuous oiling of the gears
on trains as well as ships. While his invention worked brilliantly, its many
imitators did not; hence would-be purchasers insisted on knowing whether they
had the "real McCoy."
