In 1868, William McConway purchased the Eagle Gray Iron Foundry in Pittsburgh. This foundry became one of the railway industry s first suppliers of steel castings. John J. Torley joined McConway a year later and McConway & Torley was established. It soon became the exclusive manufacturer and patent-holder of the industry s first automatic coupler, invented in 1873 by Eli H. Janney. In 1887, the Master Car Builder Association selected the Janney Coupler as the industry standard. McConway & Torley s railcar-coupler castings business became the mainstay of the company. McConway & Torley is one of the leading manufacturers of standard couplers and car-connecting systems in the world.