US131276A - Improvement in railroad tickets - Google Patents

Description

T. A. JEBB. Railroad-Tickets.

Patented Sep. 10

' S'IArns ATEN'I 'GFFIca reforms kunne, onBUFFALo, New YORK.

HWPROVEMENT IN RAILROAD TICKETS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 131,276, dated September 10, 1872.

SPECIFICATION. I, THOMAS AJEBB, of the city of Buffalo,

in the county of Erie and State of New York,

have invented certain Improvements in Itailroad Tickets, of which the following is a specification:

My invention relates to Letters Patent No. 99,125, granted January 25, 1870, to John P. Whitehead, of which I am the sole owner; and also to Letters Patent No. 128,629, granted to me July 2, 1872, both for duplex or duplicate check-tickets. My present invention consists, first, of a book of folded duplicate tickets, bound together at the upper end thereof, so that the leaves of each. duplicate ticket will be secured at one end by the binding and at the adjacent side by the fold, whereby the tickets are held compactly together, and the unfolding and punching of either portion of the ticket is prevented Without first partially detaching one of the duplicate parts from the book 5 second, a duplicate check, designed for palace or sleeping cars, containing a list of the stations on the road, and a list of the various sums charged for seats, rooms, sections, or berths, so that the conductor, by punching the ticket at the stations where the passenger gets on or off, and punching the column of charges opposite the sum paid bythepassenger, the latter is thus furnished with a receipt showing the amount paid by him, with which the conductors duplicate ticket must correspond;- third, of a Iare-tickemcontaining the names of the stations, arranged in a column, so that the names of the stations canV be punched at either the initial or final letter, the first station'having printed over the initial letter` and over the final letter words or letters showing the two direction'sthe train travels over the road, so that the position of the perforations at the initial or tinal letters ofthe -names of the stations will indicate the direction p the train was traveling when the ticket was Like letters of reference designate like parts in each of the figures.

The tickets shown in the drawing are represented as printed and adapted for use` on a palace-car on the Hudson River and New York Central Railroad. u In Fig. I,A is the passen gers, and B the conductors portion of the duplicate ticket, each' of which has the names ofthe stations, the date in months and days, the list of prices charged, name of the road, number of the ticket, and the number of the book printed in duplicate, and arranged in a corresponding manner, so that the matter in each that is required to be punched will be opposite each other when the tickets are folded. c is the punctured division-line, where the ticket is folded. D is the stub of each ticket, which has printed on it the name of the road, the number of the book, and number of the ticket. Over the initial letters of the first station, (New York in'the drawing,) at the top of the ticket, is printed the word West 5 and over the final letters the word East 5 which words, according as the stations are punched at the initial or final letters, indicate the direction the train is going, and are, of course, .varied on different roads, such words being used as indicate the out and return trains over the same. .The stub of only one portion of each duplicate need be printed. e is the punctured line of division between the passenger portion A of the ticket and the stub, by which the separation of the ticket is facilitated. The conductors portion B of the ticket is left unpunctured, so as to permit the passenger portion to be detached while the conductors portion remains attached to its stub. Fis the back of the cover of the book, and F the front portion, covering only the stubs of the tickets; and g, a band of India rubber attached to the cover F, and passing around the cover F', as shown in Fig. III. lhesums under the heading Amount paid 7 are shown arranged in duplicate columns, without reference to any particular station. The first sum is twenty-five cents, ($0.25,) which is the smallest sum charged for a seat. The second sum is $0.50, and so on up to $12.00, the assumed price of a large state-room from New York to Buffalo or Niagara Falls. When the amounts are arranged in duplicate columns the amount paid can be 2 temere punched from one column, while the corresponding sum in the other column, remaining.

unpunched, will indicate the sum paid. A small blank space before each sum may be left, and punched out instead of the iirst duplicate column shown in the drawing.

When using the ticket on a westward-bound train the word West 7 over the initial letter of the iirst station indicates that the initial letters oi the names of the two stations between which the passenger has paid the fare are to be punched out. In the drawing, Fig. I, the stations New York and lAlbany being thus punched, indicates that the passenger paid his fare from New York to Albany;

Vand the perforation before the sum $51.00 of the second column of amounts indicates that he paid that amount of fare. rlhe month and day being also punched out, as shown, before the ticket is detached from the book, the passenger portion A is then separated at the punctured lines c e, and given to the passenger, thereby furnishinghim with a receipt showing the distance and amount of money paid. Thisl ticket the train-conductor takes from the pass ger, while the palace or drawing-room car conductor retains the duplicate part with the book.

The perforations in dotted lines at the end 0f the words Buffalo 7 and Utica would indica-te that 'the ticket was used on an eastern-bound train, the fare for a seat being $1.25, the sum punched out of the first column of amounts paid. The palace-car conductor being charged with a book of tickets of a certain number, and containing a specied number of tickets, he is required to return the book and his duplicate portions of the tickets either attached to or separated from the stubs. The tickets, if separated from the book, are rst examined to see if they correspond with the number of the book, when he is credited with the number of tickets returned unpunched, and charged with the amount which the punched duplicates show he has received. The duplicate passenger-tickets being returned by the train-conductor, a comparison of the duplicate parts will show whether the tickets were properly punched before separating or unfolding them.

The advantages of my improvements are as follows: The arrangement with the names ot' the stations of words to designate the out77 and return trains enables a single book and single formA of tickets to be used for both directions without requiring the use of a pencil. The mode of binding the duplicate tickets in a book insures compactness, and prevents an improper unfolding and punching of the duplicate parts separately. The use of stubs printed with the number of the book and ticket to correspond with the duplicate parts of the tickets enablesthe account with the conductor to be readily kept 5 while the stubs will show the number of tickets furnished to any conductor in case any of the tickets should be lost or he should claim that the books were not complete. The perforating of the line between the passenger portion of the ticket and its stub, while the conductors portion is unperforated, enables the latter to be retained in position in the book, and prevents the accidental loss thereof, besides being a convenient method of preserving the same. The short cover of the front side of the book, in connection with the band for holding it closed, is a matter of great convenience, and facilitates the use of the book and separation of the tickets therefrom. The arrangement of a column of prices is essential on palace or sleeping cars, as the' amount paid between any two stations greatly varies, according to the kind of seat or room occupied, and if the conductor was allowed to mark the sum paid by a pencil he could readily mark the duplicate parts differently.

By the use of my improved ticket no peucil is required, and the amount paid must be correctly shown on both of the duplicate parts.

When used as a general-fare ticket, thelist of prices or fares may be omitted, as the amount of fare in such cases between any two stations is fixed and uniform.

What I claim as my invention isl. A book of folded duplicate check-tickets iu which the duplicate leaves of each ticket are secured together at the upper ends of the binding, while one of the adjacent sides is secured by the fold ot' the ticket, as hereinbefore shown and described.

2. A duplicate check-ticket for palace or sleeping cars, containing the names ofthe stations on the road, Witha duplicate .list of the various sums charged for seats, rooms, or berths thereon, so as to enable the conductor, by punching the stations and opposite the sum in the listwhich represents the amount paid by the passenger--to furnish the latter with a receipt for the sum paid, which, corresponding with the conductors duplicate portion, prevents peculation by the latter, as hereinbefore set forth.

3. A railroad ticket with the names of the stations printed in a column, with words or letters representing the two directions the train travels arranged over the initial letters and final letters of the iirst station, s'o that the punching of the names of the stations under the initial or final letters will indicate the direction of the train, and thereby enable a single form of ticket to be used when running in either direction, as .hereinbefore set forth.

T. A. JEBB.

Yi'itn esses:

Jol-1N J. BONNER, EDWARD NVILHELM.

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