US453037A - Due passage - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.)

W. H. CAMPBELL.

, RAILWAY TIGKKET.

Patentedmy 26, 1891.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

YILLIAM H. CAMPBELL, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

RAiLwAY-ITICKET.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 453,037, dated May 26, 1891. Application tiled October 27, 1890. `Serial No. 369.507. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Beitknown that I, WILLIAM H. CAMPBELL, a citizen of the United States, residing at New York, county of New York, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Railway-Tickets, fully described and represented in the following specification and the accompanying drawings, forming a part of the same.

This invention relates to that class of railway-tickets known as coupon extensionticket-s, which are used by railroads and other transportation companies for the purpose of furnishing passengers traveling over two or more lines with a single ticket, the several coupons of which are taken up by the conductors of the different lines on presentation of the ticket, these coupons forming vouchers for the respective lines by which the proper charge is made against the line selling the ticket. The enormous development ot railway and steamboat transportation has increased the number of lines and of stations to such an extent that it is practically impossible to keep at each station a stock of tickets for each separate station on the different lines from and to which tickets are to be sold, and all systems employing separate tickets for different stations have proven impracticable on this account and on account of the expense involved in printing and carrying such large quantities of tickets, many of which are to obscure points and may never be sold, but must be kept on hand for possible contingencies. rIhese systems, moreover, involve a complex system of book-keeping and impose a large amountof labor upon the selling agents in handling` and storing the diiferentt'orms. Another difficulty has arisen from the practice of providing different forms of tickets for the different classes of travel and the introduction of limited and unlimited, excursion, return, and other special tickets, which multiply the number of forms required. Many attempts have been made to overcome these difficulties by providing a single form of ticket for use at all stations of the selling line and good for several stations on the iinal line and a number of different coupon extensioirtickets have been produced, but all previous attempts have failed to provide a ticket good for all stations on the initial and final lines and adapted for use over all lines regardless of the number of stations, and consequently have failed to meet the requirements of the present day. Among the forms referred to is a coupon extension-ticket on which the agents stub and each coupon has a small number of the names of stations on the final line printed thereon and to which tickets can be sold, the ticket being so constructed that the stations upon the agents stub and coupons register alike when the ticketis folded, and the destination-station may be punched on all simultaneously. As will be seen, this provides a ticket which can be used only for a small number of stations on the final line. It is apparent, therefore, that such a ticket is useful only where the last line has but. a very small number of coupon-stations, because the coupons must be of limited dimensions to be practicable, and but a small number of stations can be listed on them, in addition to the regular matter, owing' to want of space, and to provide for even the number of stations on the smallest lines by this arrangement the coupons would be of such size that they could not be used without increasing the size of the ticket beyond convenient dimensions. This ticket therefore has proven practically useless in the present development of transportation-lines and the ticket problem has heretofore been unsolved. By the present invention I provide a coupon extension-ticket so constructed that a ticket of small size may be used for the longest lines and for as many intermediate lines as desired, and which will furnish an agents stub and coupon-vouchers for a practically unlimited number of destinatioirstations on the last line without substantially increasing the size of the stub and `coupon over those used on single-station tickets. I accomplish this result by substituting on the agents stub and coupons for the names of the destination-stations numbers arranged by units, tens, hundreds, duc., where a large number of stations are required or numerically for smaller lines, these numbersbeing so arranged upon the agents stub and coupons that they may be simultaneously punched or otherwise can-- celed for indicating the destination-station. In order to make these severalcoupons intel- I OO ligible to the passenger and readily inter-' preted by the various conductors, auditors, tbc., and especially as a safeguard against fraud upon the traveling public and public carriers by changingl in any way the destination, station after ithas been punched or other- Wise indicated, I prefer to print upon the face orback of the iinal line,stub, or contract a list of the names and numbers of all the stations on the final line, by this means :rendering it impossible to change the destinationstation without immediate detection. While this indication of destination-station forms the main feature of my improved coupon-ticket, and this feature may be used with or without any other improvements, I prefer to add other features by which a single form of ticket may be used for all classes of travel for both limited and unlimited tickets, and in short to embody iin a single form the features of all the diderent forms now used, so that the same and but. one form will be used at all stations of the selling line for all stations of any other connecting road.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a face View of my improved ticket in its preferred form When used for iinal lines having many stations. Fig. 2 is a broken face view of the ticket when used for a final line having comparatively few stations.

Referring to Fig. l, A is the contract portion of the ticket which is retained by the line to a station ou which the ticket is sold.

B is thelist of destination-stations accompanyi-ng the same.

Cisa series of coupons for the intermediate and final line, and D the agents stub to be retained by the line selling the ticket.

The list of destination-stations B includes sixtyone stations from Perrysburg to Cincinnati. This list of stations may be printed, as shown,upon an independent part of the contract portion of the ticket, or the list of stations may be arranged around the edge of the contract or printed upon the back of the contract portion of the ticket in any manner desired.

The agents stub and each one of the coupons carries the digits arranged for units, tens, and hundreds, the lines of digits being ar ranged in any manner desired, either transversely or longitudinally of the ticket; but all the numbers 'on the stub and all the coupon-s being similarly arranged, so that they register when the ticket is folded and may be punched simultaneously. The coupons will preferably be of different colors, so as to distinguish those of the different lines.

In addition to the indication of destination, the,y ticket shown is adapted for use either as a limited or unlimited ticket, the contract portion being provided with date-numbers arranged, preferably, longitudinally of the ticket, as shown, and the agents stuband coupons being providedl with registering por tions to be punched for a limited ticket, as desired,theunpunched ticket being unlimited. Similarly the ticket is tirst class unless otherwise indicated by punching the 2 or 8 on the stub and coupons for second or third class,

respectively.

The use of the ticket will be readily underlstood from the example shown. The ticket is sold by the New York and Niagara Falls Railroad Company over its road and the intei'mediate Michigan Central Road to the station Carthage on the Cincinnati, Hamilton, and Dayton Railroad, the ticket being second class and limited. This ticket is used from any station of the selling road, the selling station being stamped upon the back of the agents stub, the contract, and all the coupons When the ticket is sold. Before or after stamping, the agent folds the coupons and.

stub together and indicates the destinationstation by punching out. in the tens-column Jthe figure 5 and in the units-column the iigure l, thereby indicating that the ticket is good to destination-station 51, which,.as seen by referring to the list, is Carthage.7 At the saine time the ticket is marked as limited by punching in the appropriate place and as second class by punching figure 2 under Class The destination-station is then punched out upon the list of stationsand the limited date punched upon the contract portion, whiclrin this case is December 1,1890. The agents stub is then torn off and retained by the agent and the ticket delivered to the purchaser.

It is usual to indicate on they coupon and the contract portion the station from which the ticket is sold, which is done by stamping the back of each coupon and the contract with the selling station. Then but a small number of destination-stations are required, it will be found preferable to' arrange the numbers of the stations numerically, as shown in Fig. 2, instead of in the manner shown in Fig. l, as by this arrangement but a single punch is necessary for indicating any one of the stations.

It will readily be understood that, while-for convenience and greater safety against fraud it is preferable to provide the ticket. with a list of destination-stations, as shown, this is not absolutely necessary 5 but this portion of the ticket may be omitted, and the .conducte ors, auditors, and ticket agents be provided with independent lists, which will soon become memorized, so as to require no reference thereto.

The ticket may readily be used for return or excursion business by simply adding the Words and return to the heading of the contract, and then attaching sufficient additional coupons for the return tripfprinted for the opposite direction and goodl over the in terinediate roads inthe same manner as the 4outgoing coupons shown andhe-retofore dea scribed.

When the final road operates a large numi ber of stations, the tickets may readily be made available for any number of stations IOO that Will ever be required by adding another V line of digits, thus enabling the tickets to be used for thousands of destinationstations, and this without any appreciableincreasc in the size ofthe coupons or of the ticket if the list of destination-stations be-omitted.

It will be understood that my invention is not to be limited to any special form or arrangement of printing upon the ticket, as any arrangement suitable for my purpose maybe employed, and that shown forms but one of many forms which may be used and is shown only as the arrangement whichI have found preferable.

While I have shown the stations as indicated by punching-and this is preferable as the most convenient method-it Will be understood that the stations may be indicated in any other desired manner, and that where there are but a small number of intermediate lines and it is desired to avoid the expense of punches the destination-station may be indicated by cancellation by ink or otherwise of the numerals on the different coupons separately and successivelyinstead of sim ultaneously.

What I claim isl. A coupon extension-ticket having its contract portion provided with a list of destination-stations and their numbers and having its coupons provided With numbers for indicating the destination-stations, substantially as described.

2. A coupon extension-ticket having its contract portion provided with a list of dest1nationstations and their numbers and having 35 its coupons provided with numbers for indicating the destination-stations, the numbers on the ditlerent coupons registering When the ticket is folded, but not registering with the list on the contract portion, substantially as 4o tract portion provided With a list of destina- 5o tion-stations and their numbers and having its coupons provided with series of digits arranged by units, tens, dic., for indicating' the destination-stations, the numbers on the different coupons registering When the ticket is 55 folded, but not registering with the list on the contract portion, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of tivo subscribing witnesses.

WM. II. CAMPBELL.

Witnesses:

G. M. Bons'r, J. J. KENNEDY.

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