US512414A - George trttesdell - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.)

y G. TRUBSDBLL. RAILWAY TRANSFER TICKET.

N0. 512,414. vPatented Jan. 9, 1894.

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NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE TRUESDELL, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

RAILWAY TRANSFER-TICKET.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 512,414, dated January 9, 1894.

Application filed February 9. 1892.

T0 all whom/ it nfl/ty concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE TEUESDELL, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Washington, in the District of Oolumbia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Railway Transfer-Tickets, of which the following is a specification.

My invention is an improvement upon the transfer checks now in use on street railways and given by the conductor or a transfer agent to the passenger, such check entitling the holder to a continuous ride upon the next car of an intersecting or connecting line. The issuing of these transfer tickets is, as a rule, intended to give the passenger a conf tinuous ride, on another car and beyond the terminus of the car on which his fare has been paid, so that the passenger, for asingle fare shall ride to the terminus of the first road or the junction of an intersecting road and then immediately be transferred to another car and ride upon another road to the point to which he desires to go. But such a regulation on the part of the street railway company is not intended to give the passenger practically two rides for one fare, that is to say, a ride to the terminus of the car on which fare is paid, and then after a stop over or delay to resume the ride at any time or place on any of the cars of the connecting line. The transfer tickets heretofore used have been simply an assurance to the con-` ductor of the car on which it is presented, that a fare has been paid on some connecting line. But these tickets have not served to prevent delays at the unction so that the passenger got practically two rides, nor even to prevent, in cases where connecting lines formed a loop, the return, for a single fare over the line on which the fare was paid, after the passenger had ridden on an intermediate intersecting line nor have the transfer tickets as heretofore made served-to prevent fraud upon the company using them by collusion between the conductors, or between the conductors and other parties, whereby, through exchanging transfers, conductors have been enabled to turn in a transfer for a fare received by them, or to sell or give away transfers to be used in lieu of fares by other persons.

The result of the losses attending the old Serial No. 420,872. (No model.)

checks, and forms of transfer tickets heretofpre used, has been that many 'street railway companies have discontinued the issue of transfers on the cars, and have stationed an agent at the intersection of the roads, to superintend the transfer, of passenger with the view of limiting the power to defraud to a few persons. This has materially increased the expense and has not prevented, but only checked to a certain extent, the loss by illicit traffic in transfer tickets, to which street railway7 companies are subjected, whenever transfers are used. Indeed so injurious has this evil become that many roads have been obliged to discontinue the issuing of transfers, and others are deterred from giving them and thereby depriving the public lof a great convenience and benefit. The misuse of transfer tickets has assumed such large proportions as to constitute the greatest loss incurred by railroad and omnibus lines, amounting frequently to many thousand dollars per annum and making a universal system'of transfers beyond the ability of the rail road companies to grant.

The tickets by which I seek to obviate the difculty above stated, and which I have found effective, are illustrated in the accompanying drawing which shows a face view of the ticket in duplicate one part forming the stub and reversed to the other.

In the drawing A, A, represent the duplicate tickets in reversed position to each other, and having a perforated line a at their connecting ends, but my invention is completely embodied in the single ticket, although I may prefer the duplicate form.-

The ticket is divided into three main parts, on the central one of which is the name of the company issuing the ticket.

At one end of the ticket the part contains a list of stations on the road and at the other end of the ticket is preferably the date and a serial number of the ticket.

Upon one margin of the ticket is a series of numbers from l to 12 inclusive, in order, and these numbers indicate the hours of the day; and in the same line arethe letters A. M. and P. M. one at the beginning and the other at the end of the line, so that the same line of figures will serve both for morning and evening. On the other margin of l'OO the ticket are the numbers from l to ll inclusive. These numbers indicate fract-ions, twelfths of an hour, or five minute divisions.

Then issuing the ticket the conductor punches from the hour line the figure indicating the hour and punches either A. M. or P. M. to represent the division of day and on the other line he punches a number to indicate the minute.

Supposing it to be half past eight in the morning when the transfer is issued the conductor Will punch the A. M. the ligure 8 in the hour line, and the figure 6 in the minute line. The punching of the figure 11 in that line would indicate fifty-five minutes past the hour punched in the other line, and no other igureis needed beyond the figure l1. The conductor taking up the ticket is required to punch the next figure in the margin representingtwelfthsofhoursafter the one punched by the conductor who issued it, and to turn itin at the end of his trip.

In the central division of the ticket under the name of the railway I place the Word Transfer and also the legend Good for a continuous trip only and upon the first car leaving the junction after issue of transfer and below this may be the fac simile of naine ofthe president or other officer of the road authorizing the issue of the ticket.

The tickets may be printed singly or connected as shown so that the conductor who issues the ticket may both punch at once and tear out one and retain the other, and turn it in with his other returns, thus constituting an additional check.

The tickets may be bound in book form in a well known manner.

It will be apparent that when the ticket is received by the conductor on the connecting line, the hour and minute figures which have been punched, will indicate to him whether or not the passenger has complied with the regulations of the road, and is entitled to a further conveyance ou the same fare.

The conductor issuing the transfer tickets issues them in order as they are numbered, and this serial number with the punched numbers indicating the hours and fractions, not only precludes an unauthorized delay on the part of the passenger, but also precludes any conspiracy on the part of the conductors to defraud the road.

The transfer must be used for exam ple within five minutes of the time it is issued, and a dishonest conductor cannot punch the tickets as of a future hour, because he cannot tell how many transfers he will issue in the mean time, and therefore cannot tell what the number of the ticket ought to be, issued in advance of the hour punched, nor can he issue more transfers than he has passengers for he must account for one fare for every transfer issued. Nor for the same reason can he punch so as to date back the receipt for a passenger delaying use over the allotted time, since tickets of a higher number may have been received in the intermediate time.

The number of the ticket in connection with the date and serial number, elfectually prevents any fraudulent use of the transfer unless it be sold Within five minutes of time of issue which gives practically no opportunity for a fraud. A separate series of num bers from 1 to 3l may be used for the day of the month in lieu of t-he date. But the number of the ticket in combination with the other factors is what distinguishes these tickets from any other and enables it to accomplish the obj ects had in View. The date may be omitted as the serial number may be made itself to indicate the date by simply noting the number of the tickets issued each day. In issuing tickets certain blocks of the series are issued to each conductor, so that the numbers of the tickets when turned in indicate the conductor.

I do not claim the duplication of the tickets, nor confine myself to such duplication. The ticket may be used singly.

I claim as my invention- A transfer ticket composed of subdivisions arranged across the ticket, from side to side, said subdivisions containing respectively the stations, the name of the company, with the Word transfer, and the serial and date number; and having also on the upper edge a series of numbers, and on the lower edge another series of numbers, the one indicating hours and the other fractions of an hour, all substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix mysignatu re in presence of two Witnesses.

GEORGE TRUESDELL.

Witnesses:

JACOB SCHARF, JOSEPH PAUL.

IOO

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