US513151A - Railway-ticket - Google Patents

Description

UNITED `STATES vPATENT OFFICE.

Y FRED MILLlMAN-SHTTUO, OF'CINOINNATI, OHIO.

RAILWAY-TICKET SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 513,151, dated January 23, 189'4. Appnmion nea November 28,1892. sean Na 453,391. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom it mafyoonorm I Be it known that I, FRED MILLIMAN SHAT- TUC, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cincinnati, county of Hamilton, State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Railway-Tickets; and l declare the following to be a full, clear, and eX- act description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to thel accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification.

My invention has for its obj ect an improved railway ticket, and is designed more especially to provide a limitedcoupon round trip ticket, which will obviate all liability of abuse or alteration, or fraud of any kind, and which will more effectually prevent the ticket getting into the hands of scalpers, and insure an exact compliance, by ticket agents and ypurchasers, with thecontracts vagreed upon between different lines of railways, renderingit asimple and Veasy matter to detect any departure from the terms of said contracts.

Heretofore limited coupon round trip tick- 4ets have been used good going forf a certain number of days from the date of sale stamped on the back. Previous toreturning the purchaser must take it to the properA ticket agent at the destination point, and have itrstanped. It is then good for returning a certain number of days from the date stamped thereon by said agent. The final limit within which the ticket is good, going and returning, from the date of sale, has commonly been punched in the margin of the contract portion of the ticket. Such a ticket has been open to fraud and change of time limits, because the final limit and transit limit are all on the contract portion of theticket Yand nowhere else, and as the issuing road finally gets the contract portion, and each of the other lines over which the ticket is given only.v getsa coupon, taken up on a certain train, the other lines have no means of detecting any alteration of time, or improper extension thereof, inasmuch as there is nothing on the individual coupons, as such tickets have heretofore been constructed, that will show the original time'limits..

My invention is designed to prevent an 1ssuing ticket agent making any conditions on.

one part of the ticket, which shall not be illustrated in theaccompanying drawings,

which show a front View of my improved ticket, the ticket being divided and shown in two vertical lines, in order to accommodate theview to the size of the sheet.

I carry out my invention as follows:

A represents the contract portion of a railway ticket.

Af denotes one or more going coupons, and A2 one or more return coupons.

A4 is a coupon on which is printed a suitable notice to the purchaser.

A3 is the agents coupon or stub, issuing the ticket. i

On inspection of the drawings submitted herewith, the following features will be seen and understood. Y

First. To adapt the ticket either for use as a limited or a continuous ticket, as `may be desired, the contract portion and each of the Second. A line of figures indicated at B is also printed upon the'contract portion Aand upon each of the going and returning coupons, as well as the agents coupon, the said figures beingprovided in order that the issuing agent may punch out in said line of Iigures, the number ot' days itis intended the passenger shall have in which to make the journey each way, or in other words the transit limit. The'line of figures B is preferably so arranged that the said number 0f :days may be punched out simultaneously in said coupons and contract.

Third. Said coupons and contract portion are alsoprovided with an additional set of figures Vand designation of the months and of IOO the year, shownkat C, whereby the issuing agent may punch out simultaneously on all said coupons and contract, the year, month and day constituting the final limit beyond which the ticket will not be accepted by any road in any direction, over which the ticket reads. It will thus be apparent that all vthese records, enumerated under the above three heads, appear on every coupon, as well as upon the contract, whereby each road may know the tnal limit and the transit limit.

Fourth. In addition to the preceding features the going coupons are provided with tigures and designations of the months, as shown at D, preferably on the margin on the right, whereby the issuing agent may punch out the year, month and day of the month on which he sold the ticket. After having made the records enumerated under the above heads l, 2 and 3, the issuing agent unfolds the ticket back to the coupon A4 giving notice to the purchaser. He then detaches his agents coupon or stub, the last coupon on the ticket. He then folds the ticket with the notice to the purchaser under and punches out of the margin on the right the year, month and day on which he sold the ticket. This record appears on all the coupons in that bunch, viz., on all the going coupons. Thus the conductors on the going passage have on every coupon, the date issued, the transit limit going,

the nal limit returning, giving all the roads over which the ticket is'used in going complete information as to these matters on every coupon.

Fifth. In addition to the foregoing, the return coupons are also provided with figures and designations indicated at D', analagous to those at D on the going coupons. After completing the going passage, and upon desiring to return, his contract reveals to the holder of the ticket that he must reach his return destination by a certain date, and that he has only a certain number of days within which to make the return trip. I-Ie goes to the proper agent at that end of the line, and gets his ticket punched so as to be good for return. That agent tears oft the coupon A4 giving notice to the purchaser, and with the coupons folded he punches out the year, month and day of the month, on which the ticket was presented to him. Then the passenger has only so many days within which to make the return trip, this record appearing on all the return coupons. The conductor follows the same procedure with the return coupons, as on the going passage. Thus all the roads over which the ticket is used on the return trip have on every coupon the final limit, the transit limit, and the date when the passenger began the return trip. On the back of every coupon may be also the stamp of the issuing agent showing date of sale, in addition to punch marks on going coupons.

It will be understood that with a continuous ticket the passenger is required to make his journey according to through train schedule,while with a limited ticket the passenger is simply required to make his journey in a limited time.

I do not limit myself to any precise order of arranging the several features hereinbefore described. The tickets may also be 'expressly printed as a limited or a continuous ticket as desired, and so the feature embodied in the above head No. l, may bcomitted without departing from my invention.

l do not limit myself to applying the above designations, figures, &c., upon the face of the ticket alone, as they may be upon the back, or partly on the face and partly on the backl of the ticket. It will be obvious that not only do these provisions en able any alteration to be readily detected by the various roads, but also renders it very much more difficult to make any alterations, inasmuch as, where the limits or provisions therefor appear only upon the contract it is easier to perpetrate a fraud by filling up punch marks and an eX- pert use of pen and ink. But where these provisions and limitationsappear on all the coupons as Well as the contract such fraudulent work becomes extremely difficult, since there are so many alterations to be made.

Provision may be made, Within the scope of my invention, to punch the date of the issue of the ticket on the returning coupons, as Well'as upon the going coupons. Still the returning conductors have only to do with the final limit and the date punched by the agent at the destination for return.

I have omitted from the ticket matter not pertaining to my invention, and it will be understood that any additional matter may be printed thereon, as may be desired.

I have also described my invention as applied to a round trip ticket, in order to eX- IOO plain the full scope of my invention, butI i would have it understood that I contemplate the application of the foregoing features to a single trip ticket as coming within the scope of my invention, as all features except that particularly referring to the return coupons might beused on a one way ticket, and on a single coupon or any desired number of them.

l. A coupon ticket having a contract portion, coupons and an agents stub, each of which is provided with terms or characters to designate the transit limit of the ticket.

2. A coupon ticket having a contract portion, coupons, and an agents stub, each provided with terms or characters indicating the nal limit the transit limit and whether the ticket is limited or continuous.

3. A coupon ticket, the going .coupons of which are each provided with terms or characters to indicate the date of sale, the transit limit going, and the final limit returning.

4. A coupon ticket, the return coupons of which are each provided with terms or characters to indicate the final limit, the transit limit and the date when the passenger began the return trip.

IIO

5. A coupon ticket havinga contract poi'- tion, going and return coupons,\a portion intermediate the coupons for a notice to the passenger, and an agents stub, each of which couponsvis provided with terms .or characters ing, and the final limit returning, and there- 1 o turn couponseach provided with termsorcharacters to indicate the transit limit going, the nai limit returning, and the date when the passenger began the return trips.

1n testimony whereof I sign this specification in the presence of two witnesses.

FRED MILLIMAN sHATTUc.

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