US769969A - System of railway-ticket and destination-check or transfer combined. - Google Patents

Description

PATENTED SEPT. I3, 1904, I'. I. WELCH.v

COMBINED.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 11, 1904.

y QMdMrM/LJU SYSTEM CI RAILWAY TICKET AND DESTINATION CHECK 0R TRANSFER No MODEL.

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Patented September 13, 1904.

FRANKLIN I. WELCH, OF MALDEN, MASSACHUSETTS.

SYSTEM OF RAILWAY-TICKET AND DESTINATION-CHECK 0R TRANSFER COMBINED.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 769,969, dated September 13, 1904.

Application filed January 11, 1904. Serial No. 188,671. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANKLIN I. WELCH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Malden, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Railway-Tickets, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form a part thereof.

My invention relates to railway-tickets, and has for its object, primarily, the production of such 4a ticket which will permit the unre-V stricted transfer of passengers to intersecting lines in addition to authorizing the transportation of persons to any point of the issuing ine.

A further object is to provide such a ticket the use of which will act as an absolute check upon railway employees as to cash fares paid by passengers, thus dispensing' with the necessity for mechanical cash-registers and an accompanying system of espionage.

The invention consists in providing a railway-ticket comprising a refund-ticket and a destination-check, said ticket and said check being adapted to be issued together or said check separately, said ticket and said check representing independent cash values and bearing matter obligating the issuing party to refund a definite amount to the holder and to carry the holder to some point on the issuing line when issued alone or on an intersecting or continuing line when issued with said re.- fund-ticket, respectively, and in such other additional novel features as are hereinafter set forth and described, and more particularly pointed out in the claims hereto appended.

In the drawing I have illustrated my invention in the preferred form for showing.

in pads or books is provided with a tail end and what I term a destination-check c, forming a part of said ticket, but having a weakened line, whereby the destination-check is adapted to be issued separably or with said refund-ticket. The said ticket or coupon a and check c each have an independent cash valuation, the former being intended for use solely when the passenger is desirous of transferring or exchanging to some intersecting or extension line of the issuing party or through agreement with such lines of other parties. As the refund-ticket and destination-check may thus be used independently, I score the ticket at suitable points, as l e, to facilitate the detachment of the entire ticket from the pad or book and the separation of the check c from thesuch rebate is payable. The destination-check is divided into a plurality of spaces,wherein appears, respectively, as at f, instructions as to the conditions of the is'sue in connection with the ticket or coupon a; at g the names of various destinations or intersecting or continuinglines; at /L and /tthe date of the month and the part of the day, respectively; at a designation of the approximate time of day within which the ticket may be used; at j' a designation of the month of issue; at in 7:5', respectively, a space for the name of the issuing line or some similar authority guaranteeing the genuineness of the ticket, and at Z Z, respectively, a space for duplicate numbers identifying the ticket or coupon c with its attached destination-check c.

The system of use of the above-described railway ticket is substantially as follows, the cash value of the ticket or coupon a and destination-check c being assumed to be five cents, as on streetrailways, wherein the greatest utility of the ticket resides. If the tickets are assembled in lots of one hundred in pads or books, they will be so issued for use and the recipient will be charged with the full valuation of all the tickets at ten dollars. -Ordinarily tickets will be issued to conductors of the various lines of the issuing party, and such issuances in bulk will not be a cash transaction, the conductor merely being held accountable for their value. When a passenger boards a car for some point on that particular line, the conductor will take up the value of the destination-check c and will detach such destination-check from its ticket or coupon a, cancel it by punching at some space g, j', it, 7%, andz'the destination of the car or passenger, and the month, the day, the part of the day, and the time of issue, respectively, and issue such canceled destination-check to the passenger as evidence of his right to transportation as far as the point indicated. Should the passenger, however, desire to ride to some point on an intersecting or extension line, the conductor will detach the entire ticket, cancel the destination-check c by punching at some space g, j, L, 7L', and the point on or the name ofthe intersecting or extension line, the month, the day, and the part of the day of issue, and the time limit within which said check may-be used as a transfer or exchange ticket, respectively, and issue the entire ticket, including the refund ticket or coupon a, to the passenger, taking up in excess of the fare value of the destination-check c that of the refund ticket or coupon a. When the passenger boards the car of the intersecting or extension line, he will present the entire ticket to the conductor of that car, who will detach and take up the refund ticket or coupon a, repaying the passenger the valuation thereof paid the conductor of the issuing line. rlhe destination-check is retained by the passenger, as when issued alone, serving to evidence on both lines his right to transportation to the point indicated.

It will be observed that a conductor in issuing either destination-checks or such and refund-tickets combined receives for such merely the cash value thereof already charged against him by the issuing party, his principal, and in refunding the value of such a refund ticket or coupon receives from the passenger such a ticket. In settling with his principal he surrenders the unused portion of the lot of tickets charged against him and all refund tickets or coupons taken up by him and is credited with the value of all unused complete tickets, all refund tickets or coupons, whether they be those which remain in his pad or book and the destination-check originally attached to which he issued for a cash fare or those upon which he actually refunded money. If it be found that he has turned in uncanceled destination-checks and refund tickets or coupons of greater value than he is charged with entire tickets issued to him, a cash `balance is due him, or if the reverse he must account to the company for the difference in value between tickets taken out and entire tickets and refund tickets or coupons turned in by him. It will thus be observed that an absolutelyperfect check is had upon cash transactions, obviatingthe necessity for cash-registers or a system of espionage to detect fraudulent recording of fares received; furthermore, that as the destination-check has no cash value after cancelation, yet may be used as a transfer where not detached from its refund ticket or coupon, no fraudulent issue of such destination-checks can result in gain to anybody, particularly as every such issue represents a parting with of value by the issuer.

If a passenger should not use a destinationcheck upon an intersecting line, as above specified, the issuing party or any of its employees upon presentation of the entire ticket is thus authorized to destroy the destinationcheck, take up the refund ticket and coupon, and pay the holder the value of the said ticket or coupon or issue anew destination-check in lieu of such. The destination-check when issued alone is designed merely as a check upon cash fares on a single line and to serve as a receipt to the passenger for his fare. It is therefore quite immaterial whether they be taken up and destroyed or not, as they cannot represent fares upon any car or line eX- cept that upon which they are issued.

Having described the invention, what I claim as new, and desire to have protected by Letters Patent, is-

1. A railway-ticket comprising a refund ticket or coupon, and a destination-check integral therewith, a weakened line between said coupon and said check whereby said coupon and said check may be issued separately, or together, said refund-coupon and said destination-check bearing matter imparting to them upon issue, obligations of the issuing party to carry the holder of the destinationcheck to a point on the issuing line, when issued alone, or on an intersecting or continuing line, when issued with said refund-coupon, and to refund to the holder of said refund-coupon a definite sum of money.

2. A railway-ticket comprising a refund ticket or coupon, and a destination-check integral therewith, a weakened line between said coupon and said check whereby said coupon and said check may be issued separately or together, said refund-coupon and said destination-check bearing matter imparting to them upon issue, obligations of the issuing party to carry the holder of the destination-check to a point on the issuing line, when issued alone, or on an intersecting or continuing line Ioo` IIO

when issued with said refund-coupon, and to refund to the holder of said refund-coupon a definite sum of money, said destinationeheek bearing thereon further matter indicating Various destinations, or railway-names, date and time whereby said destination-cheek may be canceled and its obligations limited.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification and the aforesaid drawing in the presence of two subscribing witnesses. IO

' FRANKLIN I. WELCH. Witnesses:

EDWIN M. PETTENGILL, FRANK E. FITZ.

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