US875765A - Railway and other ticket. - Google Patents

Description

PATENTED JAN. '7, 1908.

J. S. ALEXANDER.

RAILWAY AND OTHER TICKET.

APPLICATION FILED SEPTA, 1903.

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PATENTED JAN. 7, 1908.

l Ill 5" J. S. ALEXANDER. RAILWAY AND OTHER TICKET.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 4, 1903.

JOHN S. ALEXANDER, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

RAILWAY AND OTHER TICKET.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. '7, 1908.

Application filed Septembert. 1903. Serial No. 171.942.

To all whom it may concern:

'Be it known that I, JOHN S. ALEXANDER, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of New York city, New York, have invented certain Improvements in Railway and other Tickets, of which the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to provide a simple, convenient and safe universal ticket, which maybe used over any transportation line irrespective of the rate ot' mileage fare charged thereby, the ticket having ample means 'for preventing it from being used suc-A cessfully by any one other than the person to whom it is issued, and being otherwise designed so as to overcome the objections, heretofore existing, to the mileage tickets issued by individual railroads or transportation systems and good only on such roads or systems.

In 'the accompanying drawings Figure 1, is a view of a railroad ticket in accordance with my invention; Fig. 2, is a view of a book of validating stamps intended to be used in connection with such ticket. Fig. 3, is a view of a ticket intended to be used upon a number of connecting lines`upon each of which a special ticket is needed; Fig. 4, is a rear view of the ticket shown in Fig. 3 and Fig. 5, is a view illustrating a modification ol my invention.

The ticket 'forming the subject of my invention, being intended 'for general use, has a blank space for the reception of the name of the road or other transportation line on which the ticket is to be used, also spaces vt'or receiving the names of the stations, ports, or other trip terminals between which the ticket is to be used, a space for indicating the distance between the terminal points of the trip, a space for receiving the signature or other identifying niark, and, if desired, also,

'the address of the user of the ticket, a space for a registry number or other mark, and a space for receiving certain validating stamps representing the distance covered by the trip for which thel ticket is to be used, these stamps being also provided with spaces for receiving a signature or other identifying mark peculiar to the user of the ticket. The distance may be expressed in any standard unit of measurement, or it may be expressed by an arbitrary term, for instance zone,

which may be of varying length according to circumstances.

The validating stamps are of different denominations, as indicated by the matter thereon, which may be engraved, written, stamped, embossed, punctured, or otherwise produced, or may be a composite of these diilerent methods of production, the stamps being preferably provided with adhesive material on the back so that they can be readily affixedA to the ticket in the space provided for the purpose.

The validating stamps may be issued by any railway, tra'llic association or special company under agreement with the transportation lines accepting them `for redemption on presentation, and the stamps may be conveniently sold in books, such as shown in Fig. 2, each book containing any convenient number of stamps of different denominations which, for purpose of ready distinction one from another, may be differently colored or otherwise provided with some permanent distinguishing mark.

For convenience, and to lessen the number of stamps which would be otherwise required, the use olE a Zone system is preferable, each Zone representing a predetermined distance, say, for instance, two-and-a-half miles, and each group of stamps forming a single series or leaf ot' the book has a space for the reception of the signature or other identifying mark of the purchaser, this spacev extending from end to end ol the group, as shown in Fig. 2, so that some portion ofthe identifying niark will appear upon each stamp of the group, or each stamp ol the group, il desired, may bear a complete signature or other identifying mark, as shown for instance in Fig. 5.

The stamps ol each group may be numbered or lettered consecutively or have other marks indicating proper sequence, and in presenting the ticket to the conductor or other ticket collector the passenger may also Y be required to present his stamp book in order that the numbers or other sequence marks upon the stamps remaining m the book can be compared with the numbers or other sequence marks upon the stamps af- 'fixed vto the ticket, and in order, further, that comparison of the signature or other identifying mark on the ticket may be made with that upon the stamps, additional security against impersonation being also provided, if desired, by requiring the passenger to sign his name upon the blank reverse side of the ticket as a means of identiiication.

1n the drawing each group ofstamps shown is lettered consecutively.

A ticket such as that constituting my invention is good on any railway or other transportation line covered by the association or other organization issuing the ticket, irrespective of the mileage rate charged by the particular road or company upon which the ticket is being used. For instance, if the validating stamps were charged. Jfor at the rate of five cents per Zone and the mileage rate upon the road, or other transportation route upon which the ticket was being used, was two cents a mile, each Zone stamp would represent two-and-a-hali miles of travel, while, if the mileage rate was two-anda half cents per mile, each Zone stamp would represent two miles of travel and so` on.

Each traveler can make up his own ticket before going to the station, thereby saving the time usually expended in buying the ticket and lessening the number of ticket sellers necessary at large stations, and, as the passengers destination is designated by the ticket, the gate man has the same supervision as he would have oi a special single ticket, thus overcoming an objection to ordinary mileage books and preventing admission o'f a passenger to a station platform other than that at which his proper train is located. This renders unnecessary the plan which has sometimes been adopted of exchanging mileage strips for a special ticket at the ticket office, and as the ticket is absolutely non-transferable, because valueless save in the hands of the proper holder, all rebates or deposits to be returned in case there is no improper use oi mileage strips are rendered unnecessary.

The validating stamps and skeleton tickets may be sold either by the companies belonging to the' association or by an organization at union agencies, and settlement may be made daily through a clearing house, thus dispensing with the heavy correspondence and clerical labor necessary to effect settlements with individual companies, for it is well known that under the present practice a conductor or other ticket taker often collects on a single trip, or even in a single car, coupons from a dozen or more different issues of tickets, each requiring separate treatment in the auditors oiiice.

Each road adopting the improved ticket can furnish a table of distances in Zones, either embodied in the usual folder or in separate form, and in compiling this table each road can arbitrarily fix the rate of its own zone, the distance in each case being that for which a passenger is carried for the crnes amount paid for each zone stamp, and special portions or sections of a line, for which a special rate is charged, may have an arbitraty Zone value not determined by the length of said section, for instance, a bridge, a ferry, a section of road for which a heavy trackage fee or rental is paid, or any section of line run under special conditions, may have a Zone value much greater than other portions of the line. -Thus if each Zone stamp represents adistance of two miles, a bridge or ferry only one mile in extent might have an arbitrary value of five Zones, or the distance between two stations ten miles apart served by competing lines might count as one Zone, while beyond said stations in either direction a Zone would represent only two miles.

Once put in lforce a Zone table needs no attention until, for some reason, anew one is compiled, although the Zone tables may be revised as often as the timetables, to suit the wishes of the management and without coniiicting with the system or requiring any change in the stamps or skeleton tickets. Special Zone tables may be compiled for express trains, giving only express stations, so that it may appear in condensed form on express train time tables. The stamps can also be used Afor paying Pullman car fare, trolley car fare, steam-boat passage, stage fare, or, in fact, can be adapted to any means ot transportation within the regulations of the company, association or other organization issuing the stamps.

All Zone stamps can be redeemed at face value, less a commission for service, by the company or association issuing the stamps on presentation by the transportation lines accepting tickets validated by such stamps, and if the stamps are issued by a special company organized for the purpose those collected each day can be sent for redemption in the same manner as bank drafts' or checks, settlement becoming thus a simple matter of banking instead of ticket auditing.

Excess baggage can be paid for by issuing a ticket for the required amount and afiixing thereto Zone stamps representing a sum equal to the charge for such excess baggage,

-thus obviating the necessity for the special excess baggage books issued by some lines.

The skeleton tickets are preferably provided with stubs, as shown in Fig. l, and perforated so that the ticket can be readily detached from the stub, thereby providing for` keeping a stub record of each ticket used.

That there is a demand for a system which will satisfactorily cover the points above noted is shown by the many expedients that have been adopted in the effort to solve the problem. Nearly every methodnow employed, lhowever, fails to meet the demands of the situation in one or more respects, for instance, the plan most generally used and known as the thousand mile rebate ticket, which compels the purchaser to deposit a certain amount above the cost oi the ticket as a guarantee of good faith in making the purchase, such amount to be returned when the mileage strips have all been used, is an onerous tax upon the purchaser and the rebates are often disputed, causing more or less controversy. rlhe plan which requires the holder to exchange his mileage strips lor an ordinary ticket before boarding the train destroys one of the greatest advantages ol5 the general idea involved in a mileage ticket, that is to say, the ability to immediately get aboard the train without the necessity ol stopping to purchase a ticket er without regard to the local ticket agent.

As the passenge1"s destination must be indicated upon the ticket betere he passes the gate-man the passenger cannot board an express train making few stops and then tender mileage strips 'for a station a short distance 'fromv the starting point with the eX- cuse that he was not advised that the train did not stop at such station, thus overcoming a serious abuse to which ordinary mileage hooks are subjected. l1`urthermore, my improved ticlet, with its validating stamps, does not provide the same opportunity as an ordinary mileage book for dishonesty on the part of the conductor, who may turn in parts et mileage strips for cash fares.

For use in making trips over routes covered by a number ol connecting lines each requiring its own ticket I provide a multiple ticket such as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, said ticket having as many subdivisions as desired each with detachable coupon, to which the validating stamps are attached, thus the ticket shown in Fig. 3 has had three ol its subdivisions Vfilled up for a trip between terminals requiring the use of three dill'erent lines, the vtirst covering two zones, the second covering one Zone and the third covering two zones, the removal of the coupon carrying the validating stamps trom the 'lirst subdivision ot the ticket showing that that stage ol' the r l i i i l l l l journey has been paid ter while the others have not. The signature or other identifying mark is applied to the back ol this ticket as shown in hie'. 4. By the use of a multiple ticket of this character', independent or separate tickets lor cach stage oi a ljourney are rendered unnecessary, and a given number ol ticket l'orms will cover a correspondingly increased period of use. rlhe same form olE ticket can also be used with advantage it'or trips back and forth between stations on the same line, one subdivision being su'l'lcient for each trip.

W'hilc I have shown and described my invention as embodying the use of adhesive stamps to be applied to a ticket, certain features ol' my invention are also applicable to coupons intended to be torn -from a book or other group or collection of the same, and in this connection I regard the coupon as the equivalent of the stamp, and intend it to be included within the scope of my claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim and. desire to secure by Letters Patent:-

1. A passage ticket having sub-divisions, each having marked upon it the distance for which it is intended to serve as fare, each subdivision having a coupon bearing a stamp or stamps marked 'for a like distance.

2. A passage ticket having sub-divisions, each having marked upon it the distance for which it is intended to serve as fare, each sub-division having a coupon bearing a stamp or stamps marked for. a like distance, said ticket having an identifying mark peculiar to the user oi the same, and the stamp or stamps upon each sub-division of the ticket also bearing an identifying mark.

vIn testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this speci'lication, in the presence et' two subscribing witnesses.

JOHN S. ALEXANDER.

Vitnesses:

WARREN L. SAWYER, Iluou J. G. CLINE.

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