The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1876-11-25
Railway Tickets.

employed at a wayside station in the neigh
borhood Of Carlisle, and those he then
used were about the same size as the tick.
cts now issued. But his arrangements for
printing them we're of the most primitive
description. In fact, few types fastened
together in case about the size of nail
brush formed his sole apparatus. The
name of the station to which the passenger
was going was written upon the ticket at
the time of issue. We can realize to our
selves how the system would now work
say at the Clapham Junction or at the
underground stations. But this system,
primitive as it was, grew and fourished
and became the parent Of the present one.
The use of tickets on this principle grad
ually increased, until at last its inventor
found that it would be desirable to devote
himself entirely to the development of the
new industry.
From that day to this the printing of
railway tickets has remained in the hands
of the same family, who have pursed it
with an amount of perseverance, and in
genuity perfectly marvellous. The rail-
ways Of nearly the whole world are sup
piled with tickets from this manufactory.
There may be seen in course Of manufac-
ture tickets for English railways, Swedish,
South American, Egyptian, &c. We saw
there on one occasion Cairo tickets-a
special class-for pilgrims going to Mecca"
and others for fourth class, especially
printed for a South American line, for
''slaves without shoes and stockings" :"
The first great improvement made in
the tickets was in numbering them. This
was an enormous stride in advance Of the
old tickets. Every railway passenger has
noticed that each ticket is numbered, and
many people imagine that that number is
printed by the little press in front of the
ticket clerk when he thrusts the ticket in
before it is issued. But the duty Of
that press is in reality to print the date
the numbering being done before the tick
cts arrived at the station.
A large proportion Of the accuracy of
the accounts Of railways depends upon
these numbers. For example, take the
case of booking clerk at Reading. He
has before him a box with large number
of pigeon-holes, each holding the tickets
for one station. Let us select the pigeon
hole for Salisbury. Before he begins his
days work he knows that the first ticket
from Reading to Salisbury will be say
5,026. When the days work is over he
finds the last ticket is say 5,O56. He has,
therefore, issued thirty tickets Of this par
ticular class to Salisbury, and is response
BILE for thirty fares. He has return to
fill up each day of the numbers on the
tickets issued, and by seeing that the last
number on each day and the first of the
next are consecutive, the officials at head
quarters are able to have complete check
upon the station clerks, and to preserve an
almost invariable accuracy in their accounts
Let US see how this ticket printing is
done. First of all, here are boxes filed
with colored pieces of cardboard, which
will soon be printed and made into tickets.
An order has come from the Southwestern
Railway for so many thousand tickets
from say Waterloo to Bishopstock. The
SlibGo CUlUi VI COibio1 tAO hdmpOA VI
the last ticket in stock, and the average
consumption, which enables the printer to
know when the tickets ordered must be
sent in. The little steam-wrought ma
chine for printing railway tickets is an
exceedingly ingenious piece Of mechanism.
Imagine table about twice the size of
page of this magazine, with a long thin
box rising above it at the back, and another
box falling below it at the front. The
table contains the printing rollers and type
case the boxes (the interior horizontal
section of which is the size of ticket)
are for holding the tickets.
The upper box is filled with pile Of
pieces of cardboard. One at time, the
lowest card is jerked by spring under
the printing machinery and falls into the
lower box; and in less than quarter Of
second it is printed and numbered and
safely stored in the other box. All that
the man has to do is to keep the upper
box filled with cards, remove the lower
box when filled, supply fresh empty boxes,
place the printed tickets in rows and see
that the ink reservoir is full The ma
chine does the rest, including the printing,
the linking Of the type and the moving and
storing'of the ticket. The numbering is
done by means Of four wheels, with their
centres in horizontal line, thus forming
q cylinder. These wheels have raised nu-
merals on their edges, which imprint them
selves on their tickets. The wheel which
bears the numeral in the units place moves
so that fresh type is ready for each sue
cessive ticket, that in the tens place at
one-tenth that rate, and so on.
The next step Of counting the tickets is
a curious one. Thoug ii the greatest care
is taken to insure accuracy, mistakes will
occur in printing the numbers on the
tickets. Sometimes number is omitted
sometimes two tickets are printed with the
same number. To provide against such
casualties the tickets when printed are
counted and as it is impossible for human
eyes and memory and Judgment to be in
fallible, they are counted by machinery.
This machinery again consists Of table
with two boxes as before. This time the
table is simply table with a hole in it
large enough to allow the number OF a
ticket to be seen through. At the side of
the table is cylinder wheel similar to
that above described. The number on the
cylinder is adjusted to be the same as that
printed on the first ticket to be counted.
The tickets are in consecutive order. As
tho hov turne n bnndle thev are ierked