purchased, point of starting and destination, and fare paid were entered in the waybill at the local stations, and the train conductor later checked off the individual passengers (Form 1). The fares were paid to the local agent, who issued an ordinary receipt, signed by himself. The accompanying reproduction represents a receipt issued by the old Pennsylvania Packet Line in 1838 (Form 2).

While this cumbersome method of waybills and receipts prevailed on some lines, others issued crude local tickets. They varied everywhere, from those containing merely the agent's signature to those indicating destination and class of service.

The passenger waybills were soon abandoned, but for some time the receipt was retained on some of the leading railways. As seen in the accompanying sample copy, it still existed on the Pennsylvania Railroad as late as 1853. By this time, however, it had been changed so as somewhat to resemble a crude skeleton ticket. Each one was numbered, and the names of the point of starting and destination were written in by the agent. It was still signed by the local agent, but the name of the passenger was omitted (Form 3).

Gradually the printed ticket superseded the receipt. It was then that the ticket became of the nature of a contract signed by a central officer. The tickets, however, were local

N.129 Aug 17 1853

from

Pennsylvania Railroad Co. received

for One Seat

Perryall Allersto
G.D. Thomas Agent.

FORM 3.

and merely entitled the holder to transportation to the end of the issuing line. In making long journeys, it was necessary for the passenger to transfer at the end of each line and to purchase a new ticket. The inconvenience of this was the principal reason for the formation of the American Association of General Passenger and Ticket Agents in 1855. This association developed the interline coupon ticketing system, which is now almost universal on American railways. Under it, a through ticket can be made out at almost any station. Each coupon represents a definite amount of transportation, and the total fare is divided among all the interested railways according to agreed percentages. The system was gradually extended, as it necessitated an agreement among the various railways involved as to interline accounts and equitable division of fares.

II. THE ESSENTIALS OF A TICKET

The passenger ticket as at present sold by American railways contains various so-called contract provisions, which

constitute one of its essentials. These provisions do not, however, make the ticket an absolute contract between passenger and carrier. Legally the ticket still is rather in the nature of a voucher or receipt to show the payment of fares. Yet such provisions as are contained in the ticket "contract" are binding, except when inconsistent with the law or a more special agreement between the purchaser and carrier. The essential point of division is that the ticket is a part, but not the whole, of the contract existing between the passenger and railway.

The contract conditions contained in a ticket vary from those of the simple local card ticket to those of the interline or foreign coupon ticket. The former frequently states merely the class of service contracted for, liability for baggage, stations between which transportation is to be furnished, and the period during which the contract holds. When no limit is mentioned on the ticket it is understood to be good until used. Interline (or foreign) coupon tickets, covering passage over more than one road, invariably contain a contract showing starting point and destination of the ticket and a detailed statement of the conditions or privileges accorded the passenger under the contract. In addition, a separate coupon is attached to the contract for each line over which the ticket reads. The ticket may be transferable or nontransferable, limited or unlimited as to the time during which it is to be used, continuous or open to certain specified stop-over privileges. Usually, also, such a contract specifies the class of service, limits the baggage liability to $100, declares its provisions void in case of any alteration or erasure, and specifies that it will not be received unless officially stamped and dated, and that coupons may be detached only by the conductor.

A second essential is the consecutive number which the

ticket bears. In the case of all interline (or foreign), and some local tickets as well, the third requisite is the form number, which serves as an index of the route over which the ticket is valid. Thus, forms of the series "5,000" issued by the Pennsylvania Railroad call for passage via Baltimore, Delmar, Hagerstown, and Harrisburg to points on connecting lines, while 8,000 " forms apply via Washington to points on the Atlantic Coast Line, Southern Railway, Seaboard Air Line, Chesapeake & Ohio Railway, and connecting lines. The form number is purely an index number for ready reference purposes. In all cases where it is necessary to specify the route it is printed in the contract or indicated by the reading of the coupon.

The fourth necessary stipulation is the destination, which may be printed, written, stamped, punched, or otherwise indicated. This, together with the consecutive number and form number, describes and distinguishes each separate ticket to the passenger traffic department, local ticket agent, conductor, and accounting officials, and reduces to a minimum all error, fraud, and confusion.

The fifth and last essential of the ticket is the signature of the responsible official at the head of the passenger department. In the case of local card tickets this feature is sometimes omitted and the tickets printed under the title of the issuing company, without signature.

III. CLASSIFICATION AND TYPES OF TICKETS

Passenger tickets are local and interline (or foreign). The local card tickets call for transportation between points on the same road, while the interline (or foreign) tickets read from a point on one line to a destination on some other. This classification signifies types of tickets-viz., the singlecard form, or local, and the coupon form, or foreign. On

large systems, such as the Pennsylvania Railroad, interdivisional tickets constitute a third class, reading from a point on one grand division to a point on another grand division. This classification, however, aims principally to facilitate accounting, and does not signify distinct types of tickets. The long-standing practice of referring to interline (or foreign) tickets as coupon tickets is no longer accurate, as frequently local and interdivisional tickets also contain detachable coupons.

(1) The best-known group includes all the regular firstclass local tickets, of which there are many forms. The

single-trip card (Form 4) is the simplest, and is the wellknown cardboard, containing merely the essentials of a ticket in the briefest form. The destination is printed, and the contract usually calls for a first-class passage. The duration of the ticket's validity may be limited or unlimited, and the fare will vary accordingly. The consecutive number is always present, and the local "form" is ordinarily stated, but may be omitted, in which case the destination is the indication of the route. As the ticket is sold for a full one-way fare, it is nearly always transferable, and entitles the holder to ride in a first-class coach. The ticket also gives the holder the privilege, upon the payment of