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| Bell Punch
number 75557 |
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Bell Punch
number 75557 opened |
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Strap and
plate from 75557 |
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| Bell Punch
number 77042 |
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Williamson
punch number 4500 |
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Williamson
punch number 5023 |
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| Williamson
punch number 8339 |
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Williamson
punch number 8339 opened |
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Strap and
plate from 8339 |
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| In the days before machines
printed tickets, conductors carried a wooden rack
filled with different priced, numbered tickets.
These were then punched with a hole to indicate
the stage boarded or the date. A counter on the
machine recorded each ticket and this could be checked
against the actual tickets issued. The small disc
cut from the ticket fell inside the machine. These
could be emptied later and counted if necessary.
The colour of each would identify the value of the
ticket. |
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| Although these punches were
obsolete long before I started on the buses, conductors
still spoke of printing a ticket as punching it
or ringing it off, a reference to the bell which
sounded each time a ticket was clipped. One ticket
machine company continued to be called Bell Punch
and conductors were sometimes nicknamed clippies.
The punches shown here date from the first half
of the twentieth century. |
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| These punches are in excellent
condition considering their age and the amount of
use they must have had. The punch would have been
worn on a leather strap. The ticket was inserted
in the slot at the top and the lever at the bottom
depressed. The punch makes a clean hole in the ticket,
the bell rings and the counter advances. |
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| To prevent the counter moving
by mistake, the lever cannot be operated unless
a ticket is inserted. The punch slots into a metal
plate with a leather strap. A ticket is inserted
in the slot at the top and the lever at the bottom
depressed,. A bell rings to indicate that the ticket
has been properly punched. The punch makes a hole
in the ticket, the piece of ticket dropping inside.
The Wiiliamson type has a ticket register. The Bell
Punch model has no visible counter but it can be
opened to reveal one inside. In addition, the pieces
of ticket can be emptied and counted back at the
depot. |
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