Although “snail mail” gets no respect – its journey over time by rail does. Despite contemporary critics, amplified by attitudes in the information age, the United States Postal Service was one of the many stellar achievements of our pioneer Nation. The ability to effectively and efficiently exchange correspondence was the foundation of interstate commerce and our financial system.
The Post Office Department began experimenting with using trains to carry mail in the early 1830s, initially as a faster alternative to stagecoaches. The first use of railroads to carry mail occurred on November 30, 1832, when stagecoach contractors on a route from Philadelphia to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, were granted an allowance of $400 per year “for carrying the mail on the railroad as far as West Chester”. Congress soon authorized the use of railroads as official postal routes and the pioneering Baltimore & Ohio received the first contract for carrying mail on January 1, 1838. In 1864 Rail Mail Service (RMS) was organized to further refine that delivery option by authorizing the sorting of mail enroute, in specially-designed Railway Post Office cars. Most railroads featured at least one “Fast Mail” express – normally the fastest scheduled train on the line. That progress expedited letters and smaller envelopes but the transportation of packages was left in the hands of private express firms, at rates that varied greatly.
January 1, 1913 signaled the start of Parcel Post – for packages up to 11 pounds – when the postmaster in Washington mailed a ceremonial loving cup to his counterpart in New York. To Americans held captive by private express companies, this service was the crowning achievement of the Progressive era. To the railroads and private express companies, it was a total disaster. Railroads were expected to move that heavy volume of larger packages – and purchase additional, specialized cars – at nearly the same rate allocated for letters and it took years to achieve more equitable compensation. Express companies like the storied Adams Express, American Express and United States Express saw profits wiped out, the latter ended up in liquidation.
The emergency of World War I prompted the government to prioritize the movement of conventional freight traffic over rails as opposed to the mix with the increasing volume of parcel post and other packages. Additionally, lawmakers did not view the multiple, express companies that remained as a favorable arrangement, and pushed for their consolidation into a single organization, which was done on July 1, 1918. Railroad-owned Great Northern Express, Northern Express, Western Express, and non-railroad-owned Adams Express, American Express, Wells Fargo, Southern Express were merged into a single unified entity, American Railway Express Company, later Railway Express Agency (REA). On March 1, 1929, 69 US railroads purchased REA.
In 1930, more than 10,000 trains moved mail. By 1965, only 190 trains carried mail, and by 1970, the railroads carried virtually no First-Class Mail. On April 30, 1971, the Post Office Department terminated seven of the eight remaining routes. The last Railway Post Office, which operated between New York and Washington, D.C., on Penn Central/Conrail, made its final run on June 30, 1977.
Highway and air congestion and an increase in the weight of catalogs and advertising mail during the 1980s led to renewed rail use. Amtrak carried mail on many trains, and freight trains pulled flatcars holding trailers full of mail. In the late 1990s, Amtrak and the Postal Service reintroduced the RoadRailer®, special intermodal equipment that could travel on highways and on rails without having to be hoisted onto a railroad flatcar. Following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, rail transportation of mail helped close the gap caused by temporary disruptions to commercial air service. Although Amtrak stopped carrying mail in October 2004, the nation’s freight railroads continue to carry mail by way of their intermodal service.
Venerable REA struggled in its final years and a sale/reorganization in 1969-1970 did little to ensure its future. REA remained captive to an outdated business model, inconsistency in the executive suite, but a crippling shipping incident was the final blow. During the railroad strike of October 1974, the first Altair 8800 microcomputer was lost. It had been shipped from Albuquerque to Popular Electronics magazine in New York via REA and never arrived. REA filed for bankruptcy on February 18, 1975. Problems aside, REA was the forerunner of UPS and DHL and sponsored an unbelievable assortment of specialized rail cars during its respectable lifespan.
That long and expansive journey in railway mail service prompted model manufacturers to release a countless number of variations of railroad mail-carrying cars, REA express cars, mail and package support structures and equipment – and that process shows no signs of stopping. To celebrate that long record we call your attention to our products within each of those categories. All of our products are competitively priced for fast delivery, or are available for preorder. Our hold and consolidate option adds additional value to your MTS experience as well.
Frank Wrabel
modeltrainstuff.com