New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-12-08
FROM OCEAN TO OCEAN.
THE FLYING TRIP OF THE TRANsCoNTI-
MENTAL NAIL TRAIN.

CENTRAL DEPOT TO THE GOLDEN GATE
UNERRING AND sKILFUL WORK OF
THE POSTAL cLERKs-MR. BELLS
IMPROVEMENT OF THE SER
VICE on TIME AT
OAKLAND, CAL
trloM STAFF CORRESPONDENT OF THE 1hibo'hI
San Francisco Nov 19.-The arrival mere vi u,e
transcontinental mail train within four ana hau
DAYS ~ ifs deparure from New-York and Boston, Is
a., ,nortart event I'm postal history. No other re-
form, couId have made Mr.. wanamakcr more popular
on the Pacific Coast J. Louvre Bell. the supcrh-
tendent OF the Railway Mail Service is looked upon
As hero and his successful execution OF he iuea -
plened 10 the achievement OF the faher Oh the pony
EXPRESS On March 4, 1880. when the present Al
minstration came into power, the fsSt man scheuic
between New-York and san Francisco was 1:5 hours
ana X Minutes In May the time was reduced to
,1s hours and As minutes. But nc ", for the first
time mail schedule has been established independent
of the ordinary time tables. The rairoaus are pengeu
~ = rooular westward service of 10S hours and 40
Minutes between New-York and san Francisco. ana
an eastward service Of 10 hours and 30 Minutes re-
parlIess OF outside exgences. To Portland ORE the
t,mo e SIN further shortened In each case saving
Of whole day Is really effected, the mail being de-
,,or.d =, the beginning instead OF after the close OF
husiness bours. and letters mailed in New-York can
thus be replied by mail from san Francisco OF Port
land in less than nine days
The train which made the first trip under the
,ew schedule left New-YOrk last Thursday night
At o'clock shortly before the hour, six Of the white
cars ~ the fast mail service were assembled on single
track in the Grand Central Depot and were al once
hoared nv force of clerks and helpers. As soon as
tbe cars had been fitted for the reception OF the
outgoing mall number Of mail wagons drove mp WIN
teaming horses through the rain and darkness, and
the deserted depot became Of great animation
The side doors Of the cars were thrown open' the
mail wagons backed up, an army Oh idooIors
in blouses pounced on the dozens OF plugging mail
sacks which were thrown out on the platform. every
bodv began shouting top of his voice and ener
petic station men with lanterns and hamDarro"s
endangered the safety of all who obstructed ueir
exncdItious movements To outsider. the scene
was one Of bewildering disorder. Yet so admirable
Is the system employed that In less IMAM t"ehH
minutes forty tons Of mail were placed on inc cars
many hundreds Of sacks were disposed III ueH
proper order for convenient handling and the train
pulled out promptly on time
In the first car which brilliantly lighted by
overhead burners dozen clerks with green shades
over their eyes were standing before long rows OF
upright pigeon holes and rapidly distributing letters
for Albany and points on the line OF the
New-York Central. As fast AZ each supply was eN-
halsted, an assistant brought forward fresh SACK
made up and labelled in the New-iork Postofco
spped its fastening and emped the contents on the
distributing tables The distributors, undismayed by
the reports OF an unusually heavy mail, and superior
10 such minor drawbacks as bad handwriting, the
rattle and sway Of the fast train, the lack OF elbow
room and the sitting atmosphere OF the crowded cars,
worked away a. cheerfuly though the movements
Of their deft fingers really as well as apparently
automatic The yawning cavities before them were
more numerous than the holes in a honeycomb and
,ha, If mi
on the least miscaculaon But nobody stopped 10
search or think The letters dealt out into their
proper places almost rapidly As an expert card
PLAYER would deal az whist. and this in spite Of the
physical and mental strain arising from the peculiar
conditions under which ;he operation was performed.
All Of the mail cars the fast train were vestbulei.
But only an expert climber conld pass through them
as they left NewYoIk. In some places the sacks
heaped quite to the roof and in Others there
hardly for the helpers to squeeze through with
new bundles for the distributors. In the newspaper
cars where frsclass matter Is handled, immense
shelves, partOned into troughs, take the place OF
pgeon-hoIes. The clerks whose duty it IS 10 arrange
newspapers for delivery their subscribers have
fore a muscular task than the Observation-Disclosures
and their method is even moro surprising. Taking up
handful Of newspapers, they stacked before
them by tho helpers they seize the top one glance
at the address and then, without raising their eyes,
give It a peculiar twtch when it safely to the
the top Of tile car and ten feet away, but the
aim Of the throwcr7 is accurate the aim Of
William Tell. dispute has long existed a. 10 the
relative merits of the upright trOughcase and the racks
which open mouthed sacks are hung by hooks n
a level with the clerks waist. But many lines
both systems used and their advocates are about
equally divided. A. fast as the pigcon-hOlcs are
tiled they are emptled and their contents tied in
packages. with slips attached bearing the of the
sorting clerks. These packages then placed in
labelled sacks, that by the time Albany Is reached
the letters for places supplied from that city are
partially arranged. Mail for the most distant points
the direct of the fast train already being
handled below Albany and several thousand copies of
The Tribune, destined for the Western States which
had occupied a whole stall or division in Of the
storage cars, Wre accumulatng in order for delivery.
Albany reached at ;35 a m. Here enSled
similar scene, small scale that which hal taken
place In the New York station. Fifty sacks OF mail
matter were placed in charge of the Albany postal
officials and when the Boston express arrived lke
quantity Of letters aud newspapers from New
England transferred to the Western ilyer Among
railroad men This train is known No H." and the
series to which it belongs is officially The "NewYork
and Chicago Il. p. or I'm this way the names Of
railroads seldom used by the clerks who make up
packages for the towns they reach. The Ere Rail
road is styled the "New-YOrk and Dunkllk X. r. o.
the Pennsylvania the New York and Pittsburg7 and
OH, and these names variously abbreviated by
he clerks themsclve, in their conversation and I'm the
pigeon hole labels. These pigeon holes by the WAY
have little reversible bars their facc bearing ON
one side the names Of the Offices OF the Western
route and on the other those OF the Eastern route
On lines especially in the West the cases are So
arranged that they may be taken bodily and a, the
shelves are Labelled the front and back for different
routes It is thus easy TO change the designation of
whole series at one operation.
AT Syracuse. the train stopped long enough to change
its crew Of clerks. The size Of is regulated by
the amount OF matter handled in ifs division but extra
help IS constantly found necessary at busy seasons
Of the year. Tho service Is VIGOROUSLY short handed
I'm December, when Christmas presents burden the
mails and during the fall when business houses food
the country with circulars the clerks frequently have