Truth. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1901-1908, 1905-09-02
QUICK HANDLING OF MAILS.

satisfactory device for diScharg
ing mails from high-speed trains, fol
which postoffice officials have been
searching for more than seven years
has at last been discovered and fol
lowing repeated tests, is now in daily
use on one of the Rock Islands fast
mail trains in Iowa.
Captain e. l.. West, superintendent
OF the railway mail service, Chicago,
and other postoffice officials, who
have witnessed the workings of the
new device, are enthusiastic over the
results accomplished. Equally good
performance is hown on trains run
ming at from fifteen to as high as
seventy-two miles per hour.
The operation of the mail crane for
picking up mails is familiar but the
problem of discharging mails safely
from the same trains, without hazard
TO the mails, trains and bystanders
has been difficult one. A special
commission appointed by the post
master general in 1902, to examine
the various devices offered the depart
ment, made thorough tests of eighteen
different devices and reported, in
May, 1903, rejecting all of them as
having one or more points of imprac.
ticability. The commission consisted
of e. ]. Ryan, superintendent railway
mail service, Boston; b. j. Bradley.
Superintendent railway mail service.
New York; o. II. Holloway. superin-
tendent railway mail service, Cincin-
natl; Capt. e. l.. West, superintendent
railway mail service, Chicago; S. M.
Gaines, superintendent railway mail
service, Ft. Worth, Texas; Thos. p.
Graham, superintendent mail equip
ment, Washington, ID. c.; j. H. Crew,
general superintendent railway ad-
justment, Washington, D. c.
The Burr delivering device was
among those examined, but the objec-
tons entered against it have been
overcome. The device is entirely auto
matte and is operated by air from the
brakes of the train and the instan-
taneous action necessary, is thus Sc
cured.
The device consists of a platform
arranged in the car door, on which
the sacks of mail to be delivered are
placed. Contact between the crane on
the station platform and a trigger on
the mail-catching arm on the car. puts
the mechanism in operation, which
elects the mail sacks into a receiving
box placed at the side of the track,
SO constructed that the air is forced
into either end by the momentum of
the pouch and thus acts as a cushion.
preventing damage to the pouch or it's
contents. The Burr device, combined
with the standard crane, can be oper- |
ated, either to catch or deliver mail.
The Rock Island has done much in |
the past few years to facilitate west |
ern mail service and in affording CD
portunity for development of the Burr
mail-catching and delivering device,
has given valuable aid to the post
office department and the commercial
interests of the country.
Mail is being regularly delivered by
the new device from the Rock Islands
Colorado Fast Mail at Anita. Adair.
Casey, Stewart and Dexter, Iowa. The
saving OF time is fractional at each
station, but when the device is in full
operation on all mail cars in the coun-
try, 1t will undoubtedly result in es-
taDlshing new record for the move
ment of long distance mails and also
extend the fast mail service to many
minor cities and towns now served Il
only by local trains.