The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1905-08-21
BIGGEST MAIL
TRAIN IN WORLD
Passes Through Here Each
Night From Boston.
STEEL TRAVELLING P0STOFFICE
Twenty Lively Clerks on Jump All the Way
on Consolidated TraIn-Not Very
Profitable for Read.

The biggest mail train in the world. like
a good many other biggest and best
things. runs through this city out Of Bos-
! ton every night with the mail for the
west and southwest And probably the
most important mail service In the world,
for the distance II traverses. is that be-
tween New York and Boston.
The New York and Boston mails are i'm
some ways unique. No other two cities
in either hemisphere, perhaps. are so
different and yet so closely associa ted
In their multitude OF interests. In the
course OF the past year upwards OF 20 900
tons OF mail matter Of various classes was
exchanged between them, and as the
average letter weighs less than an ounce,
IL is easy 10 figure out what this means
and the average parcel less than two
pounds IL is easy TO figure out what this
means as a volume OF correspondence.
For the carrying OF these important
mails the New York New Haven and
Hartford railroad over whose lines they
pass, is equippng itself with steel mail
cars-cars OF a more advanced type than
any heretofore huilt; so unusual In design.
in fact. thai the car company which
makes them will not divulge the details
OF their construction These travelling
pos toffices. the most elaborate In use on
any railway. are fireproof and as nearly
accidt ntproof as modern ingenuity can
make them While accidents are very few
In these days for the number OF trains that
are hurrying hither and yon over the
continent every minute in the twenty
four hours. they may still happen on even
the best regulated railroad. and when one
comes the mail clerk is in the midst OF
trouble
As a rule. the mail car runs directly
behind the locomotive and in case OF
collision or derailment bears the brunt OF
the crash. But these new steel Cars OF
the New Haven road are many times
stronger than the old wooden ones and
are practically indestructible.
MAIL TRAIN SCHEDULES.
The schedules OF the mail trains are
matters which receive close attention
from railway managers. II is not only
important that the trains should be sent
out at suitable intervals. but they must
reach their destinations In time 10 make
connections and 10 catch the earliest pos
sible city deliveries Railway managers
study the postal needs OF different cities
as carefully as the requirements OF freight
and passenger tiaffic are considered
recent change I'm the arrangements for
ca rrying mail from Boston 70 New York
is good illustratio The two CITIES are
just far enough apart 10 prevent letters
mailed during the forenoon In the one
from, being delivered on the same dav in
the other Naturally. the Boston business
man who has written 10 his New York
correspondents wants the letter delivered
when the carriers make their frst trips
on the following morning.
The railroad officials consulted with the
merchants ~ the Hub and arranged the
running time Of -tffr-t1+g+4t- fffaif-train -,
that Yesterdays letters from Boston are
distributed in New York as soon as Of
fees and stores are open today. To do
this looks simple enough. As matter
of fact n required a considerable rear
IA ngement Of the mali carrying facilities
This Roston mail is carried on a train
composed exclusively Of mail cars II
leaves tho New England metropolis at
10:i5 and reaches New York ~ 40.
CLERKS KEPT BUSY.
Similarly mail from New York To Bos-
ton is hurried through the night. Work
on this travelling postoffice begins several
hours before train time. The twenty-odd
clerks are at their posts at o'clock
every evening and are kept 'on the
jump" every minute TIL tho cars draw
into Boston AZ $50 the next morning. Late
I'm the afternoon mail begins To pour In
from all directions Letters and packages
for New England have been brought from
all over the country by the various rail-
roads from the West and South that CON
verge AT Jersey City. just across the Hud-
son They were sorted I'm transit, so that
bv the time they reach here they have
been locked I'm their proper pouches and
consigned to the New Haven s-eaFe-==
The sacks are hustled out Of the trains
I'm Jersey city while passengers are still
IL ha1 ,,fl,
I'm big mail vans ferried over the North
river and driven directly to the Grand
Central station without entering tho New
York postoffice AT all. Even the registered
mail to and from New England ard the
West docs not touch the general postoffice
here on it's way. II is stamped and exam
tined I'm transit by special clerks either at
the Grand Central on in Jersey city.
This arrangement not only does away
with double haul but. Il is estimated re-
lieves New Iork's oVercrowdsd general
postoffice Of N per cent OF tho registered
mail that Il formerly had 10 handle
Be ldes the thousands Of sacks that arc
transshipped thus. q great mass ot mat
ter Is poured into the New England mail
train from New York city Itself Letters
are shot M from the general postofric. to
substation ". opposite tho Grand Cen
tral through pneumatic tubes Packages
and papers arc sent along in wagons: and
mail coming In on various branches 81 the
New York central system Is transferred
Directly 90 the railway postoffce at the
terminal
PoSTOFFtCE on WHEELS
Tho interior 81 the postoficc on wheels
saems 90 the uninltated n maze OF racks. /
tables and pouches and pigeonholed
boxes. but IN reality II Is systematization
carried TO the highest degree. As fast as
sacks come In they are emptiod onto the
sorting tables and their contents distribu-
ted with q rapidity that is amazing. one
wonders that mistakes are not a frequent
occurrence, but the records show that
they are rare.
whenever one occurs Il is sure to be de.
tected and traced TO the man who made
a. for as each package OF letters is tied
up there Is attached 10 it a slip marked
with the date. the number OF the train.
aud the designation OF the clerk who han
died IL ENGEN- -errur is pul down against
a mans record of efficiency on which
pron otlon largely depends so any chance
OF slip Is carefully guarded against.