Every minute of every day, one of americas 600 Railroad Companies rolls a train out of a terminal. Ever on the move over the greatest network of rails on the road, trains carry people, goods, and mail. Mail by rail helps tie together the business economy, the free press, and the human relations of this country. For a few pennies in postage, great industries, publishers, small businesses, and just plain people hire Postal Transportation Service on every railroad crisscrossing the united states. Of railwayundreds byt offices, built and owned the railroads, and vented to the bureau of transportation of the post office department. Manned by cars and hardworking transportation crews, they provide almost 500 million miles of valuable Service Every year. In addition to trains, today, Highway Post Offices help speed the mail to every corner of the country. These vehicles regularly travel established routes on fixed schedules. One or more clerks and a driver serve about 20 post offices twice a day. In an expanding postal service, many forms of transportation are used. Among these are buses, trains, ships, and planes. Airmail service is also a vital activity. Mail of all classes, except that which may be damaged by low temperatures or high altitudes, is accepted for airmail. Postal transportation clerks distribute airmail in terminals much the same as they work on trains and buses. Working the nations male 24 hours a day seven days a week ofes a lot of men, an army public servants. Who are these men . Cappy smith, like and then nextdoor. Lets stay with him and watch a typical rpo clerks workday. Thats his wife. She is as proud of his job as he is. In addition to doing important work, the job is paying for their house and sending their girl to college. The letter was from the office. Notification that he was to break in a new man on his next run. In another part of the city, the substitute clerk phil davis was also getting ready. Like thousands of other clerks, regulars, and subs, he was doing his homework, sending slips with his name, rpo train, and date. These slips are the means of tracing ms. Sent mail. Like all subs, phil was excited about his new job. Until the skills were learned, it all seemed tough, which is natural. The package of slips are part of the equipment filled will need on the job. Since he had time, the practice case was on his mind. Times, hedone many began growing cards. This in miniature, is the job of distributing mail according to a set pattern. In this way, all clerks learn the schedule and speed and build up their speed. Periodic examinations are conducted the same way. Rehearsed and confident, phil was now ready for his first run as a postal transportation clerk. In cappys house, a similar scene was under way. Although he always carefully kept his road grip packed, he carefully checks it. Bags and slips, revolver, holster and shells, schedules and schemes, badge and manuals, goggles, pencils, labels, stamp, and pad. He knew that on the road, its difficult or impossible to obtain the tools of his trade. After checking the grip, cappy checked his wallet for travel commission, revolver permit, and money. In addition to lunch, there were workflows to prepare. Safety toe shoes, cap, glove, shirt, and pants. At last, cappy was ready. The nature of the work requires working in accordance with railroad schedules, so this was goodbye, mr. Smith, until next week. As the city awakens, the Railroad Terminal comes to life. Here is where most postal transportation men have to report for work. At the transfer office to the railroad station was where cappy smith had the appointment to meet phil davis. This is the place where rpo processable before going off to the cars where they pick up notices. Phil arrived first and was looking around as cappy showed up. Right off,d the boy thought he would make the grade because he showed interest. The oldtimer put the newcomer at ease by showing him the ropes, explained the order book for special orders and general notices. After checking the rpo schedule, they went to the wall map where cappy traced the geography of. He trip they are about to take from the questions phil asked, he was right. Their next stop was a blackboard where u. S. Mail cars were listed. Tracker, they read the location and number of their car. After cappy explained the board, they headed for their car. On the way, cappy warned the new man to be alert to new dangers. Watch out for station tractors and railroad switching equipment. Cappy warned the never to cross tracks unless it was absolutely necessary. They watched a track man do it easily and right. There it was and rpo car. Thanns and costing more 50,000. Cappy demonstrated the safeway to board. Grasp high up on the handrails, left foot on the first step, then give way to the next step, duck low under the catcher arm. Phil got the idea. After slighting his grip aboard, he climbed into the car correctly. Cappy gave him a further word of caution never try to enter a moving car. As soon as cappy switched on the case line, phil snapped on the cart line. They looked around the clean, quiet car and began to change into their workloads. In a few hours, it will take on a new look as the train crew takes on a new look to sort the mail on the road, to catch the mail on the fly, and healthy letter carriers bring the public tidings of sadness and gladness, news and business. Right after they changed into pinned on their badges. They both knew the rules covering the use of firearms not to leave loaded revolvers at home or carry them loaded between home and depot. And finally, always two point revolver downward to avoid accidents while loading. After phil loaded his revolver correctly, cap he explained the time rule. To work at ae certain time, and he must be in workloads and ready at that time. These men were working advanced time. That is time in which the crew prepares the railway or Highway Post Office and distributes mail prior to the scheduled departure from the terminal. After cappy unpacked his road grip and laid out the tools of the trade, he hung his clipboard. As supervisor, he had a lot more paperwork than any other clerk in his crew. Cappy was now ready to set up the car, and he asked ill to help him. Together, they fastened the pedestals to provide a solid base for the tables. Next, they placed the center rods on top of the pedestals to support the full length of table. Now, they temporarily hung the sections of the distributing table on the crossbar. Eventually, these sections would be made up as a strong worktable. Observing safety measures, cappy showed phil how to let down all the racks that would be needed. He particularly cautioned phil. Gainst bumping his head although cappy was completely familiar with the car diagram, he hung it up as a guide for phil. The car diagram showed where sacks and pouches were to be hung in each rack. Next, cappy demonstrated how to check for mail which may have. Een left in the empty sacks inserting his arm to open the entire sack for inspection. As cappy hung the sacks, phil took up the job of inspection, holding each sack open and looking for mail. The post office uses 25 million sacks and pouches. If a letter were lost in one of them, it might be lost a long time. The metal eyes were placed on hooks. Sack became each taut, leavingbetween sacks. After being pulled tight, the were dropped into the sacks. Finally, all the racks were addressed. This business is full of such unique terms, and since they are widely used, its good for all employees to know them. Asked kathy to check his work, cappy pointed out a hole between the sacks where mail might slip through. This was easily corrected by rehooking and tightening the tie cord. Together, instructor and student checked over the job, making sure the racks were dressed according to the car diagram. It was important to know the differences between a sack, which is used for newspapers and parcel post, and a pouch, which is used for firstclass mail, and then the label holders for the two containers as well as the different methods of closing. The sack is tied with cords while the pouch is trapped strapped and sealed with a lock. Yes, there was a lot to learn about the job of becoming a postal transportation clerk. Next, the labels. Thethey first marked separations and later label the sacks when they are ready to be tied out. Labels have to be inserted according to the same diagram, which sets the pattern for hanging the sack. Nothing to this job as long as you follow directions, but put one label in the wrong holder, and an awful lot of mail may be missed sent. The substitute proved to be a quick learner, a necessary talent for all postal transportation clerks. Together, they distributed the labels in all the overhead boxes and all the sacks and pouches. Now they put sections of the distributing table in place. Cappy raised the table, resting the front hooks on the center bar and being careful of his hands, grasped the back hinge hooks and released them to slip over the rod of the adjoining racks section. In this case, the diagram called for a double distributing table, and the men were ready when the mail arrived. As always, it was quite a load. Got his mail porter truck in position, cappy and phil were on the mail was accepted and the load stacked according to plan. As the sacks were taken on board, the labels were red, quickly and accurately. Sok mail has to be stored that it may be unloaded at various points on the run. Kathy kept his eye on the sub. There were many safety precautions to observe while stacking bulk mail. Kept out of the isles, they are a tripping hazard. He showed how to create a good base for the pile, ranging sacks to leave an 18 inch ill. A Solid Foundation will prevent movement of the train from toppling the sacks. Lifting a heavy item incorrectly risks injury. The right way to lift his feet back, bench knees, straight, firm grasp, and a steady upward thrust of the legs. In such mail is stored a way that the clerk knows what contains. Ation phil soon got the hang of it and began to place bulky items at the bottom am a starting at the base of the pile as far out as possible. Together, they lifted the extra heavy ones. Two men lifting a load divides the weight. In the meantime, mail was also being loaded in the storage car, usually adjoining the car. As phil continued to stack bulk mail in the car, he learned dragging the stacks is an easy way to move them and as the piles got higher, he began to use the knee lift, which gave the load an extra push to assist in putting up a sack. Fragile items like this box of chicks were put aside to be put on top of the pile. In the meantime, the remainder of the crew arrived. Supplies of twine were distributed to the men at their stations. The clerks immediately set up their cases in order to perform their advanced distribution of mail. Register mail like which may contain money, documents or other things of value is also always given special handling. To maintain the integrity of the mail, many procedures are followed which make it possible to know who handles each registered letter every step of the way. For instance, one man on each crew is designated the they ared clerk and his responsibility for the entire run. The man who handles register should have special knowledge of roofing and distributing registered matter. Registered touches are sealed with special locks which record every time they are opened. After dumping the pouch, the clerk make sure it is empty. The registers are individually checked before they can be written up for dispatch. The pouch man first distributes letter packages containing number one mail. Mail which can be worked later is held back. The letter slips are left on the top letter of each package in order that the clerk can check the sent mail missent mail. The letter is saved as each to the is distributed court distributes letters by reading each address and flipping each letter into its right pigeonhole. Number one letter mail contains mail for the first towns through which the rpo will pass. The distributor at the paperback gives priority to newspapers, parcel post, and ordinary papers in just that order, but number one mail means what it says. Its worked first. Flipping newspaper neatly into the sacks is an art that all clerks learn. Just before departure, the transfer clerk shows up with the cars in a record of the the train, the storage mail loaded in the rpo, as well as the storage car. He checks if there are pouches they havent received. To prevent robbery or mail falling out of the car, the doors are kept closed. And locked. This is one job where a man cant be late in reporting to work. This office moves. Someplace,il, going coming from someplace. Thinkss possessions, they are buying, selling, or giving away, on the move. The most exciting thing about handling mail when you stop to think of it is that each letter contains a persons thoughts, hopes, business, love, and promises, neatly folded in a tiny package. The important thing is these men help make sure each item arrives at its destination on time. Run, the schedule becomes part of them. Kathy checks his watch. Spots a familiar landmark and knowing they were nearing their first station, begins to tie out packages of letters to be put on. Heres where the faces slip comes in. It tells who worked each package on which traded with. Which train and when. Each is tied with a minimal motion. The twine is cut. These tyrants are given to the pouch man, who distributes them. All is taken to get packages of firstclass destination into the right pouches. These pouches are strapped, locked, and taken to be end of the car for eventual dispatch. Sacks of newspapers and parcels are also tied out. To empty the overhead boxes, empty sacks are hung on the hooks below. Labels from the boxes are transferred to the sack label holders before the boxes are emptied of their content. Sacks are then tied out and locked. With the help of the substitute, the load is moved to the car door. The train pulled into the station on time. Now the mail was going to be transferred with the help of station employees and mail messengers. Phil was given the job to pull the box, which means emptying the letterbox at a stop station. He emptied the box and was careful to carry the letters in a pouch. Locking the box, unloading, and loading the sacks of mail, and the station transfer was completed. Thats all there is to it. In that exchange, which happens every minute of the day, many thousands of people are swiftly served by the Postal Transportation Service. As lebron gets underway again, the fun begins as the run gets underway again, the fun begins. It is a driving force that keeps them on their toes and never lets them quit. Now, watch how they catch mail on the fly with the help of a mail messenger. 10 minutes before the training schedule to passing on stop station, the mail messenger carefully hangs a special catcher out of mail. Pouch of mail. After this securely fastened, top and bottom, he waits nearby to witness the catch and receive any mail which may be thrown off. Aboard the train, local mail is being tied out as the clerk sponsors landmark. This was it. The race against time and speed was on. As soon as the last pouch was made ready, he grabs his safety goggles and goes to his station. The engineer signals the rpo car they are approaching the nonstop station. The dramatic hom moment is at hand. Crew, getting ready to make an exchange. First, he put on his safety goggles. Then, he tied to the catcher on. Sake, he, for fills demonstrated the mechanism, showing the lifter arm outside the train. With one hand, he tossed the pouch out and down, assisted with his foot. With the other hand, he brought down the catcher handle and the catch was made. A neat twohanded operation. To save the public precious hours and days in delivery, railway mail clerkss sort and exchange great quantities of letters and printed matter. Men and mail in transit, speed the mail on speedy trains, effecting dramatic exchanges almost every minute of the day. A bullseye. The dispatch was delivered. Got his first chance to make an exchange. On the fly. Like phil, paul newman qualified themselves quickly provided they take up the work with a sense of responsibility and willingness to devote their best efforts to the service. Kathy was right. Phil davis was going to make grade. These men who treat the nations mail like it is the run as for. Few jobs are more exacting. These men know no night or day. They are possessed of a sense of honesty matched by fuel. In these men are your postal transportation clerks in action, whose efforts and sacrifice speed onward the vital correspondence of our great nation, come darkness, they lose, or disasters deluge, or disasters. This is glenn tucker. Hes getting over a long sickness. Everyday, he watches for his friend the mailman. Good morning. House glenn . Much better. Thats fine. I have a letter for him. Thanks