One of the factors causing Amtrak was the switch of first class mail to airlines. The PRR usually had several cars of mail on most trains. However the postal service incompetence lead to fax machines and e mail in essence eliminating the bulk of this mail. So are the railroads better off for having gotten out of the passenger business when they did since the result was inevitable any way?
It wasn’t only the loss of mail contracts as the only reason rail passenger deficits expanded at an increasing rate in the late 1960’s. The alternatives to rail travel were also becomming more and more attractive. You have to also look at the total miles of Interstate Highway completed, Deployment of Commercial Jets on the Civilian Airline network, increasing Federal Regulations (which also played a direct role in rip up of Interurban lines), Package deals between rental car companies and airlines, etc. The rest of the world of transportation was changing, not just mail delivery.
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The Kalmbach Punctuation Police are assessing a fine of 1000 bitcoins for such an incomprehensible post.
Please re-edit and add appropriate paragraph breaks. TIA!
Amen! Spare us! Nobody’s going to wade into that swamp.
Looks like me when I’m writing an email on my phone in a hurry.
The lost of mail contracts was the final straw for many railroads. Yes passengers service was being hammered by competition from highways and the air lines. But roads like the Santa fe, seaboard, acl and kcs saw their passenger service as great public relations and doing a public service.
When the postal service pulled their contracts, all was lost and the increased losses unjustifiable. Mass trains off pursued, leading to the creation of Amtrak to relief the railroads of providing private rail service for the common good.
Robert nails it. I was there, at U.P., another pro-passenger road until it just couldn’t be sustained any longer. The final blow, discontinuance of first-class mail contracts and most remaining RPOs around the country, happened in September 1967.
Trains magazine – why won’t this stupid web site let me use italics? – had the whole sad story in its fall issues that year, told as it only could be by the great DPM.
Paraphrasing him: “All this time we thought we were running passenger trains with mail cars attached. It turns out we were running mail trains with passenger cars attached.”
Just highlight and press the I button above.
Mail did not completely disappear from the rails. Another factor for mail leaving the passenger trains was that it was easier to handle it on piggyback freights
Quite true, the USPS got better rates for moving bulk mail in trailers in freights. The “Super C” became more of an economic success when it started moving mail.
I know where it is, and have used it, but it is an unreliable performer for me, as last night. And the site continues to be a pill when I try to edit quoted copy down to the points I want to respond to.
This web site is a cave-dweller, as far as I’m concerned.
There seems to be a difference in functions, depending on whether use the “REPLY” or “QUICK REPLY” button. “QUICK REPLY” appears to have less functionality.
That is why it is called ‘quick reply’.
Quick Reply
Enter your reply into the box below and submit the form. If you want to include rich text to your reply (bolding, links, images, smileys, etc…) close this window and use the standard reply button instead.
Oddly, although QUICK REPLY gives you practically no formatting options, it has spell checker that many of you keep asking for.
How does that work? Does it prompt you to fix ‘errors’ before it actually posts something? All I get on my system is a one-line text box and a submit button – reminds me of formatting text on my favorite old Olivetti ET221 (aka Darth Vader’s typewriter) in the '80s…
Just a squiggly red line under the incorrect word to warn you.
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The red line give you the opportunity to right click it and get the proper spelling inserted - if you desire.