by bill haithcoat
I had a friend ask me this yesterday. I had told him that here in Atlanta at one time there were two routes to NY. The Southern and the Seaboard. We were talking about mail, which passenger trains used to haul.
His question: Since both rr's went to NYC, what determined which trains the postal clerks put it on?
Southern and Seaboard had entirely different routes between ATL and Alexandria, so no problem there. Southern stops got Southern. Seaboard got Seaboard.
But what about mail going to Alexandria and beyond to NYC? What determined which or how much would be put on a SOU tran and which on a Seaboard?
Or any other of the million city pairs in the nation, of course.
I recall years ago one could put "20th Century Ltdf" on a letter to guarantee its passage on that train.
His question: Since both rr's went to NYC, what determined which trains the postal clerks put it on?
Southern and Seaboard had entirely different routes between ATL and Alexandria, so no problem there. Southern stops got Southern. Seaboard got Seaboard.
But what about mail going to Alexandria and beyond to NYC? What determined which or how much would be put on a SOU tran and which on a Seaboard?
Or any other of the million city pairs in the nation, of course.
I recall years ago one could put "20th Century Ltdf" on a letter to guarantee its passage on that train.
