Transfer Office
Encyclopedia
Shortly before W.W.I, Transfer Clerks were assigned at some of the larger railroad junction points. These Transfer Office (TO) facilities were space exclusively used by Railway Mail Service
and Postal Transportation Service
clerks that were leased by railroad companies. The primary function of Transfer Clerks was to "space" all mail-carrying trains (determine the amount of mail for each car), whether it was in baggage cars or storage cars, protect the mail during transfers between trains or connecting highway routes, and supervise the loading and unloading of mail.
When Transfer Clerks were not supervising the handling of the mail at a depot, many Transfer Offices had a small letter case for clerks to distribute letters mailed at the depot letter boxes. At many locations, they provided a hand-to-hand receipt for registers between connecting Railway Post Office
(RPO) routes. They also posted orders on the Chief Clerk's order books which RPO clerks were required to read before starting work.
Railway Mail Service
The United States Postal Service's Railway Mail Service was a significant mail transportation service in the US during the time period from the mid-19th century until the mid-20th century. The RMS, or its successor the Postal Transportation Service , carried the vast majority of letters and...
and Postal Transportation Service
Postal Transportation Service
On October 1, 1949, the Post Office Department renamed the Railway Mail Service as the Postal Transportation Service . Although this branch of the service had been in charge of all transit mail, some parts had little to do with railroads, although they were still the most important part of the...
clerks that were leased by railroad companies. The primary function of Transfer Clerks was to "space" all mail-carrying trains (determine the amount of mail for each car), whether it was in baggage cars or storage cars, protect the mail during transfers between trains or connecting highway routes, and supervise the loading and unloading of mail.
When Transfer Clerks were not supervising the handling of the mail at a depot, many Transfer Offices had a small letter case for clerks to distribute letters mailed at the depot letter boxes. At many locations, they provided a hand-to-hand receipt for registers between connecting Railway Post Office
Railway post office
In the United States a railway post office, commonly abbreviated as RPO, was a railroad car that was normally operated in passenger service as a means to sort mail en route, in order to speed delivery. The RPO was staffed by highly trained Railway Mail Service postal clerks, and was off-limits to...
(RPO) routes. They also posted orders on the Chief Clerk's order books which RPO clerks were required to read before starting work.
Source
- Wilking, Clarence. (1985) The Railway Mail Service, Railway Mail Service LibraryRailway mail service libraryThe Railway Mail Service Library is a major collection of materials pertaining to en route distribution history. Incorporated in May 2003, it can assist researchers interested in Railway Mail Service, route agent, Seapost, Railway Post Office , and Highway Post Office history...
, Boyce, VirginiaBoyce, VirginiaBoyce is a town in Clarke County, Virginia, United States. The population was 426 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Boyce is located at ....
. Available as an MS Word file at http://www.railwaymailservicelibrary.org/articles/THE_RMS.DOC