INSTRUCTIONS AND RULINGS

WITH REFERENCE TO

Transportation of Mails by Railroads

(STEAM AND ELECTRIC)

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REGULARLY AUTHORIZED SERVICE

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1. General provisions.—(a) “Regularly authorized service,” regular authorizations," and regular service" are synonymous terms and have reference to service authorized by formal orders issued by the department previous to its being performed.

(b) Regular authorizations of full railway post office, apartment railway post office, and full storage cars shall be stated in both directions and shall be the maximum space needed in either direction of a round-trip car run between established railway passenger or freight division points or junctions at which the trains are scheduled to stop. Such authorizations shall be restricted to the needs of the service between stated established railway passenger or freight division points or junctions. (See pars. (e), (g), and (h).)

(c) Regular authorizations of closed-pouch service shall be stated in one direction only. The same regular unit shall be authorized on every day of the week upon which closed-pouch mails are regularly carried. Regular authorizations shall not be changed en route at other than junction or division points, but they may begin at the point where closed-pouch space becomes necessary and may be terminated at the point where the last mails are dispatched. Where necessary space for closedpouch mails begins at different points between the same junctions or division points on different days of the week, the authorization for every day of the week on which mails are carried shall begin at the first point at which mails are re

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ceived on any day of the week, and in the same manner the authorization for every day of the week on which mails are carried shall terminate at the farthest point at which the last mails are dispatched on any day of the week. The regular unit of an original authorization shall be the smallest unit that will accommodate the mails on 50 per cent or more of the days of the week on which the mails are regularly carried. (See pars. (g) and (i) and rule 2.)

(d) Regular authorizations of lesser units of storage space shall be stated to cover the maximum space needed in either direction of a round trip. If the railroad company uses any part of the car designated over any part of the return movement and mails are dispatched therein, the company will be compensated for the unit of space necessary to accommodate the mails between the points they are carried. Where the railroad company uses the baggage car in both directions on a round trip in which the authorized storage space is provided, and the volume of mail on the return trip necessitates varying units of space, the outbound unit shall be authorized in the train (in either direction) in which the greater space is needed and the return unit stated "DH." If the same unit of space is needed regularly in both directions it shall be stated as active in both trains. Where a smaller storage unit is required and used in the return movement than is provided for under the DH authorization such smaller unit shall be considered as in lieu of the regular DH authorization and not treated as emergency. The same regular lesser unit of storage space shall be authorized on every day of the week upon which storage mails are regularly carried in lesser units. Regular authorizations shall not be changed en route at other than junction or division points, but they may begin at the point where storage space becomes necessary and may be terminated at the point where the last mails are dispatched. Where necessary space for lesser storage mails begins at different points between the same junctions or division points on different days of the week, the authorization for every day of the week on which mails are carried shall begin at the first point at which mails are received on any day of the week, and in the same manner the authorization for every day of the week on which mails are carried shall terminate at the farthest point at which the last mails are dispatched on any day of the week. The regular unit of an original authorization shall be the smallest unit that will accommodate the mails on 50 per cent or more of the days of the week on which the mails are regularly carried. (See pars. (g) and (i) and rule 2.)

(e) The round-trip car run of full railway post office, apartment railway post office, and full storage cars shall be the roundtrip movement of the particular unit betwen the established passenger or freight division points or junctions covered by the authorization.

(f) The round-trip car run of regular lesser units of storage space shall be from the point of authorization to the end of the authorization of the particular unit and return to the point of authorization.

(g) For the purpose of stating authorizations of all classes of service, established division terminals as shown in the working time-table of the railroad company, shall be considered as “established railway passenger or freight division points."

(h) For the purpose of stating authorizations of full railway post office, apartment railway post office, and full storage cars, points upon a carrier's own line where its tracks, upon which trains are operated, cross or diverge, shall be considered as "junctions": Provided, That where two or more carriers participate in joint operation, the junction shall be considered as common to all carriers so participating.

(i) For the purpose of stating authorizations of closed-pouch or lesser units of storage space, points where two railroad lines of the same or of different companies cross or diverge, and at which mails are regularly received or dispatched by any train, shall be considered as "junctions." This rule does not require a physical connection between the railroad lines at such points, by switch or otherwise.

(j) Regular authorizations of all classes of service shall be omitted on holidays and days after holidays when there is no need for service on such days.

(k) Before making recommendation for authorization of lesser regular storage units, the Railway Mail Service should ascertain from the railroad company, where practicable, whether pay for the return movement of such space will be claimed. In order that the railroad company may determine whether or not it will waive claim to compensation for return movement, the company should be informed in advance as to the train in which it is proposed to state such return movement.

(1) Where authorized units of space are to be returned deadhead, that fact should be indicated by suffixing "DH" to the train number; thus, Train 3 (DH).

2. More than 50 per cent rule.-(a) Whenever a regular authorization of closed-pouch or storage space of less than 30 feet is exceeded on more than 50 per cent of the trips in any