train shall not depart from a station and leave mail that is:

(a) Being loaded.

(b) Being trucked from vehicles or some part of the station to the train.

(c) Aboard a connecting train that has come to a stop in the same station.

(ii) Time limit for important trains. (a) When holding an important train for mail from a delayed connection would cause serious delay and subsequent train service is available within a reasonable period of time, the Department may authorize a time limit beyond which the important train may not be held except to load first-class mail and daily newspapers, and to load foreign mail if necessary to assure steamer connection. In each such instance, the director, transportation division, shall advise postal installations involved and each railroad having a connection with the train.

(b) A railroad must request authorization for a time limit, if desired, from the director, transportation division, having jurisdiction of the train involved, specifying reasons and a time limit beyond which it is impracticable to hold the train. Where requests are approved by the director, transportation division, any delayed mail involved must be carried without compensation on a later train of the same company to the extent of any unused space in the RPO or apartment RPO car authorized on the first train. Any delayed mail in excess of the unused space in the RPO car will be charged to the train in which it is carried.

(iii) Requirements for transferring all mail. When necessary to transfer passengers, baggage, or express from one train to another, all mail also must be transferred, unless the transfer is a regular connection coming within the provisions of subparagraphs (1) and (7) (ii) of this paragraph.

(iv) Holding for local origin mail. A mail train must not be held beyond its scheduled departure for mail originating in local postal units or offices of publication. The director, transportation division, must fix and enforce an ample time limit in which mail must be delivered, by local postal units or a publisher, to a railroad for dispatch.

(8) Between cars on train. Railroad companies are required to transfer all mail between cars in the same train where such transfers are necessary and

required by the Post Office Department. (Comprehensive Plan.)

(9) Advance deliveries to trains. Where a railroad is responsible for the transfer of mail from a postal unit to a train, the railroad must make advance delivery to a train when the Department requires such delivery earlier than the regular closing time of the mail.

(g) Handling and protection of mail— (1) Facilities. Railroad companies are required to furnish all necessary facilities for caring for and handling mail, including suitable and adequate space and rooms in their stations for storing and transfer of mail in transit. (Comprehensive Plan.)

(2) Handling mail on platforms. Mail must not be stored on trucks and allowed to stand on platforms at local stations or transfer points unprotected from depredation. When it is necessary to place close connection mail on trucks to be left standing on platforms, the mail must be in full view of employees of the railroad at all times. The portion of a platform used for loading, unloading, and transfer of mail must be well lighted. Mail being trucked through subways and tunnels must be carefully guarded.

(3) Holding mail in storage rooms. Rooms in which mail is stored must be locked except when a railroad employee is on duty. Adequate light must be provided above the door, when practicable. Unauthorized employees or unknown persons shall not be allowed in the vicinity. When necessary at small stations to provide proper protection, mail must be stored in a locked room or in a room where railroad employees are present, or in a suitable locked box.

(4) Exposing mail to weather. Mail must not be left exposed to weather. Tarpaulins may be used for protection from weather in unusual cases or to cover mail being held on station platform trucks.

(5) While exchanging nonstop station mail. A railroad employee or other authorized person shall be assigned to guard mail being exchanged at nonstop stations. At nonstop points where a railroad station representative is scheduled to be on duty at the time mail is received or dispatched, he must observe the exchange of mail and, if the pouch is not caught, must retrieve it for proper disposition, except where other arrangements have been made, as in paragraph (f) (6) of this section.

(6) No smoking in storage cars. Railroad and postal employees shall not smoke or carry lighted cigars, cigarettes, or pipes in storage cars. Transportation division directors shall take appropriate action with railroad officials in all cases when violations are reported, in order to enforce this regulation.

(7) Reports of failure to comply. Postal employees must report through channels to the director, transportation division, any failure on the part of a railroad to comply with the instructions in this paragraph.

(h) Railroad employees handling mail regarded as agents of railroads. At places where railroad companies are required to take the mail from and deliver it into post offices or postal stations or to transfer it to connecting railroads, the persons employed to perform this service shall be regarded as agents of the companies and not employees of the Postal Service, and need not be sworn; but such persons shall be more than 16 years of age and of suitable intelligence and character. Postal officials shall promptly report any violation of this requirement to the Department.

Formal or

(a) Authorizations—(1) ders. This is the only class of service authorized by the issuance of formal orders.

(2) Basis. The anticipated space needs of the Department for railway post office car and railway post office apartment car service shall be reflected by regular authorizations which shall be restricted to the needs of the service between established railway passenger or freight division points or junctions. Regular authorizations for railway post office car and railway post office apartment car service shall be determined in accordance with such instructions as may be issued by the Postmaster General, and shall remain in effect unless and until modified as herein provided. (Comprehensive Plan.)

(3) Specifications-(1) Full railway post office car service. Service of this

class shall be authorized in standard cars, 60 feet in length, inside measure

ment, constructed and fitted in accordance with the plans and specifications approved by the Post Office Department for the handling, distribution, storage, and delivery of mail by mobile unit clerks. The requirements for service in such cars shall include the sanitation, cleaning, heating, lighting, and the furnishing of ice and drinking water, both in terminals and en route. When required, such cars shall be suitably placed and made available for advance distribution before train departure. (Comprehensive Plan.)

(ii) Railway post office apartment car service. Service of this class shall be authorized in standard apartments, 30 and 15 feet in length, inside measurement. The apartment shall be separated from the remainder of the car by a partition The requirements for service are essentially the same as in full railway post office cars with respect to construction and furnishings, sanitation, cleaning, heating, lighting, furnishing of ice and drinking water, and the placing of cars for advance distribution. (Comprehensive Plan.)

(iii) Class of service. The class, frequency and distance of service to be authorized or requested shall be determined in accordance with the needs of the Postal Service and under such rules and regulations or instructions as shall be prescribed by the Postmaster General. (Comprehensive Plan.)

Railroad

(iv) Provision of service. companies are required to furnish railway post office service only to the extent of the regular authorizations. (Comprehensive Plan.)

(v) Length of full railway post office and railway post office apartment cars. Authorization for railway post office cars shall be for cars of the standard length of 60 feet. Authorizations for railway post office apartments shall be for the standard lengths of 30 or 15 feet, as the needs of the Postal Service require. If a railroad company is unable to furnish standard railway post office cars and apartment cars, the Department may accept nonstandard railway post office equipment as a convenience to the carriers provided compensation not exceeding pro rata pay is accepted for the facilities furnished. Any deficiency may be provided in another car in the train when necessary and in such case full pay will be made for the standard car authorized. (Comprehensive Plan.)

(vi) Modification of authorizations. Authorizations for full railway post office car service and railway post office apartment service shall be subject to modification at any time to provide for new and additional service, discontinuance of service, or reduction in service. (Comprehensive Plan.)

(vii) Establishment or extension of service. Transportation division directors shall make recommendations and furnish supporting facts to the Distribution and Routing Division and the Railway Transportation Branch, Bureau of Transportation and International Services, concerning the necessity of establishing service on a new railroad, extending service on an existing route, or increasing or decreasing RPO space on a route to conform properly to the distribution needs of the Postal Service.

(viii) Authorized in round trips. Full railway post office cars and apartment railway post office cars shall be authorized in both directions of the round trip car run between established passenger or freight division points or junctions at which the trains are scheduled to stop. (ICC)

(ix) Determination of RPO size and run. In computing the car-miles of full and apartment railway post office cars, the maximum space authorized in either direction of the round trip car run shall be regarded as the space to be computed in both directions. The car run of such cars and apartments shall be the movement of a particular unit between established passenger or freight division points or junctions covered by the authorization. (ICC)

(x) Determination of frequency and size. Railway post office service will be authorized on an annual basis. The same unit of railway post office space will be authorized on all days of the week on which any railway post office space is needed. Where there are two or more distributing units in the same train, the frequencies authorized may be different. Regular authorizations of railway post office service shall be omitted on holidays and days after holidays when service is not needed on those days. When a holiday falls on a Sunday and is observed on the following Monday, the holiday will be considered as applying to the Monday date.

(xi) Junctions. For the purpose of stating authorizations of such cars and apartments, points upon a carrier's own line where its tracks, upon which mail

carrying trains are operated, cross or diverge shall be considered junctions. Where two or more railroads participate in joint operation, the junction shall be considered as common to all railroads so participating. (ICC)

(xii) RPO mileages. RPO mileages will be stated and paid for in accordance with the distance circulars furnished by the railroads to the Post Office Department and will reflect the regularly scheduled operation of each train. This may result in different mileages between the same points.

(xiii) Standard pay basis. Full railway post office service shall be paid for in space units of railway post office cars 60 feet in length, inside measurement. Railway post office apartment car service shall be paid for in space units of apartments 30 and 15 feet in length, inside measurement. (ICC)

(xiv) Cars longer than 60 feet. Cars in excess of 60 feet in which a railway post office unit of 60 feet is partitioned from the remainder of the car may be accepted to fulfill an authorization for a railway post office car of 60 feet. (Comprehensive Plan.)

(xv) Inside measurement. In determining the inside lengths of full railway post office cars, apartment railway post office cars, and storage cars and baggage cars used for transportation of mail as the basis of payment, fractions of a foot shall be disregarded if 6 inches or under and credit given for a full foot if over 6 inches. (ICC)

(xvi) Holiday season RPO authorizations. Additional full RPO or apartment RPO car space needed during the Christmas holiday period each year will be authorized by the director, transportation division, without issuance of formal orders by the Bureau of Transportation and International Services. Full information will be furnished the postal data center.

(4) Restriction on railroad employees. Train crews are not permitted to ride in RPO cars while in use, even though an oversize car is furnished.

(5) Changes in RPO authorizations. In changing or terminating authorizations of railway post office cars at established junction points, the following principles shall be observed:

(i) Facilities for change. The company's facilities at points designated for changes in RPO authorizations shall be such that an actual change in equipment may be made, should the company so

30-foot apartment--15-foot apartment--

(2) Prior plan cars.

Linear feet of storage space 11' 10'' 4' 9" 3' 2"

Apartment cars or full RPO cars that are 15, 30, or 60 feet in length, and that were built according to prior standard plans of the Department, are considered standard cars and not deficient in storage space.

(c) Nonstandard cars-(1) Undersize--(i) Basis of payment. Where authorizations are made for full or apartment railway post office cars of the standard lengths of 60, 30, or 15 feet, and the railroad company is unable to furnish standard cars or apartments but furnishes cars or apartments of lesser length which are accepted and used by the Department, the compensation shall be only for the actual length, inside measurement, of the car or apartment furnished and used at the rate applicable to the length authorized applied pro rata to the actual length, inside measurement. (ICC)

(ii) Making up deficiencies. Where distributing facilities are deficient, a railroad must install such additional facilities as are necessary on the particular run of the car involved but not to exceed the requirements of existing specifications. Where storage space is deficient, the entire deficiency may be made up in another part of the train and full payment for the RPO car or apartment allowed. In such case, any

deficiency in storage space in the nonstandard full or apartment RPO car must be taken into account in computing the total volume of storage mail in the train.

(iii) New or remodeled RPOS. New or remodeled full or apartment RPO cars shall not be considered deficient in storage space where the clear storage space has been decreased by the installation of new or larger interior equipment.

(iv) Advising of deficiencies. Transportation division directors shall compute storage space deficiency in railway post office and apartment railway post office cars and advise railroad companies and postal personnel concerned accordingly.

(v) Storage deficiency make-up report. The railway post office car supervisor shall show, on his trip report, the amount of mail carried in a baggage or storage car to make up a deficiency in storage space in the postal car.

(2) Oversize-(i) Basis of payment— (a) General requirement. The Department does not require and will not authorize railway post office equipment longer than the standard lengths specified herein. However, as a convenience to the carriers, and to enable them to obtain revenue from the operation of space which otherwise might be unused, the Department will, at carriers' request, accept the excess space beyond the standard lengths authorized for the accommodation of storage service when needed. (Comprehensive Plan.)

(b) Acceptance procedures. Where authorizations are made for full or apartment railway post office cars of the standard lengths and the railroad company furnishes cars or apartments of greater length which are accepted and used by the Department, no compensation shall be paid for the excess space unless the space is used by the Department for the accommodation of storage mail. If the excess space is so used, the appropriate line-haul rate applicable to storage service shall be paid, based on the total volume of mail transported in the train in storage service, but in no event shall compensation be paid for more than the length of the car or apartment, inside measurement. (ICC)

(ii) Computation of storage space. Where an RPO car of greater length than the unit authorized is operated, and the available storage space in the car in addition to that provided under

To obtain the additional space listed in the third column above for a 30- or 15-foot authorization, all racks not due under such authorizations must be placed in non-use position to provide storage space.

(iii) Handling of excess mail within RPO car. When excess storage mail is carried in an oversize full or apartment RPO car, the mail shall be handled by mobile clerks to and from the doorways of the car.

(iv) Count of storage mail. The volume of storage mail carried in an oversize RPO car shall be determined by count, provided the storage mail allowance so determined does not exceed the maximum storage space available on a measurement basis.

(v) Door and aisle space. In addition to the clear storage space due under the RPO authorization, the space in front of the doors and in the aisles in the car is considered available for the accommodation of storage mail to the extent that such space would be available in a standard car of the unit authorized.

(vi) Distributing and storage facilities. Where an oversize RPO car is operated, no more distributing and storage facilities should be used than would be available if a standard car of the size authorized were operated.

(vii) Racks in non-use position. If part of the rack space due under the regular RPO authorization is not needed for distribution, and racks are placed in non-use position so that the resulting space may be utilized for storage purposes, the mail carried in such space shall not be included in the count of pieces due the clear storage space referred to in subdivision (ii) of this subparagraph.

(d) Intermediate points-(1) Emergency withdrawal of car. When an RPO car is withdrawn at an intermediate point of its run because of an emergency,

and mail and clerks are transferred to other cars in the train, payment will be allowed as follows:

(i) To point of withdrawal. Payment of the full rate will be allowed to the point of withdrawal.

(ii) Beyond point of withdrawal. From the point of withdrawal to destination, payment will be allowed for the other car space used in the train:

(a) At a prorate of the authorized RPO car rate based on the amount of space occupied when the mail is in the custody of the mobile clerks.

(b) At appropriate storage rates based on the volume of mail carried in the train, when the mail is in the custody of railroad representatives.

Additional pay will not be allowed for the later deadhead operation of the RPO car over the remainder of the run.

(2) Advance distribution—(i) RPO apartment cars. A railroad will not be required to cut out an apartment car at an intermediate point on the authorized run of the car to substitute another car used for advance distribution.

(ii) Full RPO cars. Railroad companies may be required to cut out or cut in full RPO cars at important intermediate points of the train run when it is necessary to place a car for advance distribution. In requiring railroad companies to cut out or cut in full RPO cars, transportation division directors must take care to avoid delaying important mail trains.

(e) Defaults. No deduction in RPO pay to the railroad shall be made if the mobile clerk defaults his run or, on account of train delay, leaves the RPO car at an intermediate point to protect the return trip, provided the authorized trip of the RPO car is completed.

(f) Mail carried in RPO cars-(1) Mail carried in baggage cars in lieu of RPO car. Where a mobile clerk is not on duty in an authorized RPO car until an intermediate point of the car run is reached, and mail is carried in a baggage car for the railroad's convenience from the point of RPO authorization to the intermediate point, the space in the baggage car is considered in lieu of space in the RPO car, to the extent of the volume that could be accommodated in the RPO authorization.

(2) Loading storage mail in RPO cars-(i) At point of origin. At point of origin, RPO cars shall be fully loaded, consistent with storage space which will be needed at other points en route.