subject to modification at any time to provide for new and additional service, discontinuance of service, or reduction in service.

(2) Requests for storage car service and lesser storage unit service shall be discontinued or reduced if necessitated by service changes, and shall be subject to modification at any time to provide for new and additional service.

(3) Requests for storage service in excess of the normal load may be made as needed.

(d) Cancellations. Whenever there is insufficient mail on any day to warrant the operation of an exclusive storage car which would otherwise be required to accommodate the normal load, the request for such car may be cancelled by a representative of the Post Office Department at the initial point of the run of the car. Reasonable advance notice of such cancellation shall be given to the railroad company at the initial point of the run of the car to permit the car to be removed from the train.

REGULATIONS UNDER COMPREHENSIVE PLAN B OF THE POSTMASTER GENERAL FOR THE TRANSPORTATION OF UNITED STATES MAIL BY CERTAIN RAILROADS

§ 511.31 Definitions.

(a) "Railroad" refers to railway common carriers and does not refer to urban and interurban electric railway common carriers.

(b) "RPO" means a railway post office.

(c) "Regularly authorized service, regular authorization," and "regular service" are synonymous terms and refer to service authorized by formal orders issued by the Post Office Department.

(d) "Excess service, excess space, additional service," and "emergency service" are synonymous terms and refer to service which temporarily becomes necessary in a train.

(e) "Train date:" When a train arrives at its destination on the day following departure from the initial point, the date the train is due to leave the initial point of the RPO designation shall be used as the date for all service performed in the train. Each RPO division shall be considered separately in cases where the RPO line is divided into east, middle and west, or north and south divisions.

§ 511.32 Authorizations.

extension of

(a) Establishment or service. Distribution and Traffic Managers shall make recommendations and furnish supporting facts to the Post Office Department concerning the necessity of establishing service on a new railroad, extending service on an existing route, and increasing or decreasing space on a route to conform properly to the mail carried.

(b) Regular service-(1) Formal orders. Regular service is authorized through formal orders issued by the Post Office Department. Mail must not be carried on any railroad on which mail service has not been authorized.

(2) Authorized monthly. (i) The regular unit of an original authorization shall be the smallest unit that will accommodate the mail on 50 percent or more of the trips in any calendar month on the days of the week on which mail is regularly carried.

(ii) Whenever a regular authorization of less than 30 feet of storage space is exceeded on more than 50 percent of the trips in any calendar month:

(a) But not beyond the capacity of a 30-foot unit, the appropriate higher unit of 30 feet or less which would have accommodated the mail on 50 percent or more of the trips shall be authorized.

(b) Beyond the capacity of a 30-foot unit, a full storage car of appropriate length of 60 or 70 feet shall be authorized on the days of the week on which the lesser storage unit is exceeded on more than 50 percent of the trips on such days.

(iii) Whenever a regular authorization of 30 feet of storage space is exceeded on more than 50 percent of the trips on a particular day of the week in any calendar month, a full storage car of the appropriate length of 60 or 70 feet shall be authorized on such day.

(iv) A regular authorization of 30 feet or less shall be reduced to the appropriate smaller unit which would have accommodated the mail on more than 50 percent of the trips in any calendar month.

(v) A regular authorization of a full storage car shall be reduced:

(a) From a 60-foot car to the appropriate lesser storage unit on any day of the week on which a lesser storage unit would have accommodated the mail on

more than 50 percent of the trips on such days of the week in any calendar month.

(b) From a 70-foot car to a 60-foot car or the appropriate lesser storage unit on any day of the week on which a 60-foot storage car or a lesser storage unit would have accommodated the mail on more than 50 percent of the trips on such days of the week in any calendar month.

(vi) Where 70-foot cars are regularly operated and more than 60 feet of storage space is regularly needed for the accommodation of mail in a 70-foot exclusive car, a 70-foot car shall be authorized on the days of the week on which such car was needed.

(vii) Where mail is carried from the initial terminal in several cars in a train and the cars are diverged to different lines or set out at some point on the run, a unit of space of sufficient size to accommodate all mail transported in the several cars shall be authorized from the initial point to the point of divergence or set out. Where the volume of mail exceeds the capacity of a storage car, a storage car and an appropriate lesser unit shall be authorized.

(viii) An authorization shall be restated to include or omit a particular day of the week when during the previous calendar month:

(a) No service was authorized and mail was carried on more than 50 percent of the trips on such a day.

(b) Service was regularly authorized and no mail was carried on 50 percent or more of the trips on such a day. Regular authorizations of all classes of service shall be omitted on holidays and days after holidays when service is not needed on such 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.

(ix) Only mail considered as regularly due a train shall be taken into account in setting up regular authorizations under the application of the 50 percent rule.

(x) Changes in regular authorizations, based upon the operation of the 50 percent rule, in any month, except December, shall become effective on the first day of the succeeding month.

(c) Excess service-(1) Requests. Excess service is authorized by special request of a representative of the Postal Transportation Service or by action of a railroad representative at points where there is no representative of the Postal

Transportation Service as provided in subdivision (vi) of this subparagraph. Observe the following when requesting additional space:

(i) At points where a designated postal representative is available and the regularly authorized space in a train is inadequate to accommodate all mail offered for dispatch on a particular trip, the designated postal representative must notify the railroad that additional space is needed at the point where the excess mail is to be loaded.

(ii) When an additional or excess full storage car is needed, the postal representative must:

(a) Request the railroad (at the point where the car is needed) to provide an additional 60- or 70-foot car, as appropriate.

(b) Name the established railway passenger or freight division point or junction to which the car is to be run.

(c) Inform the car supervisor (in the case of an RPO train) of the point to which the additional car is requested, so that its use may be discontinued at that point.

(iii) An additional or excess car must not be terminated at a point intermediate to the point designated in the original request.

(iv) When excess mail is carried in two or more cars in a train, a single request must be made for a unit of sufficient size to cover the entire excess carried. This does not affect the provisions governing requests for a 60-foot storage car in lieu of a lesser unit, or for a 70-foot storage car in lieu of a 60-foot storage car or a lesser unit.

(v) Requests by postal representatives for excess space and cars shall be made to a responsible representative of the railroad at the point where excess mail develops. The space used must be shown on Form 5121, Daily Report of Destination and Destination-Relay Cars, and Form 5122, Daily Report of Working Storage Cars and Lesser Storage Units. Form 5365, Record of Excess Space, must be issued to cover excess space required.

(vi) At points where there is no representative of the Postal Transportation Service, the baggageman on a train on which space is regularly authorized must accept and count all mail. The railroad must issue Form 5369, Report of Mail Carrier in Excess of Space Authorized, to show the number of pieces of excess mail and the points between which they

were carried and, if from a missed connection, whether from a train of the same railroad.

(2) Date on excess space request. A request for excess space in a train must bear the date of issuance at the top and the train date in the body of the form. See § 511.31(e).

(3) Mail to be carried only on authorized trains. A railroad must not carry mail on a train on which there is no regularly authorized space, unless emergency space is authorized by proper representative of the Postal Transportation Service. Where conditions warrant, a postmaster may be authorized by a regional or district transportation manager to request excess space in a train with no regularly authorized space. The railroad must be informed of the issuance of such authority.

(d) Storage car service—(1) Mail carried in mixed traffic cars under storage car authorizations. Where mail is carried in mixed traffic cars under a storage car authorization, either regular or excess, and an exclusive car is not furnished, pro rata payment will be based on the mail carried except when:

(1) More than 30 feet, line haul payment will not be less than the rate for a 30-foot lesser storage unit.

(ii) 30 feet or less, line haul payment will be made for the appropriate lesser storage unit.

(2) Storage car cut out at intermediate point. Where it is necessary to cut out a storage car at an intermediate point on its run on account of accident or other operating reason and the car is subsequently operated through to destination in service on a following train, full payment will be allowed. However, no payment will be allowed for a unit of excess space which becomes necessary on the regular train because of the withdrawal of the regular storage car, unless the quantity of mail carried in the excess unit is more than that which could have been accommodated in the regularly authorized storage car.

(e) Diversion of mail from one train to another. Where, because of the diversion of mail from one train to another, the size of the authorized unit of storage space is increased or decreased on a date other than the first day of any month (except December), changes in space authorizations under the 50 percent rule

shall:

(1) Be made on the basis of the mail carried from the date the size of the unit

was changed to the last day of the month provided that the number of days in such period is not less than 14; and

(2) Become effective on the first day of the succeeding month.

(f) Allowances for missed connections. When a delayed connection between trains of the same railroad causes mail due on one train to be dispatched on a following train, transportation of the mail is considered as in lieu of part of the service required on the first train. Additional pay will not be allowed for either train unless the quantity of mail carried in both trains exceeds that which could have been accommodated in the space regularly authorized.

(g) Service by other than regular train. The transportation of mail by a railroad on a different train than that on which the same railroad is regularly authorized to carry it will be considered as in lieu of the regularly authorized service when for operating reasons it is dispatched:

(1) On an earlier train;

(2) On another train but over a different line;

(3) On a special or extra train, made up to depart either at the time of the regular train or after arrival of the delayed connection, when the mail carried is that which would have been carried on the regular train if its schedule had been maintained; or

(4) On a subsequent train in which space is not regularly authorized, upon annulment of the regular train.

Additional pay will not be allowed unless the quantity of mail carried exceeds that which could have been accommodated in the space regularly authorized.

(h) Service by fast train for forwarding or returning to a local point. When mail is delivered by fast train at a certain point from which it is forwarded or returned on a local train to a local point, a unit of space will be authorized in the local train to carry such mail. When mail is dispatched on a local train from a local station and delivered to a fast train at a certain point, an appropriate unit of space will be authorized in the local train. However, when a railroad desires to forward mail on a train not due to receive it from one station to another station for dispatch from the latter station, permission may be granted with the understanding that the movement shall be without additional compensation and that no delay will result to the mail.

(i) Combined service by railroad and vessel. Where service is operated by a railroad partly by rail and partly by vessel and a postal transportation clerk accompanies the mail over the entire run, the line haul rate allowable on the rail mileage shall apply to the vessel mileage. If the clerk does not accompany mail over the water part of the route, that part of the route shall be authorized as storage service.

§ 511.33 Space requirements and determinations.

(a) Space requirements-(1) Standard full and apartment RPO cars. Storage space requirements in full and apartment RPO cars, based on standard plans dated April 1, 1949, are as follows:

(2) Nonstandard and oversize RPO cars. (i) Where a RPO car of lesser length than the unit authorized is furnished and such car provides sufficient distributing facilities for the particular run of the car, pro rata pay will be allowed on the basis of the length of the car furnished as compared with the authorized unit. Where distributing facilities are deficient, a railroad must install such additional facilities as are necessary on the particular run of the car involved.

(ii) 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 the authorization is used to capacity, the additional space provided shall be considered to be as follows:

greater than that in a standard car of the size authorized. Pro rata pay will be allowed, on the basis of the square feet of floor space provided, where the floor space is less than that in a standard car. Where there is a deficiency in storage space and the entire deficiency is needed and is made up in another part of the train, full payment will be allowed on the basis of the number of square feet of floor space furnished in the train.

(v) Where a railroad is unable to furnish a standard full or apartment RPO car and operates a nonstandard car in lieu of that authorized, pro rata pay is allowed on the basis of the storage space furnished as compared with that due. When necessary, the entire deficiency may be made up in another part of the train and full payment allowed. Any deficiency in storage space in the nonstandard full or apartment RPO car must be taken into account in determining the size of an additional unit of storage space needed.

(b) Space determinations-(1) In oversize RPO cars. Space in an oversize car shall be determined as follows:

(i) Lesser storage units accommodated in the excess space in an oversize RPO full or apartment car must be determined by count. Payment shall not be allowed in any case for more than the actual inside length of the car.

(ii) When an oversize full or apartment RPO car is furnished to fill an authorized unit of RPO car space of 30 feet or 15 feet, respectively, the clear storage space under the authorization must be determined by count. The pieces due must be based on the storage space requirements in standard RPO cars under the specifications dated April 1, 1949, and the results of the biennial tests.

(iii) In addition to the clear storage space due under the authorization, the space in front of the doors and 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.

(iv) 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.

(2) in lesser storage units. The number of linear feet needed on both sides of baggage storage, or oversize RPO or

apartment cars for carrying the mail in lesser storage units of 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24, 27, and 30 feet shall be determined on the basis of the number of pieces (sacks and outside parcels combined) that will fill 3 linear feet of space on both sides of the car as determined in the last biennial test. Where the space unit is determined by count, each box of baby chicks shall be considered equivalent to one piece. Payment shall not be allowed in any case for more space than the actual inside length of the car. (3) Where mail is carried in several cars. Where mail is carried in two or more cars in the same train under a storage car authorization, either regular or excess, the volume of mail in a car must be determined by:

(i) Count. when the linear feet of space occupied by the mail is 30 feet or less.

(ii) Measurement, when the linear feet of space occupied by mail is more than 30 feet.

(iii) Measurement, in exceptional cases where the linear feet or space occupied by the mail is 15 feet or more, when mutually agreed to by the Department and the railroad.

(4) Where mail is carried in baggage cars. Where a postal transportation clerk is not on duty in an authorized RPO car until an intermediate point is reached, and mail is carried in a baggage car for the railroad's convenience from the point of authorization to the intermediate point, the space in the baggage car is considered in lieu of space in the RPO car. No additional authorization is made.

(5) Measurement of cars. Under the specifications for the construction of RPO cars dated April 1, 1949, the following deductions will be made for space occupied by letter cases, racks, boxes and other interior fittings which are not removed when the RPO cars are used as storage cars.

§ 511.34

Construction and maintenance of RPO cars.

(a) Construction-(1) Standards. (1) New full and apartment railway post office cars shall be constructed of steel or an equally indestructible material, and conform to the Departmental specification approved April 1, 1949, and any subsequent modification thereof, in construction and arrangement.

(ii) Full and apartment railway post office cars previously accepted for service shall be brought up to standards of the current specification mentioned, in all material respects, wherever operating conditions render strengthening, standardization, or improvements necessary. Approval must be obtained from the Director, Railway Transportation Branch, before any changes are made in construction or fixtures.

(iii) Cars originally built for other traffic are not acceptable for conversion to full and apartment railway post office cars unless they are constructed or reconstructed to fully meet Departmental specifications. All conversions of this type must be approved by the Director, Railway Transportation Branch, before work is started.

(iv) Post Office Department Form 5292, Certificate of Construction, shall be furnished to the Director, Railway Transportation Branch, for each new and rebuilt steel or steel underframe mail car, by the principal mechanical officer of the railroad.

(v) The ends and underframe of steel underframe apartment railway post office cars shall conform to the Departmental specification for all-steel cars. The section moduli of the metal vertical and members shall not be less than 65, distributed as required by the specification.

(vi) Superstructure of steel underframe cars shall conform to former Plan No. 1, or the specification of August 25, 1914, when reinforced by metal vertical end members. Steel shapes may be used as framing members of the superstructure. Steel sheathing applied to the superstructure on the outside of the car shall not be rated as an additional strength factor.

(vii) Cars that do not meet the above underframe and superstructure requirements shall not be rated as "steel underframe."