Commemorating the Bicentennial of America's Postal Service

Front:
USIOC200 Years of Postal Service 1775 1975 200 SEP 1975 FIRST DAY OF ISSUE 317 19101 Commemorating The Bicentennial of Americas Postal Service Fheetwood Yicial Frst Dey Cover Philadelphia 76 PHIA.PA

Back:
STEAM LOCOMOTIVE TO STREAMLINER In 1835 the Postal Service granted the first railroad mail contracts, and transportation of the mails by rail expanded as fast as ties and track could be laid. Providing much greater speed and reliability than earlier modes of transportation, the railroads spread rapidly across the nation in the mid-nineteenth century. A new innovation was adopted in 1862: the Railway Mail Service traveling post offices. Their use enabled the railroads to do more than merely transport the mail quickly; the mail could be sorted while enroute to its ultimate destination. Overall mail delivery times were reduced significantly. Today's first class mail no longer travels by rail, and the Railway Mail Service has passed into history; however, second, third, and fourth class mail continues to be transported across the country by rail, speeded along by sleek diesel- and electric-powered streamliners.