Ux5/7 Used For Rr Accounting Purposes

Interesting use of postal cards for accounting purposes between railroad companies. (Book keeping must have been fun)

And a nice variety of postal markings.

Arrangements between railroads:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arran...ckage_rights.

Some mentioned:

Trackage rights are an agreement between railroad companies in which the owner of tracks grants another railroad company some use of them. The deals can be long-term or short-term, do not always include the right to serve customers on the line...

A haulage agreement is similar to one of trackage rights, but the railroad that owns the line operates the power for the cars of the latter company.

Generally speaking, trackage rights are when railroad A gives railroad B the authority to operate over A's tracks using B's power and crews. Haulage rights are more restrictive - usually railroad A will agree to handle railroad B's traffic at an agreed upon per car or per mile rate, utilizing railroad A's crews. Power for haulage rights is also negotiated and could be either lines power depending on agreement.


From various companies to Indianapolis & Saint Louis RR:

You'll see that most were charging @ 3/4 cent per mile.

Philadelphia & Reading RR
St. Louis, Kansas & Northern RR
Wabash, St. Louis & Pacific RR
Worcester & Nashua and Nashua & Rochester RR
Cincinnati, Indianapolis, St. Louis & Chicago RR
Evansville & Terre Haute RR
Pennsylvania RR
Hartford and Conn. Valley RR
Ohio Southern RR
Sioux City & Pacific RR
Fitchburg RR

Patg,

Thank you!

A bit of a tangent to railroads, but one of the advantages of postal cards of this era is the frequent presence of year dates in the messages. I had the following undated Evansville, Indiana cover, and now I am able to date it to 1882 thanks to your card.

Nice you were able to find correlation.

Hook on lower left leg on both is pretty prominent.
pat

Nice thread,
Some amazing, clear postmarks.

Follow up to previous.
Found another group. Somehow was separated from the others.

Different R.R. companies from previous:
Variety of cancels. A few Carrier cancels

Note how "Cars of this line are marked" are called out.

Logansport. Crawfordsville & South-Western R'y
Boston, Lowell & Concord Railroads
Louisville, Evansville & St. Louis Railroad Co.
Philadelphia & Reading Railroad Company
Rock Island & Peoria R'y
St. Louis, Alton & Terre Haute Railroad Company
Dayton & Union R.R.
Marietta & Cincinnati R.R.

Excellent group!

The fancy cancels are of particular interest to me. And yes, because they are postcards, they typically have nice postmark strikes. Collectors still seem to prefer small covers instead.

The blue RPO marking with "E" killer on the Sioux City & Pacific card: "E" was often used by RPOs to indicate eastbound mail along with "W", "S" and "N". These were probably railroad specific directions and not actual cardinal points of the compass.

The Boston cancels (of 1878) are early machine cancels.

I also love the cancels.

Terrific material. Thanks for sharing.