Casement on the Union Pacific R.R.

Arecent book on the American transcontinental railroadby the noted historian Stephen E. Ambrose, NothingLike It in the World, has excited new interest in the sub-ject of this great achievement. However, it seems surprising that almost nothing has been written in the philatelic literature about the railroad service that dramatically changed mail transporta-tion across the country. I suppose the reason is that letters trans-ported by train are not specially marked unless they are way letters given directly to a route agent. Most mail just shows the postmark of origin and bears the correct postage stamp — three cents in the latter 1860s for a single rate. It might surprise some readers to know that Abraham Lincoln was a great proponent of this daring enterprise. During his administration, two enabling bills were passed (in 1862 and 1864) to establish the line and to provide government financing to help build a transcontinental railroad. The basic story is tha