Mail from San Francisco and the entire Pacific coast States put on Burlington train No. 8, mail from South Dakota and northern Illinois put on Illinois Central No. 12, mail from northern Minnesota and northern Wisconsin put on Northwestern train No. 514, mail from Minnesota, North Dakota, and Montana put on Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul train No. 18, and mail from Kansas City and the entire southwest put on Sante Fé train No. 10, will reach Chicago in time to make connection with the air mail eastbound. The air mail from these trains will be taken direct to the air mail field. At Cleveland the air mail will catch the New York Central train at 4 P. M. for the East.
Under this arrangement the air mail will be delivered in Cleveland and Boston on afternoon deliveries instead of the following morning. At Albany, N. Y., and Springfield, Mass., this mail will catch the morning delivery instead of the afternoon following.
The aero mail stamps for this service are the same as for the aero mail service between Washington and New York. It will be recalled that originally the amount necessary to carry a letter was 24 cents. This was reduced to 16 cents, and finally to 6 cents, where it now is.
Without a doubt when large bimotored machines have been put into aero mail service, letters will be carried for 3 cents apiece between New York and Chicago.
One company has already made a proposal to the postal authorities to supplement the mail service between Chicago and New York.
The aero mail service between Chicago and Cleveland started off on schedule. Pilot Trent V. Fry left Chicago at 9.35 A. M., and arrived at Cleveland at 12.48 P. M., in a rebuilt D. H. 4, carrying 450 pounds of mail. The opening trip was made in very good time, with a five-minute stop at Bryon, Ohio.
Another plane with Edward Gardner as pilot left Cleveland at 9.30 A. M., carrying 300 pounds of mail, arrived at Chicago at 1.25 P. M.
Courtesy of Aerial Age Weekly.
The reconstructed De Haviland biplane, showing the limousine accommodations for passengers.