"U.S. Postal Service’s bumpy beginnings"

"U.S. Postal Service’s bumpy beginnings" by Dan Krieger, Professor Emeritus of History at Cal Poly, © San Luis Obispo Tribune, Dec. 13, 2008. (News Article)

"... 'The best seat inside a stage is the one next to the driver. Even if you have a tendency to seasickness when riding backward — you’ll get over it and will get less jolts and jostling.' That’s what the Omaha Herald advised its readers in a series of tips for riding the stagecoaches linked to the Union and Central Pacific railways in 1877. Most of the regional service stages were manufactured in Concord, N.H., along the classic 'Concord Coach' lines. They had padded leather seats, a thoroughly braced suspension to buffer the bumps of the harsh, unpaved roads and an improved braking system. These stages were luxurious compared to the first transcontinental stages that went into service two decades earlier. ... " [More]

[Courtesy Google Alerts.]