Series consists of records created and/or maintained by the Transportation Branch and its predecessors. The records include mail tender registers, mail service contract registers, mail service registers of contracts under advertisement, railway mail service files ocean mail service records, air mail service records, rural mail delivery records, general mail service records, and correspondence related to mail privileges and government patronage.
Canada. Canada Post. Transportation Branch : The Transportation Branch, established in 1952, was responsible for the movement of the mail by air, land, rail, and water routes. Effective 1 April 1947, the Office of the General Superintendent of Postal Services (or Postal Service Branch) was re-organized as two separate entities - the Operations Branch and the Communications Branch (See NA, RG 2(1), vol. 1716, P.C. 16/2626, 19 July 1947). The Operations Branch was responsible for all postal operations in the field, excluding transportation activities, while the new Communications Branch was responsible for airmail transportation routes and scheduling, and the attendant tendering process. In 1952 the Communications Branch was changed in name only to the Transportation Branch. The basic functions of this branch encompassed all phases of transporting the mail, including routing, scheduling, and contracts.
In 1962 the Assistant Deputy Postmaster General became responsible for the Transportation Branch. The effects of decentralization were pronounced in the Transportation Branch where activities were confined to establishing policies and regulations, preparing guidelines and reviewing performance. The day to day operations were the responsibility of field officials in the fourteen districts across the country (see The Postmark, vol. 16, no. 9, November 1962, pp. 3 and 26-28; and vol. 16, no. 10, December 1962, pp. 4 and 31).
In 1971, the Transportation Branch was reorganized to provide transportation programs and support for the field, and to focus on the planning and transportation policy areas. National transportation contracts were negotiated and administered from the Branch (See Canada Post Office: An Organizational History, 1841-1974, p. 187). RG3 General Inventory; NA, RG2(1), vol. 1716, P.C. 16/2626, 19 July 1947; The Postmark, vol. 16, no. 9, November 1962, pp. 3 and 26-28, and vol. 16, no. 10, December 1962, pp. 4; and 31; Canada Post Office: An Organizational History, 1841-1974, p. 187.
