In the United States a railway post office, commonly abbreviated as RPO, was a railroad car that was normally operated in passenger service as a means to sort mail en route, in order to speed delivery. The RPO was staffed by highly trained Railway Mail Service postal clerks, and was off-limits to the passengers on the train. In the UK, the equivalent term was Travelling Post Office (TPO). From the middle of the 19th century, many American railroads earned substantial revenues through contracts with the U.S. Post Office Department (USPOD) to carry mail aboard high-speed passenger trains; and the Railway Mail Service enforced various standardized designs on RPOs. In fact, a number of companies maintained passenger routes where the financial losses from moving people were more than offset by transporting the mail. Here is one in my collection. On the cancel, you can see printed, Texarkana & El Paso R.P.O. June 10, 1895. On the back, Albuquerqe, New Mexico June 11, 1895
After 113 years of railway post office operation, the last surviving railway post office running on rails between New York and Washington, D.C. was discontinued on June 30, 1977.
well kacyds I was only off by 10 years. swish513, I only knew this from an intrest in railroads. I don't remember, but do they have cancelation for the military. In the navy there was FPO {Fleet Post Office} I had for an address??
Ya it is something how they would get the mail on the fly. And forget about breakables, the bag was tossed out, I wonder if they even slowed down???
Slowdown! No way. lol I was reading that it was so cramped inside the car, that if they dropped a letter on the floor, they would leave it there, until the end of the day. They had no room to bend over and pick up the dropped letter.
Tight fit, more then likely that would be my letter, and they would step on the stamp and ruin it. My luck.
I really wonder how many are still out there waiting to be delivered. They must be with all those lost dryer socks, In nowhere land.
