Nostalgia & History > Twenty Years After Being Zapped by Mister Zip - 1983

The posted photo of PRR #6518 a 60' RPO in nicely restored condition, including its interior, was taken on November 22, 1983. This car is owned by Railway Exposition Inc. At that time the organization was located at the old B&O Riverside Yard in Cincinnati OH. Within several years, it moved to Covington KY.
The first RPO route was established in 1864. For many years, RPO’s had a prominent role in moving the mail. However, by the early 1960’s RPO routes had declined significantly. On July 1, 1963 the Post Office Department announced a modernization program that included: 1) the ZIP (Zone Improvement Program) Code to standardize address identification, and 2) the Sectional Center Facility (SCF) to handle mail distribution to post offices. One obvious objectivel of this program was to eliminate RPO routes. Four years later, in the fall of 1967, all but a handful of routes were terminated. The last RPO route was New York - Washington; the final runs for this route were made by Amtrak on July 30, 1977.
ALLEN

Good photo. It might be hard for many younger people to believe mail was sometimes caught on-the-fly by fast moving trains.
Bob

refarkas Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Good photo. It might be hard for many younger
> people to believe mail was sometimes caught
> on-the-fly by fast moving trains.
> Bob

Yes, I remember seeing the mailbag hanging in front of the station in Schererville, IN, when we lived there 1953-1955. Thowing the mail from an RPO at speed must have taken some practice as well.

Many years later, I had a tour of an RPO car led by a former USPS employee who worked the cars. They were a dedicated and knowledgeable breed.

At least on some RPO cars, there was a mail slot so that you could post mail while the car was at a station. Quite convenient.

My grandfather was a railway post office employee 1937-1941 and he said hooking a mail bag on the bumper of a 35 fFord after kicking it off to late and watching the snowstorm of mail and the operator/agent give you the “No.1” was a sight to behold.😆

Posted from iPhone

colehour Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> refarkas Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Good photo. It might be hard for many younger
> > people to believe mail was sometimes caught
> > on-the-fly by fast moving trains.
> > Bob
>
> Yes, I remember seeing the mailbag hanging in
> front of the station in Schererville, IN, when we
> lived there 1953-1955. Thowing the mail from an
> RPO at speed must have taken some practice as
> well.
>
> Many years later, I had a tour of an RPO car led
> by a former USPS employee who worked the cars.
> They were a dedicated and knowledgeable breed.
>
> At least on some RPO cars, there was a mail slot
> so that you could post mail while the car was at a
> station. Quite convenient.

ALL Railway Post Office cars had a "mail slot". Even the tiny 15 foot apartments. It was part of the specifications.