ATSF 60

Built: 1924 by the Pullman Car Co.  Retired: 1967 Construction: Steel. 

The Railway Post Office, or RPO, was literally a traveling post office. RPO cars were attached to regularly-scheduled passenger trains, and were operated under contract to the US Postal Service. Mail was picked up and dropped off at cities and towns along the route, and sorted while the train sped down the track. By the mid-1940’s, there were 1,500 RPO routes criss-crossing America with 30,000 men working in more than 4,000 RPO cars. More than 90% of the nation’s mail was handled in RPO cars.

This car was used to sort and distribute mail between Los Angeles and Kansas City on Santa Fe trains No's. 7 and 8, the "Fast Mail and Express”. An average crew numbered 12 men. The US Postal Service discontinued the route in 1967.

The inside of  the car has been restored to look as it did in service, including letter cases, sorting racks and pouches of mail. The large hook next to the door on the side of the car is a catcher arm, and was used to grab pouches of mail off of a special platform (called a mail crane) at stations where the train was not scheduled to stop. Dropping off mail at these stations was accomplished by tossing mail bags out the side door as the train passed.

Special thanks to Frank Scheer and the Railway Mail Service Library for the historic footage used in this video. 

Links:

Railway Mail Service Library

Mail by Rail from the National Postal Museum

The Fast Mail, a History of the Railway Mail Service

RPO Demonstration at Illinois Railway Museum

Additional Photos: