THE RAILWAY MAIL SERVICE
UNITED STATES MAIL
RAILWAY POST OFFICE
Clarence R. Wilking [deceased]
Route 7
Marietta, Ohio 45750
1985
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1995 - RAILWAY MAIL SERVICE LIBRARY
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THE RAILWAY MAIL SERVICE
The Railway Postal Clerk -- A Vanished Breed
The first record of rail transportation of mail in the United States was in 1831, when a mail
contractor utilized the service of the South Carolina Railroad. It was in the shift from stage to rail that a
new job or profession appeared -- that of the "route agent," the forerunner of the railway postal clerk. On
the old stage lines, a local postmaster, who usually had his office in the tavern, opened the carrying case
containing the mail and exchanged "mails" while the stage driver changed horses. On the railroads, this
could not be done, and a man was soon assigned to accompany the mail on the train; a separate
compartment was set aside for the mails, beginning in 1835. This agent usually rode in the baggage car,
and was at first the baggage man or other employee of the stage company or railroad.
In 1837, the Post Office Department began appointing "route agents" of its own on some lines; the
first recorded agent was John E. Kendall, who rode from Philadelphia to Washington, D.C. Others soon
followed, and each route agent was given a hand postmarker to stamp local letters received along the
way.
In 1838, with the rapid building of railroads, Congress declared all railroads to be "post roads,"
and provided for making direct contracts for mail by rail wherever the cost would not exceed 25% more
than the cost by stage.
The duties of the route agent included accompanying the mails to the train and receiving them in
his compartment (or in his part of the baggage car). Right before the departure of the train, he opened the
letter box on the depot platform and took out late-mailed letters. Before 1847, when stamps were
introduced, he made out waybills for collection at delivery of these letters, which were then tied with the
other letters in brown wrapping paper and addressed to a DPO (Distribution Post Office); these packets so
wrapped were referred to as "mails." Mail which was received at each station was sorted and turned in to
the terminal office or nearest DPO; local letters were dispatched en route. There were 35 post offices
designated as DPOs in 1810; these were important post offices in centers of large areas, counties, or
states, to which mail was sent for distribution.
It was soon seen that the weak spot in the system was the DPOs at the termini or junction points
where the mails had to be redistributed, missing all close connections. An attempt was made in 1857 to
remedy this by establishing "express agents," who continued from a line, on to a connecting line; this
facilitated the through dispatches greatly, but did nothing for other lines and connections at junctions.
In 1863, a meeting of postal officials was held in Cleveland, Ohio, which emphasized the need for
"postal reform," and severely castigated the abuses and delays in the DPOs explaining how letters were
being sent by circuitous routes, in order that more DPOs would share in the commissions for
redistribution. Letters were subject to so many distributions that the postal charges upon them were
entirely absorbed and, in many cases, the distribution commissions of a postmaster largely exceeded the
whole proceeds of his office.
A glance at the route agent system in 1860 shows that it was increasing rapidly, with the constant
building of railroad lines. On June 30, 1864, there were 6,085 mail routes; distances served by each type
of service were: 7,278 miles by steamboats; 22,666 miles by railroads; and 109,278 miles by stage and
sulky. The railroad and boat lines were the most important, as they were the arteries which fed the horse
routes. These railroad routes at first formed an unorganized and unattached service loosely related to the
Post Office Department and to the DPOs. Technically, they were given some supervision by the nearest
large DPO, in addition to some general instructions from Washington.
The first experiment in distributing mails in so-called "post offices on wheels" was made in 1862
by William A. Davis between Hannibal and St. Joseph, Missouri. Its aim was to expedite the connection at
St. Joseph with the overland stage, which had replaced the Pony Express routes to the West a year
earlier. The railroad company furnished a baggage car, altered as requested by Davis. Besides being
similar to a route agent's car, it was provided with a table and a 65-pigeon-hole letter case, but it had no
pouch rack. Davis boarded the westbound train at Palmyra, Missouri, with authority to open the sacks and
letter packages which were addressed to the St. Joseph DPO, to remove all California letters, and to
make up and sort the mail in a manner identical to the way the St. Joseph DPO would have dispatched it.
Davis was paid at the rate of $100.00 per month. The railroad was harassed by guerrillas and by lack of
maintenance, resulting in several suspensions and finally abandonment of the experiment. After the Civil
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War, RPO (Railway Post Office) service was reestablished on this line, and it became known as the
Chicago & Kansas City RPO.
George B. Armstrong, an Assistant Postmaster at Chicago during the Civil War, was summoned,
along with other special agents and extra post office clerks, to go to Cairo, Illinois, and clear up a
congestion of both army and naval mails; he was put in charge of a new DPO there. Because he did a
good job at Cairo, Armstrong was heeded when he made suggestions regarding the distribution of mail in
railway postal cars. Working with A.N. Zevely, who had been chosen by the Post Office Department to
look into postal "reform," Armstrong started to put his theories to work.
Zevely wrote to various railroad officials in the spring of 1864, asking that special cars be
prepared for experiments with "traveling post offices." Apparently, even though he promoted the
experiment, Zevely seemed to have only a hazy idea regarding the technical improvements needed; that
is when Armstrong provided the know-how. He proposed that all possible direct mailings to DPOs be
discontinued; this meant no more packaging of letters. Secondly, he proposed that all post offices be
classified, showing which were junctions, which had star routes, etc. Third, he proposed a system of
traveling post offices; this proposal, while the most important of the three, would be useless without the
other two reforms. In short, Armstrong, after classifying offices and dispensing with the wrappers, would
have all letters for the same office or connection tied up in a package. (Basically, this system is still in
use.) Since all letters were not yet postage-prepaid with stamps, he needed to provide for continuation of
the post-billing; however, his suggestions simplified the system overall.
With these recommendations, the Postmaster General authorized Armstrong to test his theories
by actual experience on railroads out of Chicago. Armstrong arranged with the Chicago & North Western
Railroad to remodel a route agent's car. Letter cases with 77 separations each were borrowed from the
Chicago DPO and were installed. Papers were sorted in a crude case of 10 x 12 inch boxes. The car was
about 40 feet long, with two windows and natural light in the upper deck; it was equipped with oil lamps,
but no end doors. The crew opened pouches and sacks, cut and "worked" letter packages, making up
mail for local dispatch, crossing star routes, and points beyond termini.
Publicity was arranged with the Chicago Times for the first trip on August 28, 1864, between
Chicago and Clinton, Iowa. The "United States Railway Post Office" left Chicago with a crew of four, plus
some business and newspaper men who went as far as Dixon, Illinois. Because the clerks were not
familiar with the letter cases, a small amount of #1 mail was "carried bye;" i.e., mail for the first post offices
along the route was not worked before those offices were reached, so it was "carried bye" its destination.
However, mail was worked on this first trip with surprising ease and efficiency. This line, with only a slight
variation, became a part of the Chicago & Omaha RPO.
Very soon, other RPO lines were established, and a form of national organization developed. The
service was placed under a General Superintendent of the RMS (Railway Mail Service); George B.
Armstrong was the first appointee. The service mushroomed and became the backbone of the Post
Office Department; it would provide employment to thousands of a special kind of postal clerk for over the
next hundred years.
Years later, the heirs both of Davis and of Armstrong claim kinship to the initiator of the Railway
Mail Service to this day, it is not obvious who should be so honored. Although the service between
Palmyra and St. Joseph was first in time, the Chicago and Clinton run was the first to perform the full
functions of a Railway Post Office. Pouches and sacks had been made up and addressed to the line, the
clerks on the line had opened the pouches and had cut and worked up the packages of individual letters
for local dispatch and they had made up mails for crossing star routes and points beyond termini. So
rests the case of a controversy unique in postal history.
The RMS in the East was very slow to be developed, due to the opposition of eastern
postmasters, with their fat redistributing commissions; while in the West, out of Chicago, RPOs were
being steadily added. The first full year of the infant RMS saw only three RPOs -- later known as the NY &
Wash, NY & Salamanca, and NY & Pitts -established in the East, where opposition to this new service
threatened the whole system. When Harrison Parks, one of the original four clerks on the Chicago to
Clinton run, was put in charge of the eastern runs, he found no local service being performed and few
qualified clerks.
The bitterest opposition was in New England, around the newly established Boston & NY RPO.
The resentment of politically powerful postmasters and newspapers, notably in Boston, was apparent in
the attack on the RMS system in the Boston Morning Journal in 1874. The paper proposed an immediate
return to the DPOs and route agents, accusing the Post Office Department of holding all westbound mails
for the two daily RPO trains to New York. Captain White, an official of the RMS, publicly informed the
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Boston postmaster of his duty to send mail to New York City and points beyond via the dozen daily closed
pouch trains running at that time, rather than holding it all for the two RPO trains. After the RMS
established by such firm tactics its authority over the dispatch of mail, there was a steady improvement
everywhere. Many other RPOs were established in the East, some connecting with those in the Midwest.
The RPO titles were uniformly named from East to West and from North to South. In the case of
two RPOs having the same termini, an intermediate city would be included in the title of one; e.g., the
Chicago & Cincinnati RPO was easily distinguished from the Chicago, Richmond & Cincinnati RPO.
In 1869, the RMS was organized into six divisions, under a single general superintendent, George
Armstrong. Armstrong introduced the first standard mail cranes in 1869, for the exchange of mail at
non-stop stations; until then, the trains merely slowed down for the exchange. Installed by the railroads at
every non-stop station, the mail crane had special catcher pouches which contained the mail to be
dispatched; a catcher arm in the doorway of the RPO caught the hanging pouch on the fly. All
closed-pouch, star route, and route agent runs were placed under RMS jurisdiction. The first extensive
use of night RPO trains began, providing overnight delivery of most mails within 300 miles.
Many innovations which lasted during the RMS existence originated between 1868 and 1872.
State General schemes and mail train schedules appeared, along with cards and practice cases to aid in
preparation for examinations. A service rating system of merits and demerits and an one-year
probationary period were introduced to weed out the politically appointed incompetent clerks. A standard
system was introduced for the proper "make up" of all mails which defined the duties of post office crews
and RPO clerks.
By 1873, there were 752 railway postal clerks in the United States. The first famous "Fast Mail"
train was established on September 16, 1875, on the NY & Chicago RPO. Previously, there had been fast
service on short and separate lines, but their time values were lost at connecting points. With the
cooperation of the various lines involved, this much publicized event in RMS history was a significant
milestone of progress in the entire postal service, because it saved from 12 to 24 hours in transit time.
The initial trip included four postal cars (two 50-foot "letter cars" and two 60-foot "paper cars") and one
drawing-room coach which accommodated 100 distinguished officials, including the Vice President,
reporters from all sizable eastern newspapers, mayors, postmasters, and top railroad officials. In later
years, this train was known as New York Central's "Twentieth Century Limited." Although this train got
most of the publicity, Pennsylvania RR's competing "Limited Mail" route from New York to Chicago and St.
Louis via Pittsburgh started on the same date. This train to Chicago in later years became known as
Pennsy's crack "Broadway Limited."
These events finally led to the establishment of the storied Overland Transcontinental line, which
extended the NY & Chicago service westward to San Francisco. The first transcontinental Fast Mail to the
Pacific ran in 1889; from Chicago, this involved the Chicago & Council Bluffs RPO (Burlington RR),
Omaha & Ogden RPO (Union Pacific RR), and the Ogden & San Francisco RPO (Southern Pacific RR
and Central Pacific RR). In later years, the Chicago & Omaha RPO (Chicago & North Western RR)
gradually took over the link between Chicago and Omaha.
With the enactment of the Pendleton Civil Service Act of 1883, all postal employees were placed
under Civil Service -- no longer could clerks be appointed merely because they knew the right people.
Most dissatisfaction by the RPO clerks in the early days was due to the poorly constructed and
serviced postal cars used by the railroads. Any railroad work was considered dangerous in those days,
especially that of the postal clerk; his car was generally the weakest in the train, often an old wooden
remodeled baggage car, which was located right behind the engine and received the full impact in cases
of head-on crashes or derailments. This was a special problem up into the early 1900s; whereas the other
cars of the train were constructed of steel, the RPO was of wooden construction.
From 1877 to 1884, 25 clerks were killed and 147 were seriously injured out of 3,153 employed;
from 1885 to 1892 the figures jumped to 43 and 463, respectively. The most historical of all mail train
wrecks was made famous by the song, "Wreck of the Old 97." The engine and four cars of the
Washington & Charlotte RPO -- Southern RR Train 97 -- crashed over the side of a 75-foot trestle near
Danville, Virginia, in 1903, killing eleven clerks and seriously injuring three clerks.
To help correct the injustice of the government's not paying death benefits in these early days, the
clerks organized their own Railway Mail Mutual Benefit Association in 1874. Each member was assessed
$1.10 upon the death of any other member, and $2,000 was paid to the latter's beneficiary. This provided
a little financial security for the families involved. Years before the clerks' and carriers' national groups
were even founded, the MBA endeavored to secure legislation for better wage and working conditions. In
1886, to protect the interest of clerks, the "Brotherhood of Railway Mail Postal Clerks" was organized and
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gradually took over the fight for better wages and working conditions. In 1898, a Beneficiary Department
was added, paying $4,000 for accidental death and $18 weekly for disability. This organization became
the "Railway Mail Association" in 1904; that name was kept for 45 years, after which it was changed to the
"National Postal Transportation Association." In 1899, the association started printing a monthly magazine,
the "Railway Post Office" which was one of the finest published by any union organization. In 1949, the
name of the magazine was changed to the "Postal Transport Journal."
Any benefits which RPO clerks received after the RMA was organized were due mostly to the
efforts of the RMA, which was later affiliated with the AF of L. There will always be arguments as to how
much the RMA was responsible for correcting the earlier injustices, due to its conservative make-up and
its tendency to try to work within the system, but it did pay off after the 1920s in the resulting cooperation
between the Post Office Department and the RMA Strictly "open-shop," the RMA never coerced any clerk
to join, leaving each clerk free to exercise his "right to work" by joining or declining to join. As a result,
nearly every clerk eligible was a member, probably the finest record of loyalty of any voluntary labor union
in the world.
In 1902, the number of divisions had been increased to eleven; there were 8,794 clerks; 179,902
miles of RPO routes; 1,278 steam railroads; 23 trolley RPOs; and 49 boat-line RPOs.
During 1902, President Theodore Roosevelt issued a startling proclamation, known as the
infamous Gag Rule. It forbade any officer or employee of the U.S. Government, directly or indirectly,
individually or through associations, to solicit an increase in pay or to influence in his own interest, any
legislation before Congress or its committees, save through the department in which he served, under
penalty of dismissal from government service. The Gag Rule was rigidly enforced by postal officials,
clerks who were trying to improve their lot were spied upon and reported by postal inspectors, and many
clerks were dismissed. As if this were not bad enough for postal employees, in 1908, Frank Hitchcock, a
strict and economy-crazed politician, was appointed Postmaster General; he was followed in 1913 by
Albert S. Burleson, who continued the same policies. In the opinion of all postal employees, these two
were the most despised of all the Postmaster Generals.
By 1907, there were 14,000 railway postal clerks in the United States. In 1908, legislation was
passed granting $1,000 in death benefits for any clerk killed while on duty.
Probably the event which was most influential in bringing about the improvement of conditions
was the publication of a 32-page monthly magazine, beginning in 1909 and continuing for eight years. It
was published by a former NY & Chicago RPO clerk who had quit the service for health reasons and who
was living in Phoenix, Arizona. It was called the "Harpoon," with a subtitle, "A Magazine That Hurts -- For
Postal Clerks." "Strike? -- No, Publicity? -- Yes" was its opening headline. Its purpose was to let the
public, especially the business public, know the abuses. The first edition of 15,000 was sent to every
senator and congressman, the larger newspapers, postal officials, and both Post Office and RPO clerks.
The cost of publishing was defrayed by subscriptions. The "Harpoon" gave both Congress and the public
information about conditions in the service -- information which clerks were forbidden to publicize.
Naturally, postal officials were enraged by the "Harpoon's" barbs, threatening supporters of the infamous
magazine with dismissals; the Second Assistant Postmaster General called it "a flagrantly false
representation of the RMS" The Post Office Department, a bit on guard by then, began to order that
wooden mail cars be located further away from engines on the trains, to decrease their vulnerability in
case of a head-on crash; also, sanitation in the cars was improved and a few steel cars were appearing.
But, to prove that it "had the last say," the Department introduced further oppressive measures -- the
service rating system was expanded into a fearful weapon of discipline, with new penalties added without
notice and harshly applied. Lines were badly understaffed; on top of this, Hitchcock issued orders to "take
up the slack," by reducing layoffs and lengthening hours. Crews which had "never gone stuck" (never
failed to work all the mail) now cared little if they did not complete distribution.
Morale was at its lowest during the winter of 1910-1911; not even the customary extra Christmas
help was allowed, and tons of Christmas mail remained unworked for days. Clerks were called back from
their layoffs and back-and-forth hauling of mail occurred, until the mail was finally worked. Conditions
were not helped when four clerks were killed in a Christmas Eve crash, while in a wooden postal car that
had passed inspection on July 1st with the notation "safe and sound construction."
The press, which had been backing the administration, now swung around against Hitchcock's
policies, and published accounts of the dissatisfaction in the postal services, as well as photos of huge
piles of "stuck" Christmas mail.
In January, 1911, the crisis came -- clerks on the 225-mile Tracy, Minn. & Pierre, S.D., RPO
(Chicago & North Western RR) had their fill. During 1910, sixteen dissatisfied clerks had resigned or
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transferred from this line due to the unacceptable conditions -- the line was understaffed, the crews had
no chance of completing distribution, and the officials made no attempt to correct conditions. Thirteen
regular clerks on this line were ordered to protect a helper run (work mail on a run over and above their
regular assignments) without extra pay. For most of these clerks, because of where they lived and their
schedules, this meant that three nights of their layoffs would be consumed by the unpaid trip. With the
exception of one clerk, they refused to report to cover the run. All twelve of the "strikers" were suspended
for insubordination and failure to protect runs; five were later discharged and the others were reduced in
grade. Some Post Office Inspectors backed up the clerks at first, and even secured the discharge of one
official involved; but that only outraged certain superiors. There were no terminals in those days where
the unworked mail could be sent for distribution, so the mail piled up in appalling congestion. Scores of
substitutes were rushed to the line and utter chaos reigned for two months, as "strikebreakers" totally
unfamiliar with the distribution were brought in from nearby divisions.
The news spread like wildfire, making the Department apprehensive of other "wildcat strikes." Of
course, mainly through the "Harpoon," a lot of publicity was given to the event. Naturally, the public did not
know the merits of the case, but did want its mail, and without delay. Telegrams poured into Washington,
St. Paul, Pierre, and any other authority which might offer relief; both state assemblies petitioned
Congress to take measures to alleviate the mess. Newspapers reprinted articles from the "Harpoon," so
the public became aware, also.
The strike succeeded, for the Department made an attempt at appeasement, for a change.
Within two months the line had been raised to its proper classification, salaries were raised $100.00 per
year, overdue promotions were awarded, objectionable helper runs were extended to Pierre (where there
were better accommodations), and a semblance of order was restored to the line.
In 1911, RPO clerks received their first travel allowance, 75 cents per day. That same year
Congress also passed the first "steel car law," which provided that full RPO cars had to be constructed
under rigid safety specifications, and built of equal strength to other cars of the train. July 1, 1916, was set
as the deadline for withdrawal of all mainline wooden cars.
The Anti-Gag Law was passed in 1912, giving all government employees the rights that the 1902
law had denied. Other benefits included automatic progressive promotions to clerks after a year's
satisfactory service in the next lower grade, and one and one-half year's pay to any clerk incapacitated by
injury while on duty; it also provided for each eight hours of work by non-road clerks to be within a ten-hour
period.
Regular Parcel Post was introduced for the first time in 1913, flooding the lines and causing more
resentment. This was soon remedied by late 1914 with the establishment of nearly 100 RMS Terminals at
various cities, removing the bulk of the Parcel Post from the RPO lines.
But Postmaster General Burleson was not through yet: In 1914, he proposed to Congress that the
postal service's eight-hour day be abolished, along with the one day's rest in seven, that 11,000
promotions scheduled for 1915 be withheld, that a cut of 30 cents per hour of substitutes' salaries be
made, and that all the new terminals be in the lowest pay classification. He pointed with pride to a savings
of $22,000,000 -- to be taken from some of the government's most underpaid employees! Fortunately,
these proposals failed due to the provisions of the Anti-Gag Law of 1912.
By 1915, there were more than 20,000 clerks; most of the increase was due to the establishment
of the new terminals. There were 914 full RPO cars and 3,040 apartment RPO cars operating on 216,000
miles of track.
During World War I, the RMS was in complete charge of all mails for the armed forces overseas.
RMS clerks were exempt from the draft due to the large increase in mail for both the domestic camps and
the men overseas. Thousands of clerks enlisted anyway, resulting in the undermanned RPOs frequently
turning dozens of unworked pouches over to the terminals for distribution.
In 1920, the Post Office Department effected a complete turnabout in its policy in dealing with
postal clerks. Will Hayes was appointed Postmaster General and his aim was to "humanize the postal
service;" he became one of the best-liked of the Postmaster Generals. The first retirement law was
passed in 1920, providing pensions of $180 to $720 annually.
In 1921, the first collective-bargaining agreement ever made between the government and a
federal union, the RMA, was signed by both sides. Along with other benefits, a standard seniority system
was drawn up by the RMA and was adopted by the Department. All later changes in seniority were made
by the RMA
Shortly after W.W. I, due to the large number of mail car holdups throughout the country, much
publicity was given to the assigning of Marine guards to those lines carrying valuable registers, which
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sometimes consisted of newly printed paper money. This practice lasted only a short time, because of the
danger to both RPO clerks and the public; on several occasions, innocent people were nearly shot
accidentally by the guards.
Beginning in 1921, RPO clerks were required to carry revolvers, surplus W.W. I Army Colt 45s.
Due to their size and weight, it was not necessary that the revolvers be worn by the clerks, but they had to
keep them handy should they be needed. These guns were replaced in the 1930s by the Post Office
Department's snub-nosed 38s. Because these guns were of a smaller size and of lighter weight, clerks
were required to wear them at all times while on duty.
By the 1920s, the RMS was organized into fifteen divisions. The 1920s also brought an
improvement in working conditions; e.g., all 60 foot RPO cars built after 1912 were required to be of
all-steel construction, thus satisfying the top grievance of the clerks for years. By 1925, a RPO clerk's
basic salary was $2,450 per annum (one grade higher than that of post office clerks) and there was a
48-hour work week, with seven holidays during the year. Travel allowance was increased to $3.00 per
day, there was a 10% night differential for working between the hours of 6:00 P.M. and 6:00 A.M., and
employees received fifteen days annual and ten days sick leave each year. Very few workers in the
private sector had some of these benefits at that time. One benefit that postal employees did not receive
until several years after the private sector was time-and-a-half for overtime; this benefit was not effective
until shortly after Pearl Harbor Day.
There were also some dark clouds showing up in the 1920s for RPO clerks. The railroads had a
monopoly on transportation for years; now they were being challenged by motor cars and trucks on newly
paved roads. Transcontinental airlines had begun operation, carrying premium priced domestic air mail.
Railroads began to abolish both passenger and freight service, many of the short feeder lines cutting
service and some trains on other lines being removed. This was only the start of what was going to
intensify in the 1930s and immediately after W.W. II, as other forms of transportation improved.
The depression years increased the rate at which trains were removed. In order for a sub to get a
regular appointment, it was generally necessary to go to an RMS terminal, where he would remain until his
seniority entitled him to the RPO of his choice; this generally required a year or two. However, between
the surplus clerks from discontinued lines and the abolition of assignments by the department because of
the lack of mail, and even with the 44-hour work week which became effective in 1931, very few clerks
were able to transfer from the terminals until 1935, when postal employees went on a 40-hour work week.
There were slight reductions in salary during the depression -Hoover's furlough days in 1932 and
Roosevelt's percentage cut in 1933. With the military build-up in the late 1930s, wages did not keep up
with the cost of living and fell far behind the private sector with its war-related industry.
Due to the withdrawal of RPO trains, leaving some areas with poor mail service, the Department
decided to experiment with the distribution of mail on large buses, equipped somewhat like RPO cars. On
February 10, 1941, service began on the Washington & Harrisonburg, Va., HPO (Highway Post Office). It
was a success from the start, but due to W.W. II, expansion of this service was delayed for several years.
After the war, HPO service increased rapidly.
The 40-hour work week was abolished for the duration of the war on December 22, 1941. Clerks
worked a minimum of 48 hours, but often much more, either on the road or at a terminal during their
layoff. The service was not only coping with an all-time record amount of mail, but was doing it with
undermanned crews, because experienced clerks were drafted into the military and assigned to either an
APO (Army Post Office) or FPO (Fleet Post Office). Thousands of temporary non-certified subs were
employed, many of them later drafted or quitting to take higher-paying jobs in defense plants. With the
additional mail and the shortage of qualified distributors it was impossible to complete distribution on the
larger lines; the "stuck" mail was turned over to a terminal for distribution. During the war, it was not
unusual for passenger trains to be delayed by taking a siding to permit troop trains and high-priority
freights to go by.
The well-deserved granting of free postage to military personnel was partly responsible for the
increased mail. Any postal clerk who worked the Photostatted "V-Mail" letters, with tiny, nearly illegible
addresses, became familiar with the difficulties involved.
RPOs everywhere ran out of standard pouch and sack equipment, as it channeled overseas. No.
2 sacks, generally used for papers and circulars, were substituted for pouches by the use of a green tag
with the words "First Class Mail," much to the confusion of pouch clerks and railroad mail handlers. To
augment the stock of No. 1 sacks (Parcel Post), coarse burlap bags were used, many still bearing the
name of some kind of sugar or feed.
By December of 1944, 3,952 clerks were in the armed forces. Not until after V-J Day did the
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pressure let up. The 40-hour work week was restored in October, 1945, and drafted clerks were
reinstated to their old positions as fast as they were released from military service. Due to the post-war
high inflation rate and the increase in cost of living, annual salaries increased $1,370 between 1945 and
1949; travel allowance was increased also to $6.00 per day.
Finally, in 1949, the Post Office Department got around to giving what had been the Railway Mail
Service a more appropriate name -- the Postal Transportation Service, or PTS Although this branch of
the service had been in charge of all transit mail, some parts had little to do with railroads, although they
were still the most important part of the service. In 1950, of the 32,000 clerks assigned to the PTS, only
about 16,000 actually worked on trains. The remainder was in terminals, transfer offices, Air Mail Fields,
Highway Post Offices, administrative offices, etc. Boat-line RPOs, Trolley RPOs, and the Seapost Service
had already been discontinued. The name of the Chief Clerk's office was changed to District
Superintendent's office.
During the preceding decades, only one or two clerks per year had lost their lives in wrecks and
several years saw no fatalities. When Pennsy's crack "Red Arrow," NY & Pitts Train 68, derailed in 1947
at Bennington Curve (West of Altoona, Pennsylvania), killing six clerks and badly injuring others, the whole
country was shocked.
Even with all the trains that had been discontinued, the several round trips of RPO service on
trunk lines, along with the expanded service and the star routes connecting the RPOs, maintained very
good mail service through the 1950s. In the 1950s the Post Office Department turned the supervision of
what had been the PTS Terminals over to the postmasters where the terminals were located.
THE MOBILE UNIT DISCONTINUANCE ERA
The next move by the Post Office Department, in 1960, was to put each PTS District
Superintendent's office under a postmaster, calling it the Mobile Unit Section, c/o Postmaster. This put all
RPO clerks under postmasters. When there was no longer a surplus of RPO clerks from discontinued
lines to fill vacancies on lines still operating, both subs and regulars from the post office roster were used.
This eliminated the need for PTS civil service examinations.
In 1963, the Sectional Center concept of transit mail service was announced, along with the ZIP
coding of mail to make it work. Now it was just a matter of educating the public to use ZIP Codes on all
mail. This made it possible to distribute all mail by numbers, a far cry from the knowledge that was
necessary before. There was no place in the new set-up for RPO service.
This development gave the railroads, knowing they were going to lose the mail revenue, an
excuse to get out of the unprofitable passenger train business, something that they had wanted to do for
years. After that, when a train was discontinued, instead of moving the RPO car on to another set of
trains still operating, the RPO service was also discontinued. Within about four years there was only one
round trip of RPO service left on practically all the trunk lines, and their value was minimal.
It came as no surprise to the railroads, or to the remaining RPO clerks, when on April 21, 1968,
Assistant Postmaster General Hartigan issued a news release concerning RPO service. It stated that
RPO cars on 162 passenger trains in the nation would be phased out of service prior to the end of the
year, affecting 2,224 postal workers.
With one exception, the phasing out was a success. The New York & Wash RPO which covered
the highest populated corridor in the nation continued to operate until 1977. It was on a part of this same
line, between Philadelphia and Washington, that the first recorded "route agent" was assigned to
accompany the mail, 140 years earlier. The Post Office Department continued to use regular scheduled
Amtrak passenger trains for hauling of mail on this line.
On October 30, 1984, a "mail-only" train service was inaugurated between Washington, D.C., and
Boston, Mass., the timetable tailored specifically to meet the postal service requirements. The northbound
train was named "The Fast Mail" and the southbound "The Mail Express."
The RPO clerks who were furloughed in 1968, when the RPO service was discontinued, either retired
or were placed in post offices at or near their homes. If there was no assignment in his grade at the post
office assigned, the clerk was permitted to keep his higher grade for two years, after which he had to take
a reduction.
9
Interesting RPO Information1

Clerks-in-charge of RPOs had to have stamps available, in case they were needed by the public.
Stamps on letters mailed at the postal car or at depot letter boxes were canceled by a hand
postmarker, showing the name of the RPO, the train number, and the date.

The shortest RPO was the 10-1/2 mile Thurmond, W.Va., & Mt. Hope, W.Va., RPO (Chesapeake
& Ohio RWY) which was discontinued in 1949.

The longest RPO was the 1168.9 mile Williston, N.D., & Seattle RPO (Great Northern RR) which
had three divisions.

The largest RPO was the New York & Chicago RPO (Western Division) Train 14, which had three
full RPO cars with more than 25 clerks, running between Chicago and Cleveland in 1951. This
line also had the longest RPO cars (80 feet long), the extra 20 feet being used for storage. The
following cities were worked by some of the RPO trains on this line: New York City, Brooklyn,
Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Cleveland, Toledo, Detroit, and Chicago.
40 Years of Changes
1928
WORK WEEK
SALARY (CLERK)
ANNUAL LEAVE
SICK LEAVE
TRAVEL ALLOWANCE
NIGHT DIFFERENTIAL (6 PM - 6 AM)
HOLIDAYS
OVERTIME PAY
48 Hours
$2,450
15 Days
10 Days
$3.00 Per Day
10%
7
Regular Rate
1968
40 Hours
$7,708
26 Days
13 Days
$9.00 Per Day
(no change)
7
Time-and-a-Half
Standard 60-Foot Full RPO Car (1928)
All 60-foot RPO cars built after 1912 were of all-steel construction. These cars were used for the
distribution and handling of mail only; the interior had built-in letter cases and pouch and paper racks, plus
overhead boxes.
The cars were heated by steam heat, with long protected steam pipes along the baseboard on
each side of the car, except near the doorways where there were large upright protected radiators. During
the advance distribution of the mail at the initial terminal, the car's steam line was connected to permanent
terminal steam lines, when needed. En route, the steam was furnished by the locomotive, whether it was
diesel or steam powered.
A 32-volt electrical system operated the lights and ceiling fans. The car had its own independent
electrical system, powered by a large generator belt, which operated off the car's axle while en route,
charging the batteries. There were very good lights at the letter cases and ample lighting elsewhere.
During advance work, there was too much drain on the batteries, so mobile terminal chargers were
1
Some of the information contained herein was obtained from the following sources: The National Archives; Mail
by Rail (Long)
10
connected to the car's electrical system. While en route, if the lights became dim, due to a slipping
generator belt or weak batteries, a "jumper cable," with which all cars were equipped, was plugged into an
adjoining car or locomotive's electrical system. Light failures were rare; however, each car was equipped
with candles, if needed.
There was a clothes closet in one corner at the letter case end of the car, across the car from a
semi-private flush toilet, and swing-down wash basin. (In later years, the toilet and wash basin were
enclosed.) The water was provided by a large cylindrical storage tank, suspended across the car below
the ceiling. This tank was filled from the outside of the car. The train steam line was connected to the
water supply at the wash basin, for heating the water. By turning the water off and the steam on, it was
possible to make coffee and heat food for lunch. There was also an iced water cooler at that end of the
car; it was iced en route when coolers in the passenger cars were iced.
Even with the ceiling fans on and running with the doors open, the sun's shining on the all-steel
car in the summer time made it quite hot. In later years, folding iron gates were installed in the four
doorways, as a precaution against losing mail out of the door while en route. Still later, a few cars were
equipped with air conditioning, although generally it wasn't practical.
There were also a signal cord and an air brake cord in all cars. About the only time the signal
cord was used was for flag stops, when fragile mail was to be dispatched; this occurred mostly on local
runs, before there was alternate service for fragile mail. After the engineer gave one long whistle for the
station, the signal cord was pulled three times, just as train crews did when there were passengers for flag
stop stations. The engineer would answer the signal with three train whistles, indicating he would stop.
The air brake line was pulled only in extreme emergencies, as it applied the air brakes, locking all wheels
of the train.
The pouch and paper racks were in five-foot sections; each section could be folded up against the
side of the car when not in use. There were five of these racks on each side of the car, directly across
from each other. Each rack had room for two rows of pouches or sacks. Due to the number of hooks on
each rack, various numbers of pouches or sacks could be hung in each rack. There were also hooks on
the front of the racks for when additional separations were needed. There were 25 built-in boxes with
vertically sliding doors, on each side of the car, above the racks. There were protected windows behind
and above the racks, when the racks were in use.
The working tables, where the pouches of First Class mail and the sacks were dumped, were in
sections, each about 2 feet wide and 2 feet long; any number of these sections might be used to make
the table size desired. Each two sections of tables were held in place by an iron bar between two
removable stanchions anchored to the floor. The table sections had hardware attached that fit over the
front rack, holding the section level.
There were two letter cases of equal size across the car from each other, totaling 744
separations; along the bottom of the cases, at a height of about 32 inches, there was a ledge about 18
inches wide. The sections of letter cases next to the door were installed at an angle, making it easier for a
clerk to reach the outer rows while making a large number of separations. Under the ledges, there were
drawers for clothes and space for the clerks' road grips. There was a door at each end of the car, making
it possible to get to adjoining cars while en route. There were also two sliding doors on each side of the
car, about 12 feet from each end of the car.
If mail was to be exchanged at non-stop stations, reversible iron catcher arms were installed in
the two doorways at the letter case end of the car; if they were not needed, they could be replaced with a
solid rod, which facilitated loading and unloading mail at that door. The catcher arms were in one piece,
the wooden handle extending about 18 inches above the bar that held the arm in the doorway. When the
handle was pulled down toward the inside of the car, it swung that part of the catcher arm that was under
the bar out, making contact with the catcher pouch hanging on the mail crane. The catcher arm was like a
folded arm and, when held in a horizontal position, it would strike the hanging pouch in the center and the
speed of the train would cause the pouch to slide along the arm until it wedged in the elbow. There were
reversible cinder guards at each door to protect the clerk’s eyes dispatching mail at a non-stop station.
Although there were certain facilities and equipment required in the RPO cars, the railroad
company would upgrade them by painting, improving the lights, heating system, etc., whenever the car
was "shopped" for any reason (removed temporarily for maintenance or repair).
11
In addition to the space in the car which was used for distribution, there were stalls for storage
mail at each end of the car; most of this space being at the paper rack end of the car.
LETTER CASE END OF STANDARD 60 FOOT RPO CAR
12
POUCH & PAPER RACKS OF STANDARD 60 FOOT RPO CAR
Mail Cranes
Starting in 1869, railroad companies installed mail cranes for the exchange of non-fragile mail at
non-stop stations. There were two arms on the crane, the upper arm pointing up and the lower arm
pointing down when not in use. There was a swivel pin at the end of each arm, where the catcher pouch
was attached. These arms were folded parallel toward the track when the pouch was hung, the spring
tension of the arms holding the pouch about three feet from the side of the train. As soon as the pouch
was caught, the arms sprang back to their original position. The crane had to be installed in perfect
alignment, as to its height and its distance from the track.
If the exchange was made after dark, a lighted lantern was hung on the crane. It was the duty of
the mail messenger who carried the mail between the post office and the station to witness the exchange.
It was the engineer's duty to give a station whistle (one long), allowing the clerk time to get to the door. A
good "local clerk" had his own landmarks or sounds and did not depend on the engineer's whistle. In later
years, safety goggles were provided to clerks making local exchanges. Thousands of these exchanges
were made each day by the RPOs.
13
NON-STOP MAIL EXCHANGE USING CATCHER-ARM, CATCHER POUCH, AND
TRACKSIDE MAIL CRANE
Catcher Pouches
Catcher pouches were subject to very hard use, both by being thrown from the train when
dispatching and by being caught from the crane. They were made of very heavy canvas, reinforced with
leather on both ends, where there were large iron rings for attaching the pouch to the crane. The mail was
equally divided in the pouch and a strap in the center was drawn tight; that was the point at which the end
of the catcher arm first made contact. The pouch was hung on the crane in an upside-down position.
Examinations
All RPO clerks were required to take three types of examinations; (1) Case exams, (2) Postal
Laws and Regulations, and (3) Space exams.
Case Exams
General State Schemes:
14
Each post office was assigned to at least one mail supply; the supply could be a RPO or a larger
post office (parent office) which served the smaller post office ("district" or "station" of the parent office) via
mail messenger, a star route or a C.P. (closed pouch) train. Most post offices had multiple supplies. This
whole system of supplies, defined for every post office in a state, was called the "state scheme."
By using the state scheme, the train schedule, and a postal map, the clerk could determine the
best supply from his train to each post office. As an aid in learning supplies, practice cards about the size
of business cards were used| the name of the post office was printed on one side and its best supply on
the other. All cards were updated from the scheme before they were studied, and, with the use of a
practice case containing a number of separations, each with a header, clerks practiced to improve their
accuracy and speed. Both the cards and case were available from a company that specialized in RPO
clerks' supplies.
Before starting the case examination at the examiner's office (Chief Clerk's office), the headers
were placed in the same position in the examiner's case as the clerk used at home while practicing for the
exam. A grade of at least 97% was required at a speed of at least 16 cards per minute. If the clerk
received a failing grade, he had to repeat the exam within 30 days. There are records of a clerk's "casing"
34 consecutive exams without an error, and of a clerk's casing an exam at 101 cards per minute. Many
clerks on trunk lines worked mail for six or seven states during their careers, involving over 10,000
different post offices. To ensure that clerks kept current on a state scheme, the exam had to be repeated
every three years.
States having fewer than 1,400 post offices were studied as one examination, and states with a
larger number of offices were divided so that there would be at least 700 offices covered by each exam.
City Schemes:
For city exams, clerks needed to know the supply of each street, major building, company, hotel,
etc.; in this case, the supply would be defined as a station, a box section, main post office or annex post
office of the city. This system of supplies was called the "city scheme."
Postal Laws and Regulations (PL&R) Exams
This exam was taken from the PL&R book. It was a written exam of 20 questions, selected from
314 questions and answers in the PL&R book. A grade of at least 85% was required, or the exam had to
be repeated within 30 days. These exams had to be taken every year for the first ten years, and then
every three years.
Space Examinations
This was a written exam of 20 questions, chosen from 43 questions and answers in that section of
the PL&R book which contained all the information pertaining to the agreements between the Post Office
Department and the various railroads. Topics covered included cost per mile for the use of the
different-sized RPO or storage cars, and of the space required by the mail handled in baggage cars.
Before 1916, the railroads were paid according to the weight of the mail carried in storage and baggage
cars; after that time, they were paid on the basis of space occupied. Not all railroads were paid at the
same rate; land grant railroads were paid less. The only bulk mails handled by RPO clerks were those
loaded into and out of RPO cars. Those railroad employees who were either mail handlers or baggage
men were responsible for all mail in either storage or baggage cars. The space exam was taken every
year and a grade of at least 85% was required; if a failing grade was made, the exam had to be repeated
within 30 days.
Service Rating System
A system of merits and demerits was used to evaluate a clerk's value to the service and to weed
out any incompetent clerk, hopefully during his probationary period. There were a number of ways for
clerks to get demerits: misconduct, failing to appear for an examination when due, failing an examination,
15
and any occasion where delay or damaging of mail was involved. Too many demerits could result in
withholding a clerk's promotion in grade, a reduction in his grade, or his removal from the service.
Merits were received for six months of sustained excellence (no demerits during that period),
especially meritorious service, and receiving a grade of 99% or over on an examination. Both demerits
and merits were canceled after one year.
Average Day of RPO Clerks
A RPO clerk's position was unique in that so many of the necessary tasks demanded of him could
not be accomplished while he was on duty, and, therefore, had to be performed at the clerk's home or at a
terminal of his run, while he was off duty.
General orders were received each week from the Chief Clerk's (District Superintendent's) office;
these contained corrections to the state schemes, schedules, and the Postal Laws & Regulations.
Schemes, schedules, and PL&R had to be maintained correctly at all times. In some cases, depending on
a clerk's study assignment, general orders were received from as many as three divisions.
Studying for examinations, especially case exams, and going to the Chief Clerk's office to take
exams had to be accomplished on the clerk's own time.
Printed letter slips, and pouch and paper labels (strips containing five labels), were requisitioned
by the senior clerk on the assignment. After printing, the Chief Clerk's office would divide the total amount
of each equally among the clerks on the assignment. Upon receiving the letter slips, they were "run out" in
the order that the clerk placed them in the letter case of the RPO. (Slips in each pile were identical and
uncollated, and one to three slips from each pile were needed each trip.) Strip labels were "run out" the
same way.
Every slip or label used had to be stamped by the clerk, bearing the name of the RPO, train
number, date, and clerk's name. In case of error, this made it easy to place responsibility.
The clerk who handled registers self-addressed the register receipts to his home, where they
were later checked to ensure that a receipt was received for every register handled.
Clerks-in-charge had to make pouch records (a list of all the pouches due to be received and
dispatched each trip), which were checked each day for irregularities.
All clerks were required to read their Chief Clerk's order book at the terminals of their run before
reporting to work at the postal car.
For this time spent while off duty, a RPO clerk was given one hour and forty minutes each working
day, making his average work day six hours and twenty minutes instead of eight hours. His layoff was
based on the number of trips his assignment was due to make each week, and the amount of time
involved in each round trip. Some assignments had up to four hours advance time before the train was
due to leave.
Under the 40-hour work week, the more popular work cycles were:




6 days on and 8 days off;
6 days on and 6 days off;
4 days on, 5 days off, 4 days on, and 7 days off; and
6 days on, 6 days off, 6 days on, and 9 days off.
Travel Allowance
While subbing, a clerk had to submit his room and board expenses each month, not to exceed the
daily travel allowance at the time. Regular assignments had a stated travel allowance each trip which was
based on the following formula:
The travel allowance for each day was divided into four equal parts: when it was $9.00 per day
each part, or item, amounted to $2.25. A clerk was due his first item ten hours after he reported
for advance work, and received another item every six hours until he arrived back to his
16
headquarters. Late running of the train could give the clerk extra items.
RMS Terminals
RMS Terminals were started in nearly 100 cities in 1914, mainly to take care of the increase in
volume of parcel post, as regular parcel post service started in 1913. These terminals also came to
distribute transit parcel post, circulars, magazines, and papers. Letter cases were used at the terminals to
take care of unworked letters from RPOs. The largest of these terminals was the Penn Terminal in the
G.P.O. Building in New York City -- in 1951, it had over 1,100 clerks.
Where mails for more than one state were distributed, the "state rights" of the assignments were
prorated. If one-fourth of the mail distributed at the Pittsburgh, Pa., Terminal was Ohio mail, clerks with
"Ohio rights" were entitled to one-fourth of the assignments.
All the mail originating in the cities where terminals were located was distributed by the city post
offices. In many cases, this duplication of distribution was in the same building. This was remedied in the
1950s, when all the terminals were put under the supervision of the postmasters of the city in which they
were located. The filling of assignments in the terminal was then limited to the roster from the civil service
examination of the city post office.
Transfer Clerks
Shortly before W.W. I, Transfer Clerks were assigned at some of the larger railroad junction
points. Their primary duty was to "space" all mail-carrying trains (determine the amount of mail for each
car), whether it was in baggage cars or storage cars.
They supervised all handling of the mail at the depot, and had a small letter case in which to
distribute letters mailed at the depot letter boxes. At many locations, they provided a hand-to-hand receipt
for registers between connecting RPOs. They also posted orders on the Chief Clerk's order books which
RPO clerks were required to read before starting work.
Boat-Line RPOs
Route agents and, later, RPO clerks were placed on inland boat lines at a very early date;
postmarks go back to 1857. By the 1890s the famed river packets and steamers on the Ohio and
Mississippi usually carried RPO mail units, such as the old Cairo & Memphis, and the Vicksburg & New
Orleans. Many lakes boasted of this service. In 1902, eighty-two clerks were serving on forty-nine boat
routes. The last year-round service of this type was in the state of Washington; the Bellingham &
Anacortes lasted until 1950.
Seapost Service
The first American service of this type was the U.S. - German Seapost, which began operating in
1891 on the S.S. Havel (North German Lloyd Line). This service rapidly expanded with routes to Britain,
Central and South America, and Asia. The Seapost service still employed fifty-five clerks in early 1941.
The last route of this type (to South America) was terminated October 19, 1941, and the few clerks
transferred to other branches of the RMS
Air Mail Fields
17
With the establishment of the first air-mail route in 1918, and the later additional routes, plus the
accepted use of premium priced air mail by the public, it was only natural that the RMS, being in charge of
transit mail, was assigned the task of establishing "Air Mail Fields" at the major airports. Only outgoing air
mail was distributed at these facilities, channeled there by both the post offices and the RPOs; this mail
was distributed and dispatched to other AMFs via the different flight connections. Incoming mail from
other AMFs was distributed by general scheme and pouched to outgoing RPOs and necessary post
offices. The Motor Vehicle Service provided frequent trips between the city post office and the AMF for air
mail ground transportation. In 1951, there were 1200 clerks manning forty AMFs.
Highway Post Offices
Due to the continual withdrawal of so many RPO trains, the Post Office Department decided to
experiment with the distribution of mail on large buses, equipped somewhat like RPO cars. On February
10, 1941, experimental service started on the Washington & Harrisonburg, Va., HPO. It was a success
from the start, but, due to W.W. II, expansion of this service was delayed for several years. After the war,
the service increased rapidly, with more than 130 routes established by 1955. As this service was
somewhat enmeshed with the RPO service, its value decreased when RPOs were abolished. The last
service of this type to operate in the U.S. was the Cleveland & Cincinnati HPO, which was discontinued in
1974.
Entering the Railway Mail Service (1928)
Many of the clerks who entered the Railway Mail Service in the 1920s became aware of the
opportunity through the numerous ads in magazines, either by the Franklin Institute or the International
Correspondence School; both sold correspondence courses to improve civil service examination grades.
In the ads a clerk was shown standing in a postal car doorway, dressed in a natty uniform. "Travel free for
Uncle Sam" and "See the world from a mail car door" were two of the catchy phrases. Besides the lure of
travel, salaries and days off were emphasized. Some who eventually became clerks took these courses,
although they were definitely in the minority.
A new civil service examination was given every few years and was advertised on the bulletin
boards of all post offices, as to time and location of the exam. Applicants were furnished samples of the
questions asked. The state in which the applicant took the exam determined his "state rights" upon
appointment. In time, applicants were advised of their grades and were offered an appointment if their
names were reached on the roster before a new exam was given.
Few applicants taking the examination for the Railway Mail Service realized they were also eligible
for appointments to RMS Terminals, Transfer Offices, Boat-line RPOs, Seapost Service, and field offices
under either the General Superintendent or Chief Clerk. In later years, Air Mail Fields and Highway Post
Offices were added to this list.
The first appointment was that of substitute; if the applicant accepted, he was furnished a railroad
travel commission for free travel to his designated Chief Clerk's office on the reporting date. Upon
passing his physical, he was given the oath of office, he paid for a yearly $1,000 bond (in later years, the
Post Office Department assumed this expense), and he was issued the following equipment and supplies:

A general state scheme of his first assigned case examination, along with a large post route map
of the state, showing all RPOs, closed pouch routes, and star routes

A railroad travel commission good on all railroads (for "dead-heading" to and from assignments),
badge, and a copy of the Postal Laws & Regulations

A schedule of division mail routes, consisting of a timetable of all RPOs, closed pouch trains, and
star routes in the division, along with that of other necessary RPOs from other divisions, and other
18
information necessary for the proper dispatch of the mail

An "L A" mail key with chain for attaching to the belt, for both safety and handiness -- used for
unlocking U.S. Mail snap-on locks used on pouches, parcel post sacks, and depot letter boxes

A W.W. I surplus Army Colt 45 revolver and related equipment

Monthly expense account forms, which were to be notarized and sent in at the end of each month,
itemizing room and board expenses, with a limit of $3.00 per day (travel allowance), and the time
spent "dead-heading" to and from assignments
A substitute's seniority was determined by the date of his first day of work. He started at a salary
of $1,850 per year and was on probation his first year. He could be called on to cover any RMS
assignment (usually for a regular clerk on annual or sick leave) under his Chief Clerk. The assignment
could have been a one-man run in a 15-foot apartment car or that of a member of a ten-man crew in a
60-foot RPO.
Regular assignments in RPOs that operated in more than one state were prorated as to miles
involved. If there were 45 assignments on a RPO 300 miles long, with 100 miles in one state, that state
was entitled to 15 assignments, one-third of the total number of clerks. The only residency requirement of
a regular clerk assigned to a RPO was that he live within 40 miles of his line.
RPOs in Ohio (1928)
The following RPOs ran into, ran through, or served the 1,662 post offices in the state of Ohio in
1928. Most of the short runs were one-man runs and were accommodation trains, carrying passengers
and freight en route.
Akron & Delphos
Alliance & Dillonvale
Ashtabula & Warren
Ashtabula &Youngstown
Bellaire & Zanesville (narrow gauge)
#Chicago & Cincinnati (NYC RR)
Chicago, Monon& Cincinnati
#Chicago, Richmond & Cincinnati (Penn RR)
#Cincinnati & Chattanooga (Southern RWY)
#Cincinnati & Knoxville (L&N RR)
#Cincinnati & Nashville (L&N RR)
#Cincinnati & St. Louis (B&O RR)
Cleveland & Bridgeport
#Cleveland & Cincinnati (NYC RR)
Cleveland &Columbus
Cleveland, Ft. Wayne & Chicago
Cleveland & Marietta
Cleveland &Pittsburgh
#Cleveland & St. Louis (NYC RR)
Cleveland &Wheeling
Cleveland, Youngstown & Pittsburgh
Columbus & Athens
Columbus & Charleston
Columbus &Chicago
Columbus &Norfolk
Columbus & Pomeroy
Connersville & Cincinnati
#Grafton, W.Va., & Cincinnati (B&O RR)
*Hinton & Cincinnat i
Jackson, Mich., & Cincinnati
Newark & Shawnee
#New York & Chicago (NYC RR)
Oil City, Pa., & Andover
Parkersburg & Portsmouth
Peoria & St. Marys
Peru, Indianapolis & Cincinnati
*Pitts, Akron & Chicago
#Pittsburgh & Chicago (Penn RR)
Pittsburgh & Cincinnati
Pittsburgh & Kenova, W.Va.
#Pittsburgh & St. Louis (Penn RR)
*Portsmouth & Cincinnati
Salamanca, N.Y., & Chicago
Sandusky & Columbus
Sandusky & Newark
Sandusky & Peoria
Sandusky & Springfield
Springfield & Indianapolis
Toledo & Columbus
Toledo & Coshocton
Toledo, Frankfort & St. Louis
Toledo, Kenton &Columbus
Toledo & Mansfield
Toledo & Pioneer (trolley car)
19
Dayton & Chillicothe
#Detroit & Cincinnati (B&O RR)
Detroit &Ft. Wayne
Detroit & Ironton
Detroit, Montpelier & Chicago
Detroit & Pittsburgh
Detroit & Toledo
Frankfort &Toledo
Georgetown & Cincinnati (trolley car)
Toledo & St. Louis
Toledo & Thurston
Trinway & Morrow
Wellsville & Bellaire
Wheeling & Chicago
Wheeling & Cincinnati
Youngstown & Dayton
Zanesville & Parkersburg
Zanesville & Shawnee
*
In later years, a change in name was made in the following RPOs: Hinton & Cincinnati to
#Washington & Cincinnati WD (C&0 RWY) Pitts, Akron & Chicago to #Washington & Chicago
WD (B&O RR) Portsmouth & Cincinnati to #Norfolk & Cincinnati WD (N&W RWY)
#
Trunk lines -- RPO service discontinued in 1968
Closed Pouch Service in Ohio (1928)
Besides the many railroad and trolley lines over the country with RPO cars, hundreds of mostly
shorter lines were used for the transportation of mail. There was no distribution involved on these routes
(thus, "closed pouch") and the carrier was responsible for the handling. As the roads and motor
transportation improved, this type of service was taken over by star routes.
Akron & Wadsworth
Alliance & Mahoningtown
Batavia & Highland Park*
Bayard & New Philadelphia
Bellaire & Dilles Bottom
Bellefontaine & West Liberty
Bethel & Felicity
Botkins & Sidney
Canton & Sherrodsville
Carey & Findlay
Cleveland & Euclid
Cleveland & Lorain
Cleveland & Mansfield
Cleveland & No. Ridgeville
Cleveland & Uhrichsville
Dayton & Eaton
Delaware & Springfield
Detroit & Springfield
Dundas Junction* & Jackson
East Fultonham & Glenford
East Liverpool & Newell, W.Va.
Elyria & Oberlin
Findlay & Lima
Gahanna & Columbus
Hillsboro & Blanchester
Hillsboro & Sardinia
Kent & Akron
Killbuck & Trinway
Kirkersville & Columbus
*
Lima & Minster
Lima & Wayneafield
Lorain & Elyria
Lore City & Cumberland
Mansfield & Coshocton
Marblehead & Port Clinton
Martins Ferry & Wheeling
Means & Cadiz
Minersville & Hobson*
Monday Creek Junction* & Nelsonville
Newark & Buckeye Lake
New Galilee, Pa., & Lisbon
Painesville & Youngstown
Phalanx Sta. & Alliance
Pittsburgh & Hopedale
Roswell & New Philadelphia
Russelville & Georgetown
Salem RR Sta. & East Liverpool
Sandusky & Berlin Heights
Seville & Wooster
So. Vienna & Springfield
Springfield & Richmond, Ind.
Springfield, Yellow Springs & Xenia
Steubenville & Wheeling
Toledo & Curtice
Toledo & Findlay
Toledo & Fremont
Westerville & Columbus
Youngstown & Columbiana
No post office at this location
20
 2004 by
RAILWAY MAIL SERVICE LIBRARY___________________
POSTAL HISTORY RESEARCH - ARTIFACTS
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BOYCE VA 22620-9639
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may be reproduced in any form or by any
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Railway Mail Service Library.
]
frs\THE_RMS.DOC 08/20/04
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