Can anyone direct me to a picture of the device used to snag mailbags off of RPO cars? This would be the apparatus on the ground, and not the one mounted on the side of the mail car.
Thanks!
Check out pages 28 & 29 of the March 2001 issue of Trains magazine. I belive that’s what you are looking for unless thats a train order hoop or something else entirely.
Matt
I found this it may explain; www.postalmuseum.si.edu/exhibits/2c1_railwaymail.html I don’t remember ever hearing of a device for releasing the mail bags. I think they were kicked out of the RPO car.
Any account I’ve ever seen regarding RPO’s indicates that the bags were, indeed, simply kicked out the door as the bag hung on the mail crane by the postal clerk was being snagged.
Yes, RPO clerks just pitched out the mail bags that were being delivered at speed. If you notice, most depot had a bay window affair somewhere along the front (track side) of the building. The RPO clerks would aim the delivery bags so the would come to a stop against the bay window area of the station. When aluminum siding came into vogue and some stations were refurbished using the new building component…the siding of the bay window area was soon turned to junk from the repeated banging of mail bags.