Railway Post Offices (R.p.o.) In Canada

Very interesting thread !

I found this one - but can't figure out the Railway line



THE RPO postmark says B.C. - so obviously from British Columbia. Then I am lost. I presume the 'V' (from 'C. & V.') is related to Vancouver?
Any help much appreciated

Could be Calgary & Vancouver RR, part of the Canadian Pacific Railway.

Yes, in fact, according to the book The History of Canadian RPOs, The Calgary & Vancouver 'used seven different official postmarks...some of these...are notable for their identification marks which take the form of asterisks, dollar signs, crosses etc.. These were probably used by the mail clerks to help them identify their own hammers in large RPOs where numbers mail clerks were employed.'

The date is October 22, 1908, but what do the other two characters 0?6 above the date represent?

@jamesw - thank you so much - the description of the identification marks seems to fit well

@blackjag - Good question - I've been wondering about the same. Maybe number of the hammer - or number of the mail car. Anybody?

Possibly the number of the mail car, looks like the hammer is identified by the x's with dots ( at the 9:00 and 3 o'clock positions)

Calgary & Vancouver R.P.O. The "X" is one of 23 different ornaments used to identify the specific hammer on that route.

Yes, as I mentioned.

Thanks both for your inputs

I found this selection of similar "C.& V." RPO 's on an auction site, relevant for this discussion.



The image confirms the varieties of ornaments for different hammers - and also the different numbers at top. I presume these numbers to be mail car numbers - at least until told otherwise.

I find the RPO / TPO postmarks to represent such an interesting part of postal history - thanks to all contributing for keeping this thread going

Hi all. I was going through all of the postings here from the start. It appears that I let a member down in his request (by error on my part) for a reply a few years back & I offer my apologies for this. I did not notice "Bujutsu" in his earliest posting here. So, cjusz_911,if you are still with us, please accept my apologies and I will be looking up your illustrations, as posted, and will try to get a response to you as soon as possible.

Chimo

Bujutsu

Hi cjusz_911 and all. This is a response to illustrations that were posted on page 2 of this thread by cjusz_911. So, for all of you who are into the different types of RPO cancellations, here is the information that I have

Illustration #1 - SOURIS C.P.R. Section M.C. - unlisted - sorry, no info.

Illustration #2 - C.N.RW"Y Emerson & Winnipeg R.P.O. - This is a Type 19A cancellation that was used from 1905 to 1915. It has a RF of 270 (hard to find). Destinations known in the hammer are "N" & "S"

Illustration #3 - MED. HAT & NEL. R.P.O. - This is a Type 17A hammer and was used from 1910 to 1957. It has a RF of 40 (common)

Illustration #4 - HAMILTON & PALMERSTON R.P.O. - The cancellation does appear to be from this run and appears to be a Type 17. This was used from 1915 to 1939. The RF is 100 (fairly common)

Illustration #5 - This one is a puzzler. The only "COR" I could find was Cornerbrook, which would be Newfoundland, but I cannot confirm this. All I can say is that this cancellation is not listed.
Correction here! I just found it, and, it is a Type 17A cancel that was used from 1921 to 1951. It has a RF of 145. The abbreviations are Coronation & Lacombe, a Western Canada run.

Hope the above information helps and I am sorry it I posted this so late.

Happy collecting.

Chimo

Bujutsu

Blaamand, your cancellation is a Type W30 and it was in use from 1899 to 1965. There is a RF of 55 for it. This hammer is also known to have an ornament with the British Pound symbol as well.

Chimo

Bujutsu

I am responding to the following from the following contributors:

stampfan9 - Your cancel "WINNIPEG & YORKTON R.P.O. #2" is a Type 17A Destinations known are "E" and "W". It was used from 1902 to 1925 and has a RF of 175

cynical - Your "WPG. & HART. (Hartney) is a Type 17A and was used from 1925 to 1938 and has a RF of 165

jimjung - Can you make out the wording on your early cancellation?

Ciletaliph - Your "MONT. & S. FALLS R.P.O. / . is a Type 17 and was used from 1934 to 1960 and has a RF of 140 Your "SHERBROOKE & QUEBEC R.P.O. is also a Type 17 cancel & it was used from 1929 to 1956 and has a RF of 35

Hope this information helps?

Chimo

Bujutsu

Cjusz_911 - re your "TOR. & GRAVENHURST M.C. G.T.R. / No 1, this is a Type 10A cancellation that was used from 1892 to 1916 with a RF of 120. Destinations known are "N" and "S"

Chimo

Bujutsu

Hi All

I hope that you don't mind me referring back to the early pages of this thread? I didn't realize how far behind I was answering in here. Getting tired now <G>. Will try to answer more on this thread tomorrow.

Chimo

Bujutsu

@Bujutsu - Wow, that is really some useful information. Thank you so much for your most kind and informative response.

btw - what do you think about the discussed number '96' on my postmark - is it the mail car number as suspected - or something else?