Let's See Your Railway Post Office Rpo Items

jarnick:

Great cancel! Dated five years before the canal opened for shipping.

That has to be one of the longest RPO routes.

Don

Can anyone help in determining this RPO cancel for me?

MEMPHIS & TEXARKANA 289 St.L -SW12

Bib: Mail by Rail Bryant Alden Long Page 394 (Appendix 1 list)

Curious as to the name?
Mm I thought to be Madamoiselle, however Enos (Enoch) is a boys name

Enos Thomas Altman
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial...homas-altman

Thanks Rod.

Merry Christmas to you and yours.


John

Here's a newer addition to my Redwood Empire RPOs. This RPO operated on the oldest working train in California, the Arcata & Mad River RR (1852)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arcat...ver_Railroad








And because of the note about the stamps, here's a close up of them, they do indeed have position dots, all 2 and 2/3's of them.

I'll share what I think fits the category. I don't really collect in this area, but the Kentucky connection and the Kentucky Senate envelope were just enough to make me take the plunge.

Two recent additions to the Eureka & Hydeville RPO section of Northwestern Pacific. In case you've wondered, Hydesville is misspelled. Both are from the John H. Williams collection of California RPOs. The same John Williams who compiled California Town Postmarks 1850 - 1935, who apparently also had an early RPO catalog. ( From his note on a cover sleeve.)




The file card in the sleeve with this cover notes "Perfect strike!"

Another RMS cancel query.

Sent from Danbury, Conn to Ottawa, On as a Special Delivery letter, I want to confirm and clarify the detail of two back cancels.




The one above is clearly BOSTON SPRIN. & NY. Which 'SPRIN' is referred to?



The second one is 'NY & CHI'.

Am I correct the letter would have travelled a relatively short distance from New York to Newark on the mail carraige ultimately bound for Chicago?

Thanks

Guess:
Boston and Springfield ?
ebay link dead.

64idgaf, could we possibly see both front and back of the whole cover? This is a puzzle as it stands. And where does Newark come in?

Whoops! Never did get back to finish that post.
Here's the aforementioned cover in it's sleeve;




Love the font of Pacific Lumber's corner on this cover from apparently the head office. Except.. Eureka & Scotia was not connected by rail to San Francisco, yet. Not until Aug 1915!


The cover following also has a Pacific Lumber corner, and was also served by the Eel River & Eureka RR.





forgot to add the Pacific Lumber cover.

64idgaf - It refers to Springfield Massachusetts, the birthplace of basketball.

The Springfield in the RPO cancel is then Springfield, Massachusetts, if anyone was still wondering, and carried to New York City.

So yes, carried by rail from New York City to Newark, about 17 km or about 10 mi. Pretty good service back then. Without other markings, this then appears to be have been flown directly to Toronto.

US6c was the domestic air mail rate and also the airmail rate to Canada. The sender should have been paid US10c more for special delivery to Canada. I suppose that it was charged C10c postage due at a time when both currencies happened to be at par.

Next day service, Danbury, CT to Toronto ON. Take that, USPS!

Overlooking the fact that this one is addressed to FDR in the White House, it has an RPO cancel on the back. Half the city name is washed out but I'm thinking it says Pittsfield, Ohio.