Rural Mail Light Runner [smithsonian]

The unidentified rural letter carrier is driving a horse-drawn Harrington "Light Runner" mail wagon. Unlike most Rural Free Delivery (RFD) wagons, the Light Runner's door was located at the back of the vehicle, not on the side. The wagon was painted white, and the lettering on the side "RFD Route No. 8 / U.S. Mail" is in blue. The roof lip construction was intended to lessen the impact of rain or snow showers on the front window. The tiny wagon provided little space for carriers to maneuver inside. Although that should have made it less appealing for carriers, the model sold very well. In addition to being smaller than most rural mail wagons, the Light Runner was also often less expensive to purchase. This was an important feature, as rural carriers then, as now, were responsible for purchasing their own vehicles.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/smith.../4011438074/

Here is a c1915 advertising cover showing the back end of the Harrington "Light Runner".




And from 1924, a much later use of a different styled RFD buggy also labeled as a Harrington "Light Runner" quite late for horse-drawn power.

Easy on the horse, too!

Note shadows of the photographer, camera and tripod, and a fence gate at the bottom.

There's a lot of excess leather hanging on that horse. Looks like they threw together the harnessing from whatever was available.

And really not a lot of room in the buggy for mail, much less parcels. A remarkable window into how it was done, though. Thanks.

Great post, love the postal history.

I just noticed the "Happy New Year" greeting above the camera's shadow. It must have been a warm winter in Illinois or would this picture have been taken further south? Would these rigs have been used in the middle of winter or was there a model on skis? A nice look at postal history