21c Railroad Mail Car single

A 21-cent coil stamp featuring a 1920s Railroad Mail Car was issued on August 16, 1988, in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The dedication ceremony occurred at the Palace of the Governors. The denomination met the single-piece rate for first-class mailings presorted to either the three- or five-digit ZIP Code.

In the beginning, only closed pouch mail - mail intended for delivery at local points on the specific lines -- was handled on the railroad mail cars, with most mail still being distributed in the larger post offices. Gradually, the idea evolved of open pouch sorting en route-transit mail was sorted for connecting lines and local offices.

Initially, traveling post offices occupied only very small sections in the ends of baggage cars. However, as the amount of mail increased, it often became essential to use entire cars to accommodate railroad post offices (RPOs).

Eventually, the advent of commercial airlines, interstate highways, and affordable automobiles spelled doom for the old-line network of passenger trains. At the end, only two trains were left, one traveling in each direction and running daily between New York City and Washington, DC. Ceremonies on June 30, 1977, in both cities marked the end of a century of Railway Mail Service dedication and tradition, as the last two RPOs operating in America made their final runs.

Designed by David Stone, the stamps were engraved through the intaglio process (B Press) by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing.

Reference:

Postal Bulletin (July 28, 1988).

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