Railway Post Office Car 3713

[engineeral]

The picture at http://www.images.technomuses.ca/search ... 28&lang=en shows what looks like a different RPO than the pictures at http://dardpi.ca/wiki/index.php?title=DAR003713. Or is just the other side of the same car? Is the mail hook always on the first door of the car, or are the hooks on each side directly opposite one another? Because if this picture is the other side of car 3713 then the mail hooks are diagonally opposite.

(p.s. Moderator - can we start a new Work Forum classification "Rolling Stock Roster" and place this post in it please?)

[stem]

No doubt they are two different cars or two different sides but I can't figure out from the link you gave of the Jenkins photo where the car number of the mail car is. As well I'm assuming you are talking about the first car.

I would think that it would have only been practicle to have a mail hook on either side.

I'm sure Jim O'Donnell could shed some light on these wood mail cars. The series was from 3708 to 3714, 60'-10" and built in 1908.

All our discussions of railway cars have been up to now in the general chat area where I will move this. The reason: people will post there anyways. The only reason I created a motive power roster was in anticipation of a lot of activity about the locomtive roster, which was not entirely born out but worked well nevertheless. As well, if I did that I'd want to go through all the posts and send them over there and that quite honestly is a LOT of work. If you're interested, then welcome Mr. New Moderator!

[Dan Conlin]

I think each of the four doors of the full length RPO cars had fastenings so you could rig the mail hook.
This picture of a Santa Fe RPO clearly shows the hook hardware on each door
http://www.sdrm.org/roster/passenger/rp ... -debut.jpg
Looking carefully at one of the DAR colour shots of the RPO, I think I can see the hardware on both front and back doors.
I imagine each car had two hooks, one for each side, but you could switch them to front or back doors depending on train direction and the internal organization of the sorting.
I am not sure if the CMST is the same car. I don't know mail cars well enough.
By the way,has everyone seen that great shot of a RPO car picking up the mail from the mail crane in Coldbrook? Its been published in couple of articles.Rare shot of a Canadian mail hook in operation. Someday Id like to have a working mail crane on my layout.

Dan Conlin

[stem]

I remember the shot but I can't remember where or when I saw it. Did you post that link some time ago?

[Dan Conlin]

I just found the image doing some searches on Railway Post Office cars. Rare example of the light just right to show up all the hardware.
Cheers, Dan

[engineeral]

I think each of the four doors of the full length RPO cars had fastenings so you could rig the mail hook.
This picture of a Santa Fe RPO clearly shows the hook hardware on each door
http://www.sdrm.org/roster/passenger/rp ... -debut.jpg
Looking carefully at one of the DAR colour shots of the RPO, I think I can see the hardware on both front and back doors.
I imagine each car had two hooks, one for each side, but you could switch them to front or back doors depending on train direction and the internal organization of the sorting.
I am not sure if the CMST is the same car. I don't know mail cars well enough.
By the way,has everyone seen that great shot of a RPO car picking up the mail from the mail crane in Coldbrook? Its been published in couple of articles.Rare shot of a Canadian mail hook in operation. Someday Id like to have a working mail crane on my layout.

Dan Conlin

In HO scale? That would be neat. What about a little guy to through out a mail bag for delivery?