Position of baggage car with messenger

During the 1960's I worked for the Pennsylvania and Penn Central Railroads handling postal packages in Baltimore. I recall one train that was headed to New York and was always headed by 2 GG1 locomotives. It left Baltimore around midnight and generally had 22 cars - all mail and express cars with the exception of a rider coach as the last car.

An unwritten rule of the road was that workers who had completed their shift could ride in one of the baggage cars that were worked on the trip. Most of the cars other than the postal and a few baggage / mail cars were sealed from DC to NY. The PRR B60 cars that had a toilet on them were designated by a small star painted on the side and these were the cars that employees rode on as they were worked during the trip.

I realize this does not answer your question directly but may give you some insight.

R. Heil --- Sunset Models / 3rd rail

I don't think the messengers were allowed in the dining cars.  Like RPO workers, they were expected to pack their own lunches/dinners.

Rusty

They may have done things differently on other railroads, but Santa Fe put the baggage car with the Train Baggageman just ahead of the passenger cars.  

The Train Baggageman assignment was filled from the Brakeman seniority roster.  He also functioned as a Railway Express Agency Messenger until that service ended.  He wore work clothes, and his presence in the diner was not appreciated, but it was common for the dinining car crew to carry a meal to him and collect the china and drinkware later.  Employees wearing passenger uniforms could eat in the diner, at half price, but not at a table with passengers.  Officials could eat in the diner, and the Steward or Waiter in Charge normally "comped" the check.

The Train Baggageman loaded, off-loaded, and sorted the baggage and express, and also the company R.R.B. mail to and from stations.  R.R.B. (Railroad Business) mail did not require postage, and the Post Office was not involved, since it was internal communication.  Envelopes were typically made of brown paper.  Some were sealable, single-use, but most were unsealed with numerous lines printed on the front and back.  All had the letters R.R.B. printed on them.  They did not have the street address, just the name of the user or office, and the name of the station.  When you received Company mail, you scratched out your name and station, and re-used it.  Amtrak, as part of its agreement, had to maintain R.R.B. service. but, after personal computers came into use in the 1990's, R.R.B. mail evaporated, as did exchanging paper copies of internal correspondence.

I believe that it was possible to send RRB mail offline when passenger trains of both railroads served the same station (i.e. Chicago, no matter which depot the respective railroads used), however, in practice, it was seldom done, as personal communication (i.e., things other that waybill copies or reports) had to be sent to the Superintendent's Office (via R.R.B mail) for approval.  The Superintendent's Office sent it off the Division or offline, if approved.