I am custom painting a few passenger cars, and I wanted to know a bit more about RPO and Mail cars. Is a Mail Car always labeled as an RPO? Can a head end car lettered as "United States Mail" not be lettered as "Railroad Post Office"?. What do the stars on RPO cars represent?
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Star on a head end car: A baggage car with a messenger, that is, human inside. Usually has a deck/"office" inside.
A car which sorted main was marked for RPO.
Main in storage could be in a RPO, RPO with a baggage compartment, a boxcar for head end use, or in later years a container.
Head end stuff is a train world of its own. A part of pre-Amtrak railroading we forget about.
Star on a head end car: A baggage car with a messenger, that is, human inside. Usually has a deck/"office" inside.
about.
The star indicated that there is FACILITIES for a person inside the baggage car, i.e a toilet.
my business lives and dies with the USPS, I did some digging for you:
if mail was worked in the car while en route, the car had to be lettered: United States Mail, Railway Post Office. Some RPO's had a mail slot near of next to a door for convenient platform mailing.
some railroads had dedicated 'mail storage' cars, and were so lettered. during times of high mail volume, express, boxcars and reefers were pressed into service as sealed mail storage cars. the modified PRR X29 express boxcar is one example.
mail sorted in an RPO had a 'RMS' or similar postmark obliterator cancellation, noting the route or district of cancellation.
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