Boat Railway Post Office

U.S. Mailboat Uncle Sam on Lake Winnipesaukee

Post was transported over water in the United States in the later nineteenth and the twentieth century.

Origins

Route Agents and, later, Railway Post Office (RPO) clerks were placed on inland boat lines at a very early date; postmarks go back to 1857. By the 1890s the famed river packets and steamers on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers usually carried RPO mail units, such as the old Cairo & Memphis, and the Vicksburg & New Orleans. Many lakes boasted of this service. In 1902, 82 clerks were serving on 49 boat routes. The last year-round service of this type was in the state of Washington; the Bellingham & Anacortes lasted until 1950.

The longest Boat RPOs operated between New York and San Juan, Puerto Rico, New York and Canal Zone, plus several routes from Seattle, Washington to Alaska ports. These were all discontinued with the on-set of World War II.

Last services

Two Boat RPOs outlived their railway route counterparts. The last rail route made its final trip between New York and Washington, DC on June 30, 1977. The Wolfboro & Merrymount RPO lost its Boat RPO status upon its last trip of the season on Lake Winnipesaukee on September 15, 1978. The title "RPO" was completely erased when the New Hampshire RPO closed its operating season on September 30, 1978. These two boat routes still carry mail and operate as water-borne rural free delivery routes, but no longer have their distinctive RPO postmark.

References

Wilking, Clarence. (1985) The Railway Mail Service, Railway Mail Service Library, Boyce, Virginia OCLC 30148351. Available as an MS Word file at http://www.railwaymailservicelibrary.org/articles/THE_RMS.DOC

United States Postal Service
Organizations	American Letter Mail Company American Postal Workers Union Board of Governors of the United States Postal Service Bureau of Transportation Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee National Alliance of Postal and Federal Employees National Association of Letter Carriers National Association of Presort Mailers National Postal Mail Handlers Union National Rural Letter Carriers' Association Postal Regulatory Commission Postal Transportation Service PostalWatch Incorporated United States Postal Inspection Service United States Postal Service Office of Inspector General
Systems	Address Management System Advanced Facer-Canceler System Coding Accuracy Support System Flats Sequencing System Locatable Address Conversion System United States Postal Savings System
Services	Click-N-Ship Express mail in the United States National Change Of Address Permit mail Permit Reply Mail Postal notes Railway Mail Service Registered mail Special Delivery Special handling
Facilities	Air Mail Facility Boat Railway Post Office Community post office Dead letter office Highway Post Office J. W. Westcott II List of United States Post Offices National Postal Museum Network Distribution Center Railway mail service library Red Brick Roads Sectional center facility Streetcar Railway Post Office Terminal Railway Post Office
Legal	Comstock laws Post Office Act Postal Reorganization Act Postal Service Act Private Express Statutes Rural Post "Good" Roads Act of 1916 Title 39 of the United States Code
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Boat Railway Post Office

Origins

Last services

References

See also