In a web article entitled “The Post Office Role in U.S. Development: The Railway Mail Service” (see: The Post Office and the History of Railroad Mail Service the author states: “Following passage of the Transportation Act of 1958, mail-carrying passenger trains declined rapidly. By 1965, only 190 trains carried mail; by 1970, the railroads carried virtually no First-Class Mail. On April 30, 1971, the Post Office Department terminated seven of the eight remaining routes. The lone, surviving railroad post office ran between New York and Washington, D.C., and made its last run on June 30, 1977.”
Head End equipment, in the heyday of passenger service, was a big part of the railroad\’s operations. Head end included Railway Express Agency and the post office\’s RPOs (Railway Post Offices).
Ancien Hippie 