ADVERTISING - Fred Harvey Hotels along US Train Routs - MAP - 1909

Description: ADVERTISING: Fred Harvey Hotels along US - Train Routs - MAP - 1909 - RPO CANCEL: The Fred Harvey Company was the owner of the Harvey House chain of restaurants, hotels and other hospitality industry businesses alongside railroads in the Western United States. It was founded in 1876 by Fred Harvey to cater to the growing number of train passengers. When Harvey died in 1901, his family inherited 45 restaurants and 20 dining cars in 12 states. During World War II, Harvey Houses opened again to serve soldiers as they traveled in troop trains across the U.S. By 1968, when it was sold to Amfac, Inc. (now Xanterra Parks and Resorts, as of 2002), the Fred Harvey Company was the sixth largest food retailer in the United States. It left behind a lasting legacy of good food, dedication to customers, decent treatment of employees, and preservation of local traditions. Also, of interest in this card is the RPO POSTAL CANCELLATION on the reverse. In the United States a railway post office, commonly abbreviated as RPO, was a railroad car that was normally operated in passenger service as a means to sort mail en route, in order to speed delivery. The RPO was staffed by highly trained Railway Mail Service postal clerks and was off-limits to the passengers on the train. The Railway post office was introduced in the United States on July 28, 1862. Most RPO cars had a mail slot on the side of the car, so that mail could actually be deposited in the car, much like using the corner mailbox, while the train was stopped at a station. Those desiring the fastest delivery would bring their letters to the train station for dispatch on the RPO, knowing that overnight delivery would be virtually assured. The mail handled in this manner received a cancellation just as if it had been mailed at a local post office, with the cancel giving the train number, endpoint cities of the RPO route, the date, and RMS Railway Mail Service or PTS Postal Transportation Service between the killer bars. Collecting such cancellations is a pastime of many philatelists and postal history researchers. The Railway Mail Service organization within the Post Office Department existed between 1864 and September 30, 1948. It was renamed the Postal Transportation Service on October 1, 1948, and existed until 1960. After 1960, the management of railway post office routes as well as Highway Post Office routes, Air Mail Facility, Terminal Railway Post Office, and Transfer Office, were shifted to the Bureau of Transportation.This Divided Back Era postcard, mailed RPO in 1909, is in good condition but there is edge wear. C. T. American Art Company. No. R-86647.

Price: 8.5 USD

Location: Brooklyn, New York

End Time: 2024-11-28T02:08:01.000Z

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