University of Virginia Library

Fine Photos

Mr. Blechman did a fine job in
his photo essay on trains in Charlottesville,
and is to be commended
for it. Few people now know the
splendor of the steel rails at midnight.

One point I might bring out: if
one has just finished a letter past
the last pick-up time for the post
office boxes, and he wants a next
day delivery on the letter, he might
take it down to the Southern Railroad
Station, and put it on a
Railway Post Office. Unfortunately,
the Post Office Department,
which doesn't want next day delivery,
is removing these traveling
post offices in favor of slower but
cheaper modes of carrying the
mails. However, for a few months
to come, there is still hope for next
day delivery of mail along the East
Coast: in all Virginia, Eastern Maryland,
Delaware, New Jersey,
Eastern Pennsylvania, and Lower
New York State, (New York City,
and Long Island in particular) for
the inhabitants of Charlottesville.

The simple rules are: for Northbound
mail, and mail for Virginia
North and East of Charlottesville,
have the letter written by 11 p.m.
for letters in Virginia West and
South of Charlottesville, and for
Northern North Carolina, have the
letter written by 1:30 a.m. at the
very latest (exception in Virginia:
Bristol, and that will receive delivery
if the address has a P.O.
box). Then take a walk to the
South station, and await Trail 38 if
your letter is northbound, or Train
29 if your letter is southbound.
Train 29 will get into Charlottesville
about 11:35, and leave at
11:50 p.m. Train 38 arrives in
Charlottesville around 2:10 and
leaves 2:19 a.m. or so. If one,
understandably, doesn't want to
wait for the arrival during the odd
hours, he might take the letter to
the station during the evening and
go to a small wooded mail shed in
back of the REA Express Building
and Station, and give it to the
mail-handlers there, telling them
that you want it put on the train
post office. Endorse it somewhere
on the front either "29" or "38"
according to the general rules I have
given you. Slip them a nickel along
with the envelop too, if you want,
as sort of a special remembrance,
but no tip is generally required.
They'll be glad to do it for you, as
it is their job to transfer the mails
at the depot.

However, I do advise you once,
before they take these RPO's off,
to take your letter down personally
to the postal car and get a glimpse
of the last shreds of decent mail
service. There use to be 10,000 of
these cars running daily, but now
the numbers are down to about 80
in the United States, and
Charlottesville is fortunate enough
to have two of them still running
through the city limits. The car is
always head end, usually just behind
the locomotive, looks from a
distance to be a half passenger-half
baggage car, and is proudly endorsed
just under the windows:
"United States Mail - Railway Post
Office." And be sure to say "Hi!"
to the clerks, they're very friendly.

Notice that these one the ONLY
two RPO's through Charlottesville,
and they're only on Trs. 29 and 38.
Be sure not to go to the C&O
station. All that you will see there
is what Mr. Blechman took photographs
of. On the RPO's, they will
only accept First Class Mail. No
stamps sold. If you just want your
letter to get where ever it is going
from twelve to twenty hours faster,
even if it is airmail, you might put
it on an RPO also, rather than wait
for the 8 a.m. pick-up in the
morning. Stick to the general rule
when mailing to other points than
those I gave you: northbound north
and southbound south, with airmail
letters sent north no matter where
they are addressed. (They are put
on planes at National. This is where
airmail from Charlottesville goes
anyway).

Again, congratulations to Mr.
Blechman on a job well done.