OK, all you train buffs out there and USPS collectors, this one is for you. We have very limited quantities of these and once they are gone, they are gone for good as they are a limited edition series and are numbered!
This is a mint in the box limited edition of the Hannibal & St. Joseph Railroad First Railway Post Office: 1862 produced by the United States Post Office Post Haste Collection Mail By Rail Series and comes in the specially made Priority Mail box.
We of course will wrap the item in additional packaging to protect the original box.
Here is the history!
The first experiment with Railway Post Offices (RPOs) was made in 1862 by William A. Davis between Hannibal and St. Joseph Missouri. It's aim was to expedite the connection at St. Joseph with the overland stage, which had replaced the fabled Pony Express the previous year.
Originally a baggage car, Davis had alterations made which provided a long table and a 65-pigeon-hole letter case to allow easier sorting on route, the pouch rack was a later development. Authorized to open sacks & letter packages addressed to the St. Joseph Distribution Post Office, Davis sorted the mail in he same way the office at St. Joseph would in order to dispatch it.
His experiment, though limited in time, opened the door to expansion of the RPO concept starting in 1864.
This car is cast in pewter and is brand new in a brand new box. These cars were made in a limited production of 5000 serially numbered pieces, and this one is numbered 4811of 5000.
