Here comes the mailman bringing the mail. Regardless of the weather (except during dangerous conditions), the mailman has delivered the mail to every address in the United States of America. Although technology has changed, the mailman continues to deliver the mail. The United States Postal Service which has been delivering the mail in the United States of America since the nation’s beginning employs the mailman. Today, you can see the entire process of mail delivery in the United States of America by simply visiting the National Postal Museum in Washington D.C.
Some of you are saying, “Wow! I tip my hat to the mailman and the work that he, or she, does. As for the National Postal Museum in Washington D.C., well there is a problem. The museum is about the United States Postal Service in the United States of America. In this museum, you see things about the post office. This is not a museum about the railroad. Therefore, I will not be delivering myself to this museum.”
Yes, this is that National Postal Museum. Yes, this museum is about the United States Postal Service. No, this is not a railroad museum. So you are wondering why a railroad fan would want to visit this museum.
The National Postal Museum is, of course, about the United States Postal Service. The museum has exhibits on every factor on the United States Postal Service from the beginning to the present day. From the very beginning of the United States of America, the mail was delivered by a person called the mailman or the mailwoman.
Some of you are saying, “That is nice, but how could they deliver the mail if they did not have a mail truck? The automobile was not invented until the late nineteenth century.”
When mail delivery began, the mailman rode a horse, or if they were in a town, they walked to each address similar to what they do today. So, not much has changed. The mailman went from a horse to a horse and buggy between the different towns. As many of you know, it took many days to ride from town to town. In 1927, something began in the United States of America. It had been running in Great Britain, but it made its way to the city of Baltimore in the U.S. state of Maryland. What was it? The railroad had come to the Western Hemisphere. The railroad started with horsepower. How much horse power? One horse power. Well, it was one horse pulling a car on a set of railroad tracks. When the steam locomotive arrived, cars were no longer pulled by an actual horse but by an invention that had the power of many horses. Instead of taking days to get from one town to another, it just took a few hours. After the American Civil War where the railroad was used to transport soldiers and supplies, the United States Postal Service took advantage of the railroad, and the Railway Post Office was born. What was the Railway Post Office? It was simply a Post Office in a railroad car. You can see an old Railway Post Office car at the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Museum in Baltimore, Maryland and at other railroad museums in the United States of America.
One of the exhibits at the National Postal Museum in Washington D.C. features the ways the United States Mail was transported. You see the common mail truck. You see an old carriage. Then you see a replica of a Railway Post Office Car without the wheels below, and you walk in on floor level. (Great for those in wheelchairs at the old post office cars were not wheelchair accessible.) On the inside, you see exactly what you would have seen in a real post office car. You will see the old mail slots and replica mail bags.
Is that all? Nope.
The Railway Post Office had a mascot. Who was their mascot? Meet Owney, the mascot of the Railway Mail Service. He lived from 1888 to 1897, but during his life, he was a very famous dog as he rode along in the postal car across the nation with different mail carriers. When you visit the museum, you can see Owney, the actual dog, inside a glass enclosure.
Now you have a reason to visit the National Postal Museum. It is owned and operated by the Smithsonian. It is located at 2 Massachusetts Avenue across the street from Union Station. It is open every day from 10:00am to 5:30pm, and admission is free. However, you will have to pass through a security checkpoint. Please note that that museum does not have its own parking, and the street parking is very restricted with meters with limited hours and permit only parking, but the Union Station Parking Garage is within walking distance. There is plenty of transit buses that pass by the museum and the Greyhound Station is nearby, and you can also arrive by the Metrorail subway, Amtrak, the Marc Commuter Train, and the Virginia Railway Express. (Yes, you can take the train to the museum.) You can learn more about the museum and the current exhibits at https://postalmuseum.si.edu/.
So, visit the National Postal Museum. See the history of mail delivery in the United States of America. See how the railroad played a role in the delivery of the United States Mail.
John Cowgill: Stories of the Railroad 