Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
I recently got this cover. The cancel is a bit of a mystery to me. Instead of a city it reads Emergency No. 6. The bottom of the dial appears to read West Division. It was sent on October 20. I can not make out a year. It does look like it went by rail,(TR81). The back has a Broad Brook, Conn receiving cancel that is also dated for October 20 and again the year is not clear. Does anyone have an idea what this is? Of course the seller listed this as scarce, but I really have no idea. I see very common items listed as rare or scarce online every day.
(Modified by Moderator on 2020-09-22 09:57:33)
Login to Like
this post
I did some Googling on this and found a document from USPS that provided definitions of terms used within USPS and found the following:
mobile Post Office™ - A trailer unit equipped to handle all major postal
needs as an emergency or temporary
replacement Post Office location.
Could Pat's cover have been handled by one of these units?
Regards ... Tim.
2 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.
So "TR 81" probably stands for Trailer 81?
Login to Like
this post
trip 81
apologies to Timothy Leary
Login to Like
this post
The TR81 "trip" designation was only used for mobile post offices. As this cover predates the start of the Highway Post Office which Tim refers to this can only be an emergency rail route.
Login to Like
this post
Actually Antonio, I don't see where Tim specifically referred to the HPO in his post...
Nice find, Patrick!
Login to Like
this post
So far there has not been an authoritative answer to the original question in this thread, as I had hoped there would be. The cancel appeared to be from a Railway Post Office (RPO) so I contacted Dr. Frank Scheer, curator of the Railway Mail Service Library asking what it represented. Here is his reply:
"First Division Railway Mail Service (RMS) had several postmarkers that read "Emergency" and a number in place of a RPO route. These spare hand-stamps were assigned to a clerk-in-charge when the original postmarker was lost or damaged, or for a new route before the replacement postmarker arrived.. "TR 81" refers to the train number of the Railway Post Office which postmarked this letter. If the sender's return address appears on the back of the envelope, that can aid in identifying which Railway Post Office route this letter was posted. If other information is desired, please contact the Railway Mail Service Library at RMSLF@RAILWAYMAILSERVICELIBRARY.ORG "
If there are additional markings or addresses on the reverse of the cover, the original poster may contact Dr. Scheer and, perhaps, receive more information.
FF
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.
I recently got this cover. The cancel is a bit of a mystery to me. Instead of a city it reads Emergency No. 6. The bottom of the dial appears to read West Division. It was sent on October 20. I can not make out a year. It does look like it went by rail,(TR81). The back has a Broad Brook, Conn receiving cancel that is also dated for October 20 and again the year is not clear. Does anyone have an idea what this is? Of course the seller listed this as scarce, but I really have no idea. I see very common items listed as rare or scarce online every day.
(Modified by Moderator on 2020-09-22 09:57:33)
Login to Like
this post
Auctions - Approvals
re: Help to identify this WWI Era cancellation.
I did some Googling on this and found a document from USPS that provided definitions of terms used within USPS and found the following:
mobile Post Office™ - A trailer unit equipped to handle all major postal
needs as an emergency or temporary
replacement Post Office location.
Could Pat's cover have been handled by one of these units?
Regards ... Tim.
2 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.
Well, at least I got to have a haircut in the Penny Lane barber shop.
02 Oct 2020
02:45:54pm
re: Help to identify this WWI Era cancellation.
So "TR 81" probably stands for Trailer 81?
Login to Like
this post
Auctions
re: Help to identify this WWI Era cancellation.
trip 81
apologies to Timothy Leary
Login to Like
this post
re: Help to identify this WWI Era cancellation.
The TR81 "trip" designation was only used for mobile post offices. As this cover predates the start of the Highway Post Office which Tim refers to this can only be an emergency rail route.
Login to Like
this post
re: Help to identify this WWI Era cancellation.
Actually Antonio, I don't see where Tim specifically referred to the HPO in his post...
Nice find, Patrick!
Login to Like
this post
re: Help to identify this WWI Era cancellation.
So far there has not been an authoritative answer to the original question in this thread, as I had hoped there would be. The cancel appeared to be from a Railway Post Office (RPO) so I contacted Dr. Frank Scheer, curator of the Railway Mail Service Library asking what it represented. Here is his reply:
"First Division Railway Mail Service (RMS) had several postmarkers that read "Emergency" and a number in place of a RPO route. These spare hand-stamps were assigned to a clerk-in-charge when the original postmarker was lost or damaged, or for a new route before the replacement postmarker arrived.. "TR 81" refers to the train number of the Railway Post Office which postmarked this letter. If the sender's return address appears on the back of the envelope, that can aid in identifying which Railway Post Office route this letter was posted. If other information is desired, please contact the Railway Mail Service Library at RMSLF@RAILWAYMAILSERVICELIBRARY.ORG "
If there are additional markings or addresses on the reverse of the cover, the original poster may contact Dr. Scheer and, perhaps, receive more information.
FF
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.