There seems to be no end of parallels between stamping and birding. This chapter is prompted by the generous provision to the author of images and descriptions related to the railroad mail crane. These are rarely seen and it is possible they are more rare and endangered than the well-known Whooping Crane. But enough about the Whoopers.
The decision to post this material on a web site was made to encourage two things: the addition of much more material about mail cranes, and an effort to contribute to the idea of saving this knowledge for the education of others.
The source of the material presented on August 13th must, alas, remain anonymous. However, future contributors are welcome to identify themselves - perhaps as sources of material even beyond what they provide here. Send stuff !!
NEW Aug. 15: I finally knowingly have seen a mail crane, at the Alberta Railway Museum near Edmonton. A bonus is that it is mounted by the original St. Albert station. Shown above and again, below.
The mail crane was used by the post office to enable transfer of a bag of mail to a passing railway post office (RPO) car. Were baggage cars so equipped for runs that did not include RPO cars? In any case, looking at the photos of mail cranes explains a lot (quote marks are placed around explanations from the provider).
Added August 14: "Did you know that some of the annual Canada Postal Guides indicated which stations had mail cranes with a funky thing like a double asterisk adjacent? Not done throughout, I am sure, looks like sporadic." "The 1922 Postal Guide lists 11 catch posts (mail cranes) in Manitoba, 17 in Saskatchewan, 28 in Alberta and 54 in BC, all by my count which I wont say is accurate. 1920 lists catch posts. 1915 doesn't. All I have. 1920 has an instruction to postmasters re catch posts and what they cannot accept for mailing through them, eg fragile parcels and so on. Also stated is "office has catch post service only" presuming no other way mails get to and from the office".
 "This view is of Barnet station, just a few miles east of Vancouver on the CPR mainline. Photo is about 1890."
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"Attached is a shot I took of the Keefers mail crane in 1963 when mail was picked up daily. In the background is the original Keefers station building built by the Onderdonk forces in 1883. Sadly, I was ordered to demolish the building shortly after this picture was taken and replace it with a small portable shelter which shows in the later shot." |
 | "We stopped in at Keefers, a station roughly half way between Lytton and North Bend. Keefers had a post office and a mail crane. However, just about then, the Keefers post office closed and the mail crane became redundant. When the crane is "loaded" i.e. with mail bag attached, the arms are under a considerable spring pressure, and when the catching arm on the mail car snatches the bag clear, the arms snap clear with a resounding bang. Some years later, and after work sessions in Calgary and back to Vancouver, I decided that perhaps Heritage Park in Calgary was a good place to leave it and I did so. They were happy to get it and promised to erect it in a suitable place in due course. The due course has yet to happen. " |
 | "Here we have CPR Boundary Falls ca 1935 Mile 121 Boundary Subdivision between Grand Forks and Midway BC. Nellie Knight is up on the stand. Zella Johnson on the ground. The girls had brought the mail bag to the catch post from post office at Boundary Falls where Zella's mother was the postmistress. Gives a pretty good idea of how things were done. However, questions in my mind. Were they loading for an eastward train or westward? The mail clerks had to know which side the crane was on for the direction they were travelling and have the appropriate catching arm dropped for the pick up. There must have been lots of foul ups. I have asked retired mail clerks about this and they admitted to nothing. I have a nice beat up booklet "Instructions to railway mail clerks." Good read. Dated about 1930. Also a leather bound booklet pass allowing mail clerks on to mail car". |
 | New August 17: "I have attached one of my favorites. The mail crane at Bear Creek station. Bear Creek was a station on the first CPR grade over Rogers Pass. It was on the east slope about four or five miles from the summit. A post office existed there from about 1913 to 1917 principally to serve the men excavating the five mile Connaught tunnel. When the tunnel was completed, this section of track was abandonded, station and post office ceased to exist. Scan shows a westward passenger train, dead of winter, mail crane on a fairly sharp curve which necessitated minor changes in placing the crane". |
 | New August 14: "The two mail cranes at old Hatzic Station, ca 1918. Hatzic is a couple of miles east of Mission City on the CPR main line. Double tracking has just been completed and the two mail cranes installed to handle both traffic directions. Lovely rural station, actually just a shelter, complete with baggage wagon. In this view, we are looking eastward". |
 The original St. Albert, Alberta railway station was relocated to the Alberta Railway Museum some years ago, where it serves as reception and museum of small artifacts. A few years ago, St. Albert built a replica as part of its grain elevators site in St. Albert.
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This shows the crane, with a CNR mail car in the background. The mail car has been set up as a display site and the local BNAPS groups has been thinking of ways to help with this. It was originally used in Quebec. |
"Many years ago I did some digging on railway mail cranes. I noticed on one of the castings "The Columbian Mail Crane Co Columbus, Ohio." The Ohio Historical Society was able to give me some background on this company established in 1893. I suspect that the use of their crane was virtually universal, at least in Canada, probably from 1900 on or thereabouts. No doubt the post office people had something to say about what was used. The CPR has a very detailed standard plan of this crane which leads one to think that they designed it although the branding on it certainly suggests it came from Ohio. I have a photo of a mail crane in use at Barnet BC ca 1900 and it is entirely different, very primitive looking thing". (shown above)
