Manufacturer
Micro-Trains Line Co.
351 Rogue River Parkway
Talent, OR 97540
www.micro-trains.com
Era: 1940s
Comments: This 60-foot
Railway Post Office (RPO) is typical of heavyweight mail cars built in the 1910s and ’20s. Many served into the 1960s.
Micro-Trains had specifically modeled RPOs built for the Great Northern in 1918. The car matches prototype drawings and photos published by the
GN Ry. Historical Society, except for the loop-shaped brake hangers on its trucks. The window pattern and clerestory detailing are correct for GN cars 23-36 in the 1940s.
The RPO’s plastic wheelsets match the National Model Rail-road Association standards gauge, and the body-mounted Magne-Matic couplers match the Micro-Trains height gauge. At 1.35 ounces, the RPO is slightly heavier than the 1.2 ounces recommended by the NMRA for a car of this length. It’s also available with New Haven lettering for $20.15.
