Show First Railroad Post Office Carried Mail Mall to tn I Eighty years ago the first permanent permanent permanent perma perma- nent railroad post office was established established established to speed up mail for soldiers On August 28 1864 George B B. B Armstrong Armstrong Armstrong Arm Arm- strong then assistant postmaster of Chicago sent his first railway post postoffice postoffice postoffice office on its way over the Chicago and North Western railway from Chicago to Clinton Iowa Within afew a afew afew few years the new system of expediting expediting expediting ex ex- the mails spread to include the principal trunk lines Vines of ot the na na- lion tion Practically ever every every nation in the world adopted the Idea eventually Armstrong instituted the service with approval of the postmaster general as a means of facilitating distribution of mail particularly to tomen tomen tomen men in the army From the first Armstrong envisioned a national system and lived Jived to see his plan become a a success despite public doubts and ridicule when he first announced his plan On the first trip 80 years ago agop p prominent Chicago newspapermen bankers and civic leaders went along to witness the initial opera opera- tion One banker refused to be convinced convinced convinced con- con vinced of the plans plan's practicability remarking that all the mail mall would blow blowout out of ot the thc car Although Armstrong is generally credited with the first permanent railway post office others preceded him by a few years with similar plans All however were devised tc te meet local emergencies and no pl plan n I operated more than a J year |