Listen to a short audio clip about the UP 5810 RPO
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The UP 5810 is usually not open to the public, but you can scroll down this page and see some interior photos.
Builder
Pullman-Standard
Built
January 1942
Type
Floor Plan 7470
Lot number
6664
Length
Over Buffers: 84'-10"
Acquisition
arranged by Steve Lee, then in charge of the UP Steam and Heritage Fleet programs.
Photos by - Paul Finnegan 4/11/2016
Audio Transcript:
UP 5810 - Railway Post Office Car
Shortly after W.W.II, there were 1,500 RPO routes crisscrossing the United States with more than 30,000 workers in more than 4,000 cars. The use of RPO cars declined during the 1960's, and by 1965, only 190 trains carried mail. In 1971, the Post Office terminated seven of the eight remaining routes.[1]
UP 5810 was built in January 1942, part of Pullman-Standard Lot #6664, Floor Plan 7470, it was the 10th car in the lot, which were numbered 5801-5810. All cars in this series were modified from Baggage-Postal to Postal-Storage and all were vacated from UP's passenger car roster in September of 1970 (going to Maintenance of Way service).[2]
UP 5810 was in a long string of maintenance-of-way equipment in Fremont in 2005. Acquisition for the museum was arranged by Steve Lee, then in charge of the UP Steam and Heritage Fleet programs.
[1] Rails West. (2010). In Railway Post Office Car. Retrieved April 18, 2018 from http://www.railswest.com/passengertrains.html
[2] UtahRails.net. (2018). In Union Pacific Numbered Passenger Cars, Part 7. Retrieved April 18, 2018 from http://utahrails.net/pass/pass-numbered-7.php
