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Description
An interview with Sydney P. Bunsendal, Sr. who worked on the Railway Post Office (RPO) car from 1936 to 1973. Born in Union County, Iowa in 1916, Bunsendal would eventually graduate from high school in 1934 and attend correspondence school for the Railway Mail Service. His first appointment was in 1936, assigned to the Des Moines, Iowa office. The interview includes discussion on his first assignments, layovers in hotels, transferring jobs, routes he worked on, and how much he got paid. He describes the differences between small RPO cars on local trains versus larger RPO cars on fast trains, various problems “catching mail,” mail routing, memorization cards, description of the RPO cars, and description of fellow employees. Written on the case: Sidney P. Bunsendal, Sr., worked on an RPO from 1936 to approx 1973, age 20 to 57. A rambling interview conducted by his son of a man 76 years old. First 20 mins give little RPO info but rest will definitely be of value to RPO docents. Total time, both sides 1+30.
Type
sound
Format
Original Stereo Audio cassette
Form/Genre
Oral histories
Extent
1 Tape of 1
Identifier
AC 4 cscrm_000500
Language
English
Subject
Railway mail cars
Provenance
California State Railroad Museum Library and Archives California Revealed is supported by the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act, administered in California by the State Librarian.
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