railwaypostoffice

Looking more closely at the sign (and knowing the geography of the Boston area), the description would be more accurate if it said "traveled to Malden via Broadway and Ferry Streets". This map of the Elevated system (found on Wikipedia) might be of interesting as it shows the line heading north from Charlestown up through Everett (on Broadway) and then on to Ferry St to Malden. -- Seen in a discussion of the group "Flickr Commons" (?)

This image has been used in the indicommons.org post: Delivering the Mail

Hi, I'm an admin for a group called Die Erinnerungen, and we'd love to have this added to the group!

This is classic. But yes, it's TO the northern suburb of Malden by way of Broadway and Ferry Streets.

It's interesting to see how much the mail system has changed, but also how much it has stayed the same. Mail isn't typically sent via a train like this, but it still is transported across the states by large vehicles or planes. It just depends on if you are sending bulk mail or not; different services treat it differently. www.omsmail.com

from whence comes the expression... "a train wreck"

Beitner, it turns out, was south of Traverse City, apparently not far from Chum's Corner. Since the wreck is reported (elsewhere) as "a mile from Beitner and seven from Traverse City," TC's Beitner Park is likely too far in toward the city. I'm guessing the town was at the corner of Beitner and Williams Roads and the wreck was close to current M-37. In 1895 the place had a train station, a post office, and a mill, but the mill and PO were gone by 1919. The passenger train was No. 6; the freight extra was 362. The railroad-employee victims deserve mention: Passenger train engineer Fletcher Gage of Grand Rapids, passenger fireman McClellan (no first name listed) of GR, freight engineer Carl Amy of GR, freight fireman Earl Beeman of Reed City, and brakeman Davis (no first name) apparently of GR. RPO clerk Cushman was a Petoskey resident. At the time of the reports I've found, Davis and McClellan were believed, but not confirmed, dead. Some of this information from Walter Romig's Michigan Place Names; crash coverage from the wire story report in the August 21 Iowa City Citizen (via NewspaperArchive.com). The same story was published the same day in the Sandusky Star Journal; a shorter wire-service article appeared in other papers. The Naugatuck Daily News identifies the freight extra as 355 and the location as Grawn, which is in the same vicinity. I found no other source that claims more than 15 passengers were injured.

If, on the other hand, the body of water in the background is the Boardman River, Beitner might have been at Beitner Park. In which case the distances are wrong and Grawn makes no sense.

Well, I would think the Historical Society in Traverse City would know where this accident occurred.

Hi, I'm an admin for a group called RPO RAILWAY POST OFFICE - MAIL TRAIN, and we'd love to have this added to the group!