US Post Office holster

[swilli41]

My father had the contract with the Post Office Department to meet all of the trains that came into Amarillo and transfer the mail to the P.O. and between railroads (three). I used to work for him part time and have gotten the mail off of hundreds of R.P.O. cars (not to mention bumping my head on that damned hook that snared pouches while the train was moving). The clerks did indeed carry pistols and I'm thinking Colt Detective Specials. They would ride with me in the truck to the Post Office and then go to their hotel. Occasionally we would carry the payroll for Amarillo Air Force Base in cash. One clerk with one pistol would accompany me to the Post Office with that cash. When the Air Force came to pick it up, they would send four people... two to handle the pouches and two who were armed with Thompson submachine guns to guard it. We also carried cash for the banks. I'm sure this sort of thing went on all over the country. I never heard of a robbery, but it would have been very easy in the scheme of things.

 

[Da Old Bear]

Originally posted by fscheer:

Da Old Bear

includes a photo of a M1917. Thanks for the picture. Does the handgun have "Property of the U.S. P.O. Dept." or similar wording on it? Thank you, Frank

Frank,

Just the usual U.S. Property markings.

I was able to research the serial number through a web site that had partial records of many (but not all) military weapons. That site reported the transfer from the military to the USPS in the '20s.

The research side of the site is pay for play now ....... so no more free serial number checks. To be fair, the man who runs the site was performing the research on his own dime, and decided to recoup some of his expenses. Plenty of good info on the free side though.

http://armscollectors.com/

The S&W, M1917 was the only serial number that I ran through the data base that came back with a hit. Others were close, but no cigar.

I acquired the pistol from an old Gent at least 30 years ago. $85.00 as I recall; probably a decent investment.

Regards,

Da Bear

 

[jv1038]

Post Office Holsters

These holster were not used by the Postal Inspectors. They were used by the railway mail and the Post Office Dept. I am a retired Post Office Employee and we used Colt Bankers Special .38 S&W Revolvers with these holsters. Mostly used when bringing night deposits to banks. I have three of them dated 1956 and 1964.
Hope that helps anyone interested.

 

[Toyman]

This Terrier was shipped to U.S. Post Office Washington D.C. in 1951. No idea who it was for .