Location: Roundhouse, Bay 20

Originally built as the Maryland & Pennsylvania (Ma & Pa) No. 42 in 1906, this freight car was renamed the Ma & Pa No. 35 in 1942 when it was converted to a Railway Post Office (RPO) facilty for mail to be sorted and transported while traveling between York, PA and Baltimore, MD. The front half of the car was primarily responsible for carrying baggage and other freight along the railways, and eventually the Ma & Pa line became known as the “Milky Way” due to the large quantities of milk that it transported from local farms to the cities. While mail cars such as this reached their peak around 1913, the advent of the automobile led to a sharp decline in their use, and this car was retired from use in 1971. 

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Jeffery O.
December 2024

Wonderful rail museum with many historic engines, passenger cars, mail car, troop transport, and more. Several models layouts including the Smithsonian collection of models which was amazing. Wonderful presentation on the underground railroad. We will visit again.

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