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1880 Mail Carts
The Orange County Register published an article “Office Puts Realtor on New Track” on July 17, 1973. The article reported that MJB Realty had opened an office in Yorba Linda's Pacific Electric Train Depot three years earlier. Owner, Jerry Kolb, thought it would be a good location for his business and was pleasantly surprised when train buffs began dropping in.
Branch manager, Beverly Pool, stated, "You wouldn't believe the number of people who follow trains. We really didn't have much in the way of artifacts to show them and we didn't know anything about trains. So, we began to collect things.” The office collected railway wrenches, spikes, old train schedules and books about trains. It was the beginning of a love affair of trains, enjoyed by many.
As they became more involved and fascinated by trains, Kolb decided to purchase 20 mail carts that would be displayed near the depot. The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe carts were in excellent condition. They were manufactured in the 1880s and were often mistaken for baggage carts. The carts were used at Union Station in Los Angeles up until the late 1960’s.
Each metal cart weighs 1800 pounds. They measure six feet long by six feet high and are enclosed with mesh that kept mail inside. The carts have hard paddle wheel tires and steel spokes. Each is masterfully designed with the ability to turn on a dime like a precision drill team. A tow motor pulled up to 60 carts at a time.
In the early days of mail delivery, each cart displayed the name of a major city. The carts could be easily maneuvered when the train pulled up. Mail was thrown into the cart for various large cities or was already pre-sorted for delivery.
It appeared that what was missing was a caboose! (to be continued)
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