New Haven RPOs were getting pretty old and were being displaced by newer bigger PRR RPOs. (You can see one on the left side of the frame painted Penn Central). Note the corrugated reinforcing plates on either side of the doors. If mail were to collected "on the fly" a hooked bar would replace the straight bar currently in place. The mail bag caught by the hook would hit those plates.The car itself was like a strong box, and all the doors including the end doors could be locked by the mail clerks. Only they would have the keys. The clerks also carried side arms.

Photographed by Ron DeFilippo, 1969.
Added to the photo archive by Ron DeFilippo, April 23, 2019.
Railroad: Penn Central.

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