Thought it would be a chore finding this info. Boom! First hit, from the folks at USPS itself.
I don't remember a lot of red/white/blue mailboxes. Of course my memory ain't what it used to be. :o I think the "storage" ones, the kind you couldn't put a letter into were olive drab much later than 1955.
Jeff
Interesting, I thought they were always blue. It looks like mine need to be olive drab for 1949.
I was planning on blue, too. Fortunately I've only painted a few.
This is great info. Thanks for sharing.
Matt
Hi All:
Worked at the PO for 30 some years. When I started all boxes were olive green later collection boxes went to blue. Relay boxes remained olive green. Relay boxes were where walking carriers picked up their delivery mail around town as they didn't have vehicles and couldn't carry all that mail in their delivery sack.
Let me make a correction here. I started in 1974. The box color was changed to blue in 1971 as far as I can tell. The color change when the Post office Dept became The United States Postal Service. I do remember the green boxes when I was a kid.
The relay boxes I was talking about above had no mail slot. They were for official use only had A large locked door under the curved side of the box. You had to have A mailbox collection key to operate the lock. I would say they were olive green in color.
Karl
Thanks, Karl! Shoulda thought to ask you in the first place! 😜
Does anyone have a picture of the Olive green color that was used?
This look about right, Karl?
Hi Dave:
That's pretty close. I think Army olive drab would work.
Karl
Thanks, Shorpy. And a "No Spitting" sign as a bonus.
More image search results.
I kinda like the red and blue.
Ever work out of these, Karl?
The postal bulletin 19867 of 1955, with the red white and blue box
http://www.uspostalbulletins.com/pdf/vol76_issue19867_19550809.pdf (http://www.uspostalbulletins.com/pdf/vol76_issue19867_19550809.pdf)
Hi Dave:
The 2 large green boxes are relay boxes as I described above. I never saw A red and blue one when I worked. They were solid blue. Also never saw any of those type vehicles. I never saw a mailbox like the second one in top photo. Must be really old.
Karl
Very cool info in the bulletin, Karl. I guess I'll need a Standard Form 33 before I start painting!
Hi Dave:
Yeah I started in 1974 so all the collection boxes were blue when I worked. As I said relay boxes were still olive green.
Karl
Thank you for all the pictures and information. My mailboxes will be army green on the S&S RR.
The four metal ones at the top are from Jill and Brian at BEST. No idea where the others came from.
Hey Dave:
Nice mail boxes. I'll have to see what I have around.
Karl
Good Morning Karl,
I guess some of us are old enough and our memory is still functioning properly to remember the olive drab mailboxes. since i model the 1940's, all my mailboxes are olive drab, or as close as I can get it. Mail boxes on many street corners were a fixture back East. I have several old metal boxes around the layout. I do not remember the manufacturer. I modified some of them to show the legs. Here are two pics: Chester Station with all four legs and Bikini Car Wash with the box having slab sides. Now that I see this, the box will be corrected and repainted. The bikini box is right up front of the layout. The devil is in the details.
Frank / Erieman
Great scenes, Frank...thanks so much!👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
Hey Frank:
The mailboxes look just great.
Karl
Frank
Great looking scenes and the right color mailboxes. I will never be able to look at another layout without seeing if the mail boxes are the right color for the time frame. Looking at some of the black and white pictures and a couple color earlier in this thread it looks like the old mail boxes were castings. Maybe even brass or bronze - is this true?
1937.
Dave:
Very interesting. That mailbox has A padlock on it. Our had key slot for a collection key.
Karl
Yep...one of the detail parts pictured earlier has a padlock. Don't know whose that is.
These boxes were all over the west side of Chicago when I grew up. I have no idea if the regular carrier emptied them or if there was a route driver.
They had a paper on the front that listed pick up times.
see ya
Bob
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/81-230418110617.jpeg) (http://modelersforum.com/gallery/81-230418110617.jpeg)
I really like the red/blue color scheme, whether it's prototypical or not. It's quickly recognizable to visitors that it's a US Mail box, and adds a splash of color. Of course, rivet-counters would drag me over the coals, and I suppose it would be a detriment if ever entered a contest. Then again, I'm not modeling a specific era ... even use advertising signs that, while not obscenely far apart on the timeline, would still be frowned upon by some. I guess the adage, "It's my railroad" would apply here.
Quote from: Dave K. on April 23, 2018, 12:23:53 PM
I really like the red/blue color scheme, whether it's prototypical or not. It's quickly recognizable to visitors that it's a US Mail box, and adds a splash of color. Of course, rivet-counters would drag me over the coals, and I suppose it would be a detriment if ever entered a contest. Then again, I'm not modeling a specific era ... even use advertising signs that, while not obscenely far apart on the timeline, would still be frowned upon by some. I guess the adage, "It's my railroad" would apply here.
Hear! Hear!
I always figured that when I do finally build a layout I'm going to model April 28th, 1957 at 2:24 p.m. Give or take forty years. ;)
Quote from: ReadingBob on April 23, 2018, 02:08:35 PM
Quote from: Dave K. on April 23, 2018, 12:23:53 PM
I really like the red/blue color scheme, whether it's prototypical or not. It's quickly recognizable to visitors that it's a US Mail box, and adds a splash of color. Of course, rivet-counters would drag me over the coals, and I suppose it would be a detriment if ever entered a contest. Then again, I'm not modeling a specific era ... even use advertising signs that, while not obscenely far apart on the timeline, would still be frowned upon by some. I guess the adage, "It's my railroad" would apply here.
Hear! Hear!
I always figured that when I do finally build a layout I'm going to model April 28th, 1957 at 2:24 p.m. Give or take forty years. ;)
I read that it rained pretty hard on that day and time. :o :o :o
Jim
Bob:
In answer to your question we had employees who just did collections. I used to do it on Sundays to get overtime.
Karl
Detail from a Shorpy pic, North Adams, MA 1908.
Quote from: jimmillho on April 23, 2018, 02:30:00 PM
Quote from: ReadingBob on April 23, 2018, 02:08:35 PM
Quote from: Dave K. on April 23, 2018, 12:23:53 PM
I really like the red/blue color scheme, whether it's prototypical or not. It's quickly recognizable to visitors that it's a US Mail box, and adds a splash of color. Of course, rivet-counters would drag me over the coals, and I suppose it would be a detriment if ever entered a contest. Then again, I'm not modeling a specific era ... even use advertising signs that, while not obscenely far apart on the timeline, would still be frowned upon by some. I guess the adage, "It's my railroad" would apply here.
Hear! Hear!
I always figured that when I do finally build a layout I'm going to model April 28th, 1957 at 2:24 p.m. Give or take forty years. ;)
I read that it rained pretty hard on that day and time. :o :o :o
Jim
At that day and time Reading Bob was probably in Pennsylvania, so it could have been a late snow fall. Just saying.
Tom ;D