The catcher pouch is a specialized form of sack made of an extra tough canvas material and had metal rings on each end so they could attach to the arm of a railway mail bag crane. The body of the pouch was strengthened by leather bindings both at the top and bottom.

A steel arm known as a mail-bag catcher that was affixed to the mail car door and was manually deployed to grab the mail bag from the crane. Incoming mail was simply kicked out the mail car door with enough force to ensure it wouldn’t be sucked up in the train’s wake.

On each side of the mail car of the approaching train is a steel catcher arm. As the train nears the station, a clerk in the mail car adjusts one of these catcher arms so that when it passes the crane it catches the waiting mail bag where it is tied in the center.

Each mail car was equipped with a strong metal arm attached to the train’s exterior. A postal clerk would swing this arm out to grab a mail pouch hanging from a special crane that was positioned by the tracks.

The mail crane was a F-shaped stanchion placed on the side of the tracks that held mail bags so that clerks could nab them with the “catcher arm” during the “catch and throw” or “on-the-fly” nonstop mail exchange.

A mail messenger employed by the railroad or by the local post office or some other authorized person, attaches the mail bag to the crane a short time before the train is due. On each side of the mail car of the approaching train is a steel catcher arm.

Bag in catcher arm RPO clerk making a mailbag catch from his Southern line railway mail car. As tremendously successful as it was, mail “on-the-fly" still had its share of glitches.

Check out how the clerks would use the catcher arm to pick up bags of mail, while kicking of the bags to be delivered. The Southern No. 36 RPO car is on display at the N.C. Transportation...

The Lionel Mail Pickup Set No. 161 is unique among the accessories that Lionel produced. It is the only accessory that would transfer any load to a passing car.

The Ward mail-bag catcher, first used in 1869, grew in acceptance and use by clerks. Before 1869, a mail clerk used only his arm to catch mail while the train was in motion. The Ward device, which used a steel catcher arm affixed to the door of railway post office cars, allowed clerks to extend the catcher arm at selected points on the route ...