George S. Bangs
Posted by: 
BruceS
N 41° 59.322 W 087° 40.576
16T E 443983 N 4648742
George S. Bangs is credited with starting"The Fast Mail", his grave is located in Rosehill Cemetery on Chicago's northside.
Waymark Code: WMHY0
Location: Illinois, United States
Date Posted: 07/22/2006
Views: 137
George S. Bangs succeeded
George B. Armstrong as general superintendent of the postal railway service.
Bangs is credited with "Fast Mail" trains, these were specially designed trains
consisting of only mail cars with expedited schedules designed to accommodate
the needs of the Post Office rather than the needs of the traveling public.
These trains were equipped with special retrieving hooks so mail bags would be
retrieved from specially designed hooks so the train would not have to stop in
small towns. As the mail was retrieved the mail would be delivered
by pushing out the bag whose destination was the town being passed through.
The mail was sorted on the train and delivered as the train went on its route.
With help from participating railroads, namely the New York Central and the
Pennsylvania railroads, the first five-car train was assembled on September 16,
1875. The train traveled from New York City to Albany, Buffalo, Cleveland,
Toledo, and Chicago on its first trip and carried more than 33 tons of mail.
During its first year of service fast mail never missed a single connection and
failed to arrive in Chicago on time only on three occasions. On trips east, the
train failed to arrive in New York on time only once. On the trunk of the
tree of his grave stone it reads:
George S. Bangs
Died November 21
1877
aged 51, 8 months, 21 days
His crowning effort
The Fast Mail
His tombstone was designed and built by Engelbert Gast of Gast
Monuments in Chicago.