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ESTONIA IN THE TSARISTIC PERIOD: RAILWAY MAIL

RAILWAY MAIL

The railway from Saint-Petersburg, via Dwinsk and Vilnius (Wilno), to Warsaw was ready in 1862. In the same year there came a line from Vilnius to Eydtkuhnen (Eastern-Prussia). In 1870 follows the line from Vilnius to Libau (Liepaja) in Letland. In the same year opened the first railway in Estonia: from Baltischport (Paldiski) via Reval (Tallinn) to Gatsjinal (in the government St. Petersburg.
For the mail by rail a special organisation was established in 1869, which managed the riding post offices and station-post-offices. This organization was connected closely with the Post Department, but remained an independent organization.
Below a letter is represented with a postmark of Reval (Tallinn) -station from 11-7-1915. At the bottom of the postmark the indication = 'railway station':


Real size of bmp-scan: 11,974 x 10,155 cm
All pictures on this page: scanned about 150 dpi (real size in most printers) and saved as bmp. Then converted into gif-format and resized 50%.
Real size of the bmp-scan is not the same as size of the letter

The letter is frank-free. I suppose because it is sent to: Petrograd
the 3rd school (?) preparing
for (?) cadetscorps adjudants
Imper(ator) Alexander II
Junker E. Schultz


The oval postmarks, with the number of the railway line and the names of the terminal points, were prescribed in 1903 and slowly introduced.

Real size of bmp-scan: 14,439 x 9,305 cm
Card, sent 2-4-1912. In the book 'Russian railway postmarks' by A.V. Kiryushkin and P.E. Robinson we read that TPO (Travelling Post Office) route 39 started in july 1871 between Gatchina and Baltiyskiy port.
From january 1905 to 17-4-1913, the period of this card above, the number 39 was for the route S.Petersburg-Gapsal.
On 18-4-1913 it became S.Petersburg-Riga, in 1914 it was Petrograd-Riga and in 1917 it was changed in Petrograd-Gapsal.

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