On Saturday, July 13, the Danbury Railway Museum will host a celebration honoring the legacy of Owney, the Railway Post Office dog. A centerpiece of the day will be the museum’s fully-restored Pennsylvania Railroad circa-1910 Railway Post Office (RPO) car. The event at the museum at 120 White Street will run from 10am to 5pm. Admission for this event is $10.00 (under 3 is free) which includes a train ride and access to all activities. Children will also receive a free Owney postcard with special DRM handstamp. A unique souvenir of the day!
Owney was a stray dog which found its way into the Albany, NY post office in 1888 and was soon adopted by the Railway Mail Service clerks and became the mascot of this elite government service. He traveled throughout the state, and then all over the country, in the RPO cars, eventually venturing around the world as a U.S. Post Office Department “emissary” in 1895. In 2011, the U.S. Postal Service issued a postage stamp to honor him. Owney has been preserved and is on display at the National Postal Museum in Washington, DC. Visitors to the Danbury Railway Museum on the 13th will hear the true story of Owney, the mascot of the U.S. Railway Mail Service, and can tour the lovingly-restored RPO car.
The Danbury Railway Museum is a non-profit organization, staffed solely by volunteers, and is dedicated to the preservation of, and education about, railroad history. The museum is located in the restored 1903 Danbury Station and rail yard at 120 White Street, Danbury, CT. For further information, visit the Web site at http://www.danburyrailwaymuseum.org, email to info@danburyrail.org, or call the museum at 203-778-8337.