Invented by Erie native Hugh Neely Fleming, the Fleming Mail Catcher and Deliverer was a much-improved mail catcher used by the railroads to pickup and/or deliver bundles of mail without the need for the train to stop.
Hugh Neely Fleming was the secretary of the Perry Iron Works of Erie.
There were 10,520 railroad stations in the United States at which mails was taken onto the trains by means of mail catchers and cranes while the train was in motion, the bag of mail to be delivered, thrown from the car to the ground or platform. By this method the mail was often damaged or destroyed, and the safety of persons standing near was endangered. The need of some better system of exchanging mails at such points was apparent. In 1895 the Department advertised for devices for this purpose. Of the thirty-five models submitted, four were selected as the most meritorious, and in 1896 the various railroad companies were requested to adopt some one of the four. Subsequently questions arose as to the validity of certain patents involved and delays occurred. After additional tests, the Department selected two of the four devices as being satisfactory and presented to the railroad companies the choice of adopting either of them.
The two devices which had proven themselves — after additional tests — to be satisfactory to the Department to be adopted with the least possible delay were the Fleming mail catcher and deliverer — Erie, Pa.; and the Ayars mail catcher and deliverer — Chester, Pa. The railway companies were free to select either device or a combination of the two devices, as they preferred. By 1897, the Fleming Mail Catcher and Deliverer had outsold its competitor, replacing every mail catcher and crane in the United States.
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| The photo is one of Fleming's Mail Catchers used by the railroad. |