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This article appeared
in the Transit Postmark Collector
July - August 1993
on Page 105
Milwaukie Avenue
CH-6-b
A Closer Look
Stanley Bednarczyk
5303 N High Street
Columbus, OH 43214
For some time, many specialists in Chicago street car markings have noticed
certain inadequacies in the monograph published on Chicago by the MPOS
in 1983. One of these is the lack of information regarding different
dies of a particular postmark type. It is my desire to try to alleviate
this situation with an in-depth study of the postmarks of the Chicago street
car system.
For this article, I have chosen CH-6-b of the Milwaukie Avenue line.
Robert Stendal wrote an article for the November 1989 "Illinios Postal
Historian" in which he described three different dies of this type.
Further research, based upon seeing 341 examples many of which are from
the Virgil Brand find, has disclosed that there are actually six different
handstamps of the type 6-b. While the easiest way to distinguish
the different dies is by the use of quality transparencies, they can be
sorted with a high degree of accuracy, using a combination of measurement,
date of use, and trip number. These six markings may be distinguished
as follows:
I
Dial 29mm.
Distance between lower
tip of I in CHI and tip of lower left leg of M 8 1/2 mm.
Between stops after
O and E 6 1/4 mm.
Between stop after
O and apex of V 12 1/2 mm.
Killer with large
RPO 10 1/2 mm wide and no stops.
Usage - 27 Feb 04
- 3 Jan 06
Trip Numbers - 4,
8, 12, 16, 20, 26, 28
31 Examples |
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II
Dial 29 mm.
Distance between I
and M 8 mm.
Between O. and E.
6 1/2 mm.
Between O and V 12
1/4 mm.
Compare shape of letters
R and P with above.
Stendal Die I.
Usage - 22 Mar 04
- 19 Dec 05
Trip Numbers - 2,
6, 10, 14, 18, 22, 5
49 Examples |
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III
Dial 29 1/2 mm.
Distance between I
and M 7 1/2 mm.
Between O. and E.
7 1/4 mm.
Between O and V 13
mm.
Killer is approximately
parallel with cut out for slugs in dial.
Usage - 9 Jan
06 - 10 Jan 06
Trip Numbers - 6,
18
3 Examples |
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