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onto RPO cars. At first, he only traveled in New York state, but he later visited other parts of the country and, eventually, traveled to Asia and across Europe. Whenever Owney was aboard, there were no wrecks so, wherever the dog went, mail clerks rewarded him with a new medal or tag. Sadly, in somewhat mysterious circumstances, Owney died from a bullet wound in Toledo on June 11, 1897. His body was taxidermied and preserved by his many friends, and is now on display at the Smithsonian Institution.The RPO routes covered a phenomenal amount of the United States but, by the late 1930s, more and more people were traveling by automobile rather than by train, so passenger rail traffic was on the decline. And, with fewer passengers, the number of railroads routes available for carrying mail declined as well. The Post Office%u2019s answer was to create Highway Post Offices.Highway Post OfficesDuring the 1920s and %u201830s, there were a number of people promoting the idea of moving mail by truck and bus, and manufacturers were excited about building such vehicles%u2014but there was little encouragement from the Post Office. In fact, there were proposals in Congress that went nowhere%u2014until House Resolution 6424 was introduced on May 19, 1939. After being signed into law by President Roosevelt on July 11, 1940, the Postmaster General began the process of creating the Highway Post Office system. Along with determining precisely how the program would actually function, and planning out the possible routes, they needed to design a bus that could perform as well as a Railway Post Office. The official committee in charge of selecting a bus design examined several different vehicles. They considered such things as engine type, heating system, security, gross weight, and operating costs. After evaluating the buses of about ten manufacturers, three specific types were selected for a closer look. The White Motor Company had a conventional passenger bus with a pancakeOwney, at the Smithsonian Museum today.Toy Highway Post Office bus.