The more I think about it, the more I think that sending messages by pigeon carriers is literally perfect for railroad systems. Their one-way nature works so well when you can dispatch them on a train that was already going to other key locations of the railroad. Switching reports, car logs, all of that.
If there are any documented examples of old american railroads using them i’d love to maybe model a pigeon loft or something for my garden railway.
That wouldn’t have worked here in Australia.
This is in regards to the original “Ghan” that ran in Australia on the old narrow gauge line, a distance of approximately 760 miles between Port Agusta and Alice Springs. Max speeds were about 20 MPH.
The story is about a woman on the train who was travelling the entire route and kept on asking the conductor what time they will get to Alice Springs. And each time the train stops she asks him, are we there yet? After a few times the conductor begins to become a bit impatient.
“What’s the hurry” the he says, “we’ll get there sometime in the next few days.”
So the woman says, “A few days?? Look, I’m due to have a baby!”
“Well” says the conductor “you shouldn’t have gotten on the train in this condition”
And the woman says “When I got on the train I wasn’t in this condition!”
Well, as you sort-of alluded to, carrier pigeons go home when you release them. But you’d have to look after them on the train until they are released.
British Railways (in the uk, of course) had actual ‘pigeon vans’ which were used to transport pigeons by train. Lots of good info here:
https://www.rmweb.co.uk/forums/topic/184069-pigeons-by-rail/
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Max,
This was a very interesting question for me so I decided to do a quick bit of research.
I learned if you would have titled your topic as “Passenger pigeons” and not
“Carrier pigeons” I would say ABSOLUTELY YES …The Passenger Pigeon
However either way, unless you are a serious detail freak and find a person that would know the difference between them. I honestly think you are safe modeling a pigeon loft for your garden railroad.
Just my opinion and thanks for making me learn something!
It was a great question!!
Carrier 
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I often find myself giving a lengthy explanation that most people didn’t ask for. So I left it at an implication
Thanks for the link 
Passenger pigeons are just pigeons that are famous for being hunted to extinction.
Carrier pigeons are pigeons that are used to send messages. This is accomplished because the pigeons have a homing sense, that is, if you raise them in one place, their senses learn that this is their home; you can bring them far away and the will return to their home location at pretty fast speeds (like 70 mph or something, far faster than many 19th century trains)
They can’t really multihome so you can’t send back and forth messages with one pigeon, typically you’d give your friend a pigeon ahead of time if they’re going on vacation for example and then the friend can send a message when they want to. Pigeons were also used a lot in war, including WWII.
I probably should have included a little clarification in the actual post.
I see your signature was “carrier” instead of the usual “rooster” haha