A Collector's Guide to 1898 Documentary Printed Precancels: The Street Railways

The Union Street and Detroit and Wyadotte Street Railway cancels are somewhat mysterious.

What are they?  The two cent documentary battleship was primarily used for paying the two cent check tax, and examples can be found on railroad checks and drafts for settling charges between the railroads.  However, these Street Railway items are not so easily explained.  These two stamps, both without gum, appear to be the only examples ever found of street railway printed precancels, whether on or off document.  And street railways had no need to settle charges between themselves for car service or freight forwarding. as they provided local, primarily urban, passenger transport.  

While there are other rare, and currently one-off railroad precancels that are part of the 1898 documentary precancel oeuvre, including the Chicago, Fort Madison & Des Moines RR one cent stamp and the Tyler Southeastern Railway one cent stamp, both of these railroads were a part of larger railroad systems that made heavy use of precanceling.  In the case of the Detroit & Wyandotte, and the Union Street, there is no known association between the street railways and other companies that used precancels.  

The fundamental question is whether these cancels are legitimate.  These stamps found their way to my collection from Joyce's 1898 documentary precancel stockbook.  And they undoubtedly found their way into Fullerton's 1952 list through Mr. Joyce.  So Joyce preferred to think of them as legit.  But I think more is needed to believe that these cancels are more than a contrivance.   If you know of anything that could speak to the legitimacy of these stamps, please contact me at 1898revenues@gmail.com.