This community's local station is seen in the background with some sort of wooden apparatus in front. Any ideas what this structure was for? Perhaps for signalling? Answers will be posted here, THX!

Update 09/22/12: Thanks to Mike Spadafora and Richard Turner....This arrangement was for hanging a mail bag so that a moving train could grab the bag without having to a complete stop. The arm on the pole hinged horizontally and the bag hung from the arm. As the mail car passed an employee would reach out a window and retieve the bag with a hook. Sounds like quite a manuever to me! Apparently this was a fairly common practice a century ago and scenes depicting operation this can be seen in some old movies...so I am told. Train dispatch orders and related notices were also sometimes also included within these mail bags.