Mail by rail
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The first items of mail
were carried by rail as early as 1830.
By 1838 the first mail was being sorted onboard moving trains by postal
workers. This marked the start of what
became the Travelling Post Office (TPO).
The Royal Mail Archive has a strong collection of material relating to
this important service but the connection with mail by rails does not begin and
end with TPOs and the archive includes details of other uses of railways,
including the famous underground railway system especially developed for the
Post Office, later named Mail Rail, and its pneumatic predecessors. Records pertaining to the transportation of
mail by rail are principally to be found within POST 11, POST 18 and POST 20.
Extract from file about mail bag exchange apparatus, 1898, finding number: POST 18/3
This page is an extract from a file of documents about the bag exchange apparatus used on Travelling Post Offices.
The folder contains all the details of the workings and instructions of the apparatus. This particular page lists a number of rules relating to the duties of an apparatus officer.
The exchange apparatus was invented as a
means to allow mail to be taken on and off moving trains. This sped up journeys since stopping trains to
load mail added considerable time.
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Book of rules and regulations for TPO officers, 1911, finding number: POST 18/7
This is the contents and first page of a book of rules for TPO officers.
Rules have always been an
important part of the operation of the Post Office. The Royal Mail Archive
holds many examples of rule books from across a number of periods.
So specialised however was the TPO that it
had its own specific set of rules.
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Page of a book of diagrams of TPO routes, c. 1970, finding number: POST 18/37
This page shows part of the route of a TPO from Whitehaven to Huddersfield.
This bound series of diagrams illustrates the routes taken by TPOs across Britain. It is divided into specific routes with the stations passed on the way highlighted.
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Page from Post Office (London) Railway Annual Report, 1941, finding number: POST 20/47
This is the first page of the PO(L)R Annual Report for 1941. It includes interesting facts about the railway that year including the number of air raid warnings and the running hours.
The Royal Mail Archive
holds a wealth of material on the development of the Post Office (London)
Railway (PO(L)R). This includes papers and reports detailing the trials in the 1860s with
pneumatic railway systems. It also contains plans and drawings for the PO(L)R during
construction.
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