Collecting and Delivering

Our collection contains relatively few examples (around five) of the mechanised processes used for collecting and delivery. This is partly because these processes remain the areas of the postal system that are least easy to mechanise. Many attempts have been made over the years to find ways to automatically collect and deliver letters but the most effective means remains the manual one.  

Here are three examples of collecting and delivering machines in our collection:

Automated Postal Service Machine, 2004, accession number: 2005-0100

This trial machine demonstrates much of the current development in postal mechanisation. It is one of three machines trialled by Post Office Counters in 2004. This particular machine was trialled at Broadgate Circle, London EC from 25 March - 20 October 2004.

The machine weighed a user's mail and then used touch-screen technology to allow them to select the service they wanted. Payment was then available by card or cash. The machine would then print a label which could be stuck onto the item. The item could then be posted inside the machine.

In 2007 similar, but less advanced, machines, known as Post & Go, were on trial in Maidstone, Belfast and Birmingham.

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Pedestrian Electric Delivery Truck, 1959, accession number: OB1994.0304

This pedestrian-operated electric delivery truck is one of two in the BPMA collection. Trucks like these were introduced in the late 1950s to try and ease the weight of carrying the ever-increasing volumes of mail.

They were often seen being pulled through pedestrianised shopping streets taking the post to shops and business premises.

Hand-held barcode scanner, pre-2006, entry number: E9745

This is an example of the hand-held terminals used by postal workers from Mount Pleasant mail centre in London. Many British letter boxes today have barcodes printed on labels inside. When the boxes are being emptied, postal workers use the reader to read the barcode. This enables them to record the time at which the box was emptied.

Within the collection we have a number of examples of barcode scanners. Other scanners in the BPMA collection were for tracing the progress of items through the post. This used a system known as Track and Trace which is still used today for Special Delivery items.

Go to Postal mechanisation

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