Transport

The BPMA collection has in excess of 40 vehicles and 20 cycles. In addition to this we hold a large number of signs and other pieces of equipment related to both the Post Office (London) Railway (later called Mail Rail) and the Travelling Post Office (TPO).

Our earliest objects relating to transport date from the mid-nineteenth century, however we do hold older material in the philatelic collection. Our transport collections as a whole reflect the changes in the transport of mail over the years. When the Royal Mail was first opened up to the public in 1635, mail was transported by horse.

The BPMA's collections trace the way that the increased volume of mail has lead to demand for better efficiency in the way it was transported. This demand has led to developments from horses to mail coaches, then onto the railways, through pedal and motorcycles to motorised vehicles.

In our collection...

Vehicles drawn by horses
Our collections contain horse-drawn vehicles, one of the earliest forms of postal transport. Horses and later horse-drawn vehicles were the only practical means of transporting the mail before the development of the railways.
See examples of our vehicles drawn by horses...

Mail by rail
The arrival of rail transport revolutionised the transportation of the mail. BPMA holds a number of objects relating to both the London underground postal railways and to Travelling Post Offices.
See examples of our objects relating to mail by rail...

Pedal cycles
The BPMA hold a collection of around 30 bicycles of varying sorts. The standard design of Post Office cycles has largely remained unchanged but our collection demonstrates some of the changes that have been made over the years.
See examples of our pedal cycles

Motorcycles
The BPMA collections include seven motorcycles. Motorcycles were first introduced only in rural areas where cycles were not so suitable. They were also very useful for telegram work.
See examples of our motorcycles...

Motorised vehicles
We hold a variety of motorised vehicles including a number of Morris models, one of the largest suppliers of vehicles to the Post Office.
See examples of our motorised vehicles...

Access

Many of our vehicles are currently on display as part of the Moving the Mail exhibition. Other vehicles can be seen at our Museum Store on an Open Day – see the What’s On section for the latest dates and visiting details.

Moving the Mail...By Road by BPMA Curator Julian Stray is available from our shop.

Please note if you wish to see a particular vehicle, please contact us by telephone (0207 239 2570) or email (info@postalheritage.org.uk) first to check that is available to see. Where possible, please quote the accession number of the vehicle.