Moving the Mail opens at the Scottish Railway Preservation Society

The popular transport exhibition Moving the Mail: Horses to Horsepower will be on display at the Scottish Railway Preservation Society in Bo’ness, Scotland, from 21 March – 26 October 2008. 

Tracing the fascinating history of road transport in the postal service, Moving the Mail has previously been on display at Grampian Transport Museum, Bletchley Park, Stampex and Coventry Transport Museum, where it has been viewed by a massive 115,000 visitors. 

From the mail coaches of the 1800s to the iconic BSA Bantam motorbikes and much loved Postbus, postal service vehicles have been a familiar part of people’s lives for centuries, speedily moving the mail through busy cities, remote villages and terrible perils including two world wars. 

The postal service has always been at the forefront of advances of technology and Moving the Mail is a reflection and celebration of this.

The SRPS is dedicated to the advancement of Scottish railway heritage and it has the largest collection of railway locomotives, carriages, wagons, equipment and artefacts outside the National Railway Museum. 

The BPMA is delighted that Moving the Mail will be displayed at the SRPS and the display will feature a model of Mobile Post Office GPO3, which was constructed following the Second World War, alongside images from The Royal Mail Archive. A motorcycle helmet for a Telegram Messenger, an Almex postbus ticket machine (used from 1971–1979) and a model of a Quicksilver mail coach and horses will also go on display.

Exhibition Details

Moving the Mail will be on display in the pavilion of the Scottish Railway Exhibition which is located in Bo’ness Station.  The Scottish Railway Exhibition is open every weekend from 15 March – 26 October 2008 and every day from 1 July – 25 August 2008 from 11am to 4:30pm. 

Admission to the Scottish Railway Exhibition is free for children and £1.00 for adults.  The SRPS also operates railway tours leaving Bo’ness Station every weekend at 11am and standard fares are £5.00 for adults, £2.50 for children, £4.00 concessions and £13.00 for families. 

Other Moving the Mail Related Events

The BPMA will also be hosting a number of other Moving the Mail related events:
Talk: The Travelling Post Office
Talk: Mail Rail: An Underground Postal Journey
Film Screening: Night Mail (1936)
Film Screening: Mail Rail (1987)

Details of other BPMA events can be found on the What's On section.

Latest News