TPO restoration complete

Our TPO - a railway carriage inside which postal workers would have sorted the mail as the train sped its way across the country - began its working life in 1908. It saw many years of dedicated service with its hard working postal staff inside. Eventually, however, it was taken out of use and, sadly, slowly deteriorated.

That was until it was rescued by the Railway Preservation Society, and eventually purchased in 1999 by what was then the National Postal Museum for the grand sum of one penny. Royal Mail generously agreed to sponsor its external refurbishment to the tune of £100,000.

Over the next few years, with the help and skills of the London & North Western Railway (LNWR), work to restore the shell of the carriage began.

Colin Worrall of LNWR Heritage worked tirelessly over the years. It is largely down to Colin that we have been able to recreate the carriage as it would have appeared almost a century ago. Research was undertaken not only at The Royal Mail Archive but also at The National Archives in
London, The National Railway Museum in York, and at LNWR’s own archive.

Further money was committed by both Royal Mail and the BPMA to allow work on the interior of the carriage and similarly ensure an accurate restoration.

The BPMA offers our warmest thanks to Colin Worrall for all his work on the carriage. The majority of the craftsmanship is his, but others were of course involved. The sign writing and netting is evidence of this and Peter Douthwaite and his team have finished off the interior with a beautiful job on the upholstery.

A last note of thanks must be given to Christine Jones who, as head of the Museum collection at the BPMA and its predecessors until 2006, worked to make all this happen.

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