Mail by Rail
The first public railways commenced in the early nineteenth century. It wasn't long before the Post Office made the most of this new mode of transport. Our collections hold material mostly relating to Travelling Post Offices (TPOs) and transport underground.
TPOs went into operation in 1838. Their clever time-saving methods of sorting and transporting mail at the same time remained in service until 2004.
Despite the relative failure of its precursor, the pneumatic railway, the Post Office proudly opened its own railway in December 1927. This linked all the major London railway stations to the major sorting offices. This enabled mail to cross London swiftly regardless of road congestion above.
Our rail-related material includes badges, handstamps, sorting frames and lots of other equipment as well as an actual TPO railway carriage. We also have many objects linked to rail transport underground. These include signs, labels and two vehicles, one propelled by air, the other by electricity. Most of the material dates from the 20th century.
Archive records pertaining to the transportation of mail by rail are principally to be found within archive classes POST 11, POST 18 and POST 20.
Examples from our Collection
Here are some examples of items relating to mail by rail in our collections:
Pneumatic rail car, 1862-1866
This rail car was used to carry mail on a pre-cursor to the Post Office (London) Railway.
Extract from file about mail bag exchange apparatus, 1898
Lists the rules apparatus officers had to follow.
TPO carriage, 1908
Restored carriage, used for the 'day up' and 'night down' route between Euston and Holyhead.
Book of rules and regulations for TPO officers, 1911
This is the contents and first page of a book of rules for TPO officers.
Switch frame from the railway platform at Mount Pleasant, c.1927
Used to control all train movements in and out of the station.
Page from Post Office (London) Railway Annual Report, 1941
Facts about the railway in 1941, including the number of air raid warnings.
Page of a book of diagrams of TPO routes, c. 1970
This page shows part of the route of a TPO from Whitehaven to Huddersfield.
You may also be interested in...
The Great Train Robbery
We delve into the archives to examine the crime that fascinated the world
In 1963 a criminal gang stole £2.6 million from a Travelling Post Office, our archives tell the story of what happened.
Travelling Post Office
The story of a railway carriage specially adapted to sort mail on the move
An online exhibition charting the history of the TPO, and the camaraderie of the staff that worked on them.
