TPO Questions - What was it like working on these services?

[D1537]

Somewhat veering from the topic but it's reminded me that Public Service Broadcasting played their old track "Night Mail" when we went to see them in York last week.

Most of the samples and video used are from the 1936 film, I believe.

Video linked which I think was filmed at the Mangapps Railway.

 

[Falcon1200]

But perhaps the best known examples are the ex Caledonian mail trains 2050 Carlisle-Aberdeen

That much-missed train was, when I used it in the 1980s, 1S81, formed of two Postal Vehicles and two passenger coaches - Except on Saturday when just the two passenger coaches were conveyed! Either way, acceleration behind a Roarer (Class 81-85) was electric. Further details, by coincidence, in today's Back in the Day thread.

(On Saturday 2nd April 1983 the two coaches on 1S81 were CK M16172 and BSK M35296, behind 81005 to Mossend Yard and 26024 forward)

 

[Helvellyn]

When the 802xx series Courier Vehicles (NN) appeared in the late 1980s they retained one BSK compartment for Couriers plus a toilet. I recall some of these appearing in TPO services so may have had the compartment used by Royal Mail staff.

The diagrams in Longworth show that they did retain them, but whether this applied to all or some lost their guard’s compartment later I don’t know. This was probably because you had to have at least one guard’s compartment in a train, and the GUVs and siphons never had them, so at least you didn’t have to worry about finding a BG.

The vehicles renumbered into the 952xx (NCA) and 953xx (NCV) series had their Guard compartment removed. The door was sealed.up, as was one of the four pairs of van doors. They were fitted with an external handbrake wheel under the former Guard compartment if I'm remembering correctly.

 

[AndrewE]

That much-missed train was, when I used it in the 1980s, 1S81, formed of two Postal Vehicles and two passenger coaches - Except on Saturday when just the two passenger coaches were conveyed! Either way, acceleration behind a Roarer (Class 81-85) was electric. Further details, by coincidence, in today's Back in the Day thread.

(On Saturday 2nd April 1983 the two coaches on 1S81 were CK M16172 and BSK M35296, behind 81005 to Mossend Yard and 26024 forward)

link please? (I can't find it...)

 

[Sun Chariot]

The vehicles renumbered into the 952xx (NCA) and 953xx (NCV) series had their Guard compartment removed. The door was sealed.up, as was one of the four pairs of van doors. They were fitted with an external handbrake wheel under the former Guard compartment if I'm remembering correctly.

Thanks @Helvellyn that ties in with my memory and a peek inside one once at Bristol TM.

 

[Gloster]

The vehicles renumbered into the 952xx (NCA) and 953xx (NCV) series had their Guard compartment removed. The door was sealed.up, as was one of the four pairs of van doors. They were fitted with an external handbrake wheel under the former Guard compartment if I'm remembering correctly.

I was slightly getting mixed up between the earlier vehicles, which kept their old numbers, had little more than Newspaper branding and were in dedicated pools, and the renumbered ones. Longworth shows the latter with guard’s compartments, but this was after I had any connection with them. (Not that there is much connection in watching them whizz past at full speed.)

 

[Helvellyn]

I was slightly getting mixed up between the earlier vehicles, which kept their old numbers, had little more than Newspaper branding and were in dedicated pools, and the renumbered ones. Longworth shows the latter with guard’s compartments, but this was after I had any connection with them. (Not that there is much connection in watching them whizz past at full speed.)

Unfortunately Longworth uses quite a few original diagrams for converted/refurbished vehicles.

 

[Falcon1200]

link please? (I can't find it...)

This is the one:

Back in the day...

Hi All, Rather than continuing to hijack other people's threads with my reminiscences of bashing in the 80s, I'm starting my own. So, as promised, my 1985 Freedom of Scotland is detailed below. Just to set the scene: 4 teenagers, 7 overnights in row, poor food and no showers. We set of from...

www.railforums.co.uk

 

[AY1975]

Lots of mail trains had Travelling Post Offices and advertised passenger accommodation, some until at least the early 1980s.

On the East Coast Main Line I recall that these were 2015/2230 Kings Cross-Edinburgh, 2100 Newcastle-Kings Cross and 2020 Edinburgh-Kings Cross.

The Haughley mails Peterborough-Liverpool Street and vice versa had Travelling Post Offices and advertised passenger accommodation until 1980 and continued to have a BSK or BFK for a long while after.

But perhaps the best known examples are the ex Caledonian mail trains 2050 Carlisle-Aberdeen and 1545 Aberdeen-Carstairs, both of which ran as advertised passenger trains for part of the journey, Carlisle-Perth and Dundee-Perth respectively.

Did any mail trains have sleeping cars on them, or did they only ever have ordinary seated coaches if they did have advertised passenger accommodation?

I believe that some of the more marginal sleeper services such as Paddington-Milford Haven were basically parcels trains with maybe one sleeping car and one or two seated coaches, but not sure if any of them were actual mail trains.

 

[TrainingDays]

Everyone mentions the film ‘Night Mail’ but I find the 1963 ‘Thirty Million Letters’ more illuminating. And its musical soundtrack is excellent. I don’t think you can see it on YouTube but the DVD is readily available.

Thank you - I hadn't heard of this one. I've managed to source so will give it a watch!

I have little personal experience of TPOs but in the 1970s I worked with someone who did work on them in the 1950s and early 1960s. Sadly he’s long dead so I can’t ask hm for his memories.

However I recall that he lived in Glasgow, worked for the Post Office on the Glasgow - London TPO. It used to stop at Crewe where the Post Office staff would swap over with the northbound train. So he ended up back in Glasgow early in the morning. I recall him saying that it was a bit noisy and not always that warm but that you were working with colleagues (all male) whom you generally bonded with. Very friendly. Around Christmas it could be a bit busy but the rest of the year they had it nicely under control. There was usually plenty of time for “refreshments” and the odd snooze. His main grumble was that it was, by its nature, “permanent night duty” 5 nights a week and the impact on his social life as a young single man was slightly frustrating.

There was a letter box on the outside of most of the TPO carriages and the public could post late letters directly into the train to ensure delivery in London/Glasgow in the morning. You had to pay something like an extra penny for that. (No doubt an expert will know). I certainly recall my father posting such an urgent letter on the TPO around 9.30pm at Glasgow Central in the early 1960s.

Thanks for sharing this - any experiences are really useful!

Must be a year or two ago, I found a website dedicated to TPOs, that included a lot of first hand experiences. After a bit of searching today, I can't find the site, I'm either searching for the wrong thing, or it's fallen off the internet.

Thought I'd mention it here in case anyone can remember what the site was called - even if the site is no longer active, it might be on an archive site somewhere.

Thank you - I've looked on the internet archive and not been able to locate yet but found a site for "M30272M TPO Group", that has a list of links. Might any of the links on this page ring a bell by any chance?...

Friends of M30272M TPO Group - Links Page

 

[Roger1973]

Might any of the links on this page ring a bell by any chance?...

A few of them look familiar (from whenever - and for whatever reason - I was reading up on TPO's) but can't find the one that matches the one I can remember.