West Coast Joint Stock postal sorting van No 186, 1885
- Made:
- 1885



Postal sorting van/tender, No 186, travelling Post Office with lineside pick-up apparatus, West Coast Joint Stock, built 1885, withdrawn March 1934. Includes mailbag exchange equipment (144"x44"x63"); carriage basket (36"x82"x48") and collection post (134" high x 30"x21").
This is the oldest surviving British example of a travelling Post Office coach, although it is not in its original form. It was built at Wolverton and is painted in a standard LNWR livery, but carried the insignia of the West Coast Joint Stock, to indicate its joint ownership by the LNWR and Caledonian Railway.
Every night, travelling Post Offices left major stations around the country. Thousands of bags of letters and parcels were loaded on to the train, with police officers keeping a watchful eye on the high-value cargo. On board the train were teams of mail sorters, who sorted the post on the move.
Equipment is provided for collecting and dropping off bags of mail without the train stopping. As with many subsequent TPO vehicles, the gangway connections are offset at the ends of the coaches to enable maximum use to be made of the interior for sorting equipment.
On display
National Railway Museum: Station Hall
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Details
- Category:
- Locomotives and Rolling Stock
- Object Number:
- 1975-7042
- Measurements:
-
collection post: 3404 mm x 762 mm x 533 mm,
carriage basket: 914 mm x 2083 mm x 1219 mm,
carriage: 2650 mm x 14360 mm,
mailbag exchange equipment: 3658 mm x 1118 mm x 1600 mm,
- type:
- van
- taxonomy:
-
- vehicles and vehicle components
- vehicle
- rolling stock
- mail van
- vehicles and vehicle components
- vehicle
- rolling stock
- vehicles and vehicle components
- vehicle
- rolling stock
- mail van
- credit:
- British Rail, Historical Relics
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