Central to the prompt delivery of the nation`s mail is its efficient transit throughout the country. From 1830, the Post Office relied increasingly on the overland rail network to achieve this. Railway Post Offices, Sunday Sorting Tenders & District Sorting Carriages were amongst the services introduced.
More important lines carried the famous ` Night Mails`; rarely seen by the public, unless seeking out the late night facility of posting directly into the side of a mail train. These were supplemented by additional services enabling even rural locations to enjoy a `next day` service only dreamt of in the age of the Mail Coach. This book provides a history of the overland carriage of mail by rail; from draughty & poorly lit sorting carriages in 1838 through to the purposeful late twentieth century ` Ladies in Red`.