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Mails to Ireland: Difference between revisions
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The Irish Mail train first appeared in [https://archive.org/details/1860LNWR/page/n15/mode/2up London and North Western Railway timetables] as Fast Irish Mail in Feb 1861, changing 2 months later to Express Irish Mail. By Jan 1864 it had become plain Irish Mail according to Bradshaw’s Guide. It had always been known as The Irish Mail by railway staff. From the very start an Admiralty messenger gave the guard a chronometer, set at GMT, in a pouch, to be taken to Holyhead and then put on the ferry to Ireland. Picture shows it being transferred at Holyhead. It was returned the following day when another watch arrived. This ensured that Dublin was on the same time as London, As local Dublin time was 25 minutes behind GMT. This practice continued until 1939 despite the fact that a daily time signal had been sent by electric telegraph for many decades.
Another interesting arrangement was the provision of a [https://www.gbps.org.uk/information/downloads/lphg-publications/LONDON%20LATE%20FEE%20and%20TOO%20LATE%20MAIL.pdf Late Fee Post Box] in which letters could be posted actually on the train itself whilst it was still at Euston or Holyhead. It can be seen in this same Picture Later this facility was provided on other mail trains operating to Scotland and the West Country. Envelopes bearing a Travelling Post Offices postmark, such as this one, are now prized items by collectors.
Travelling Post Offices (TPO’s) first appeared on “Irish Mail” in 1852 and in 1861 the train became the first on the LNWR to have gas lit coaches. By 1863 it was the fastest train leaving London Euston and was noted for its good time-keeping. The train included two Travelling Post Offices and mail was exchanged at speed at numerous points between London and Holyhead. It ran as a night service only until 1873 when an extra daily daytime service was added. The TPO allowed postal staff to sort letters whilst en-route and facilities were soon introduced to allow mail bags to be collected and off-loaded at designated locations while the train was moving at speed. The bags were placed into leather pouches which, when filled could weigh up to 60lbs. To pick up a net was extended through a sliding door and this would catch a leather pouch containing mail bags. To set down mail a pouch was suspended from a retractable arm and as the train sped past the drop-off point the bag would be knocked off the arm by a line-side net. Sometimes multiple pouches were used, each suspended from a metal arm mounted on the side of the mail coach next to a sliding door.
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