The Post Office Railway opened in 1927 linking major railway termini like
London Paddington with mail sorting offices via an underground railway. Very quickly however the original
1927 Stock was proving problematic, as they were of rigid construction it was found they were rapidly wearing out the tracks and their own wheels [1] plus they were becoming overwhelmed with the amount of traffic.
The replacement 1930 Stock was built which featured two motors at either end of an articulated mail carrying section [2]. The new stock was also larger and could carry more mail, fifty 1930 Stock trains were built to replaced ninty of the original trains but these had the mail carrying equivalent of one hundred and fifty of the old trains!
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| 824 preserved at the Post Office Museum |
| Information |
| Number built: |
60 |
| Built: |
1930-31, 1936 |
| Builder: |
English Electric |
| Motor: |
English Electric (440v DC third rail) |
| Power: |
22 hp (16 kW) |
| Wheel arrangement: |
2w-2-2-2wRE |
Although there were some early problems with derailment, the new trains soon settled down into reliable service. They were more efficient and reduced energy consumption by nearly forty percent compared to the old stock. A further ten trains were built in 1936 to strengthen the fleet, these are known as
1936 Stock though were identical to the earlier trains.
The trains were largely replaced by the updated
1980 Stock in the early 1980s though seventeen remained in operation to augment the new fleet. These remained in service until the closure of the Mail Rail (as it by then called) in 2003. A number have been preserved and others still extant on the now largely shut down railway.
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| 809 preserved at NRM York in original Post Office green |
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| Another view of 824 |
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| Motor unit of 814 (later 45) |
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| A mail carrying trolly is shown aboard this train |
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| Another view of a preserved 1930 Stock train |
[1] Peter Johnson, Mail by Rail (Ian Allan, 1995) p. 118
[2] Mike Sullivan, Mail Rail (Red Shank Books, 2019) p. 20
