Railway Mail Service

Under railway mail refers to the processing of mail in railroad cars, these are usually called post-chaise. Self-propelled Postwagen other hand, are referred to as post railcars. A pure mailpiece transport in freight cars is not defined as a railway mail.

Definition

The most important criterion of a railway mail car is the fact taking place sorting of items (fachsprachlich " makeover " ) while driving, there is only spoken by railway mail in the proper sense of the word. For this feature railway mail cars to special facilities such as postal letter trusses and fixtures for post bag ( so-called bag margins ). Railway mail cars are set either in trains or form their own mail trains. There have also been post- compartments as part of luggage carts or railcars. In France, some are TGV ( " TGV postal" ) fully equipped for the carriage of mail, but only to transport mail on dollies and thus, strictly speaking, are not covered by railway mail. Most railway mail car also had car mailboxes, so that the sender of letters with knowledge of the railway mail lines were able to gain a time advantage in the delivery of their shipments at the station opposite the throw-in in a stationary mailbox.

Shedding and acceptance while driving

The dropping of letter bags at train stations during the passage of the train was common in the 19th century in Germany. The bags were not allowed to weigh more than six kilograms at the moment. They were thrown sideways in the direction of travel of the train something. Upon reaching the discharge point the engineer gave a whistle with a whistle. The officer to take delivery of the bags present on the platform contributed a dark lantern with frosted glass, one of which was provided with the inscription post. This inscription was invoked against the train. Since it often came to accidents and damage to the shipments -dropping, the procedure in Germany in 1900 was set ( in Bavaria on May 1, 1904).

Such a procedure was in use until the mid- 1950s, yet in the UK and the USA. Here was working with post catch hooks which allowed a transfer of mail in both directions: from the and in traveling with undiminished speed train.

History

Germany

The Baden postal administration took advantage of the new railway transport immediately after its commissioning in 1840 to accompany carriage of postal items. The first railway mail car in Germany with reworking the Mail by Post Your Conduct was then taken on April 1, 1848 in Baden in operation. 1849, the first web posts were established in Prussia. The railway mail solved then gradually in all the old German constituent states transportation of mail by postal riders and stagecoaches from. She was in the entire time of the imperial post the backbone of the postal transportation. In Prussia was regulated by law since 1838 that postal items and postal wagons (including the accompanying these consignments Post staff later) were to transport free of charge. The same was also regulated in the railway Postal Act of 1875. This until the introduction of the National Railroad Act 1924. Since a compensation takes place after Achskilometern.

At the German Federal Post Office, the Post Office Central Technical (PTZ) and Deutsche Post, the Institute of Posts and Telecommunications (IPF ) was instrumental in the development of vehicles used as a railway mail car.

For faster transport overland mail was only roughly sorted by direction and brought in bags to the railway post offices, which they passed on to the railway mail cars that were attached to passenger trains. Up to 20 postal clerk (post Schaffner, later Bahnpost companion ) sorted the letters and newspapers for places. The staff had to have good geographical knowledge.

The bag with the respective local or route mail were then unloaded when stopping for site -internal transfer or to continue to other railway mail routes. By 1914, a total of 2400 railway mail cars in use in Germany, where about 8,000 people were employed.

The during a stop at a station thrown into the mail slot of a railway mail car mail was stamped in the car with a railway postmark. He had an oval shape against the date stamp and contained information on the course ( eg Cologne - Berlin), the train number and date. In addition, there was a special railway postmarks with the suffix " Subsequently canceled " on shipments were delivered by railway post office and its Stamps were not canceled. Letters with railway postmarks, especially of rare route or special trips are highly sought after by collectors today.

There are different types of railway mail car, depending on their features: Letter railway mail cars for the exclusive processing of letters, package track mail-coach for the exclusive handling of packages and all- railway mail cars for the processing of letters and parcels. There were Päckereiwagen that were provided only for the transport and reworking of packages, mail compartments in even otherwise used rail cars, etc.

With the introduction of postcodes work of sorting was very relieved as everywhere in the sort operation. Another relief was the use of roll container systems, which were utilized in particular at Deutsche Post of the GDR coverage and standardized.

Railway mail cars were set into regular trains; these were due to the routes and the frequency and duration of the holding mostly passenger trains. Some of the cars were also changed between trains. Any connected to the car yellow flag signaled the Rangierlokführer residence of persons in the car had to be so careful ranks. There were also trains that consisted solely of railway mail car; at the German Federal Railroad wrong as Expressgutzüge ( Expr ), later also ExpressIC, at the Deutsche Reichsbahn of the GDR as Gepäck-/Expressgutzüge ( Gex ).

Until 1997, perverted special post InterCity trains in Germany with speeds of up to 200 km / h Letters and parcels were then sorted while driving. The railway mail operation ( for mail ) was set end of May 1997. Main reasons for discontinuing were the acquisition of sorting through the highly automated letter sorting centers, many of which were planned without siding, as well as the structure of the German night air postal network. The German Post AG stated that the German train was not able to maintain the desired schedule documents.

Three years later, " rowed " the German post back after it had been shown that the trucks were not able to take over the entire mail traffic. Although the railway transported no more letters, the mail is no longer sorted while driving, but the transportation of packages and parcels is now in containers of Post and DHL, both in all-mail container trains ( " Parcel InterCity " ) and in " normal " container and intermodal trains ( see also containerization ). Higher prices for and taxes on diesel fuel and the truck toll in Germany (since 2005 ), the competition between rail and road affected. Due to the (as of 2013) sharp rise in internet trading, the number of parcels and packages has increased dramatically, while the number of letters has declined in the face of fax, email and other forms of electronic communication.

Switzerland

Starting in 1847 was promoted by the Spanish Brötli train on the route from Zurich to Baden and accompanied by a Condukteur in the baggage car post.

In Switzerland, for the first time in 1857 railway mail cars were used in the Swiss Northeastern Railway on the route from Zurich to Baden -Brugg. The interior of the railway mail car was extremely sparse. The first railway mail cars were owned by the railway companies, and the Swiss PTT had to take over the interest of the acquisition cost, the amounts of depreciation and maintenance. 1866 bought the mail all the time trains running 24 railway mail car to railway companies and gave the construction of ten new cars in order, which included a breakfast room, a bag compartment, an office room and a dressing room with abortion.

A milestone in the Railway Mail Service has been the opening of the Gotthard Railway in 1882. Well first mailings were almost independent of weather conditions over the main Alpine ridge, rather then transported via the Gotthard Pass. The first post office, was promoted on January 1, 1882 five months before the official opening through the Gotthard tunnel.

The railway postal network was then further expanded. In 1893, there were 273 railway mail courses.

The railway mail car developed at this time on. Was it initially slight two-axle wagons, followed them from 1875 gallery car, with the side corridor and around the turn of the century three-axle cars with skylight. By 1891 Petroleum and gas lamps was under candle light worked. Only later electric lighting has been introduced.

At the Swiss National Exhibition ( " Landi " ) in 1939 procured the postal administration of the four-axle railway mail car Z4i 923, which became known as " Landi car," had a length of 22.7 meters and was lit with 34 lights and 20 arched windows in the roof. A special comfort supplied the washing device that provided in the winter warm water. This was the first really convenient railway mail car, which was characterized by efficient use of space. This was followed from 1946 lightweight steel cars that could be added is the emerging light express trains.

Already in 1857 the first train rolled mail car for a Move order on the rails. Since the web demanded an uninterrupted passage of the locomotive to the rear of the train, the available space was very limited.

In 1990, daily perverted 640 railway mail and postal freight cars on the SBB network and 51 privately owned railroads. The guided by the SBB railway mail cars loaded each year about 33 million kilometers, and 440 employees working regularly as drivers. The PTT was with her letter and parcel post the largest customer of the web.

The centralization of sorting the packets and later the mail in some distributed across the country parcel and mail centers received more and more railway mail courses, and beginning of August 2004, with the laying of the newspaper transport from rail to road, the epoch of the accompanying railway mail car was in of Switzerland to end.

Although the mail between sorting centers is still transported by rail, but no longer ranked in the train. For the most part, there are the typical post-chaise used, which are loaded with special mesh roller pallets for the post. For parcel post container wagons are used, which are charged with post- own swap bodies.

On the trolleybus overhead line tuna Beatenbucht the PTT operation from 1952 to 1982 further its own trolley bus trailer for the transport of railway mail.

Austria

On August 1, 1850, the post office for the first time in Austria - Hungary was in a kuk traveling post office between Vienna and Odersberg (now Bohumin ) transported. 1914, 700 railway mail cars in use. After the "Anschluss " of Austria to the German Reich perverted 1938-1945 the railway mail cars for the German Reich Post. 1945 took over the Austrian Post back the carriage of the Railway Mail Service. By 1995 money was transported by rail post. Although the police or armed postmen were riding, were captured in April 1990 between Kirchstetten and Ollersbach 35 million shillings in a robbery; an officer lost his life.

Through the development and expansion of the six distribution centers from 2001, the post could be sorted in the distribution than in the faster train; thus the railway mail lost very quickly in importance. Wolfurt - - In May 2004, the operation of the last inter-regional line Vienna Vienna was set. As a final regional line connecting Innsbruck was - Wolfurt set after the opening of the distribution center Hall / Innsbruck.

Since 2004, the Austrian Post AG transported the shipments by truck or small truck (Sprinter ).

France

The railway mail operations began in France in 1846.

In France today, inter alia, special TGV high- speed trains used (TGV postal ). They replaced the carried in passenger trains railway mail car, for example, on the route Paris -Lyon. According to reports, the TGV postal network to be extended to neighboring countries. Also in France, takes place only a transport and not the way machining more.

Museums

Many postal vehicles are obtained partly operational by museum railway clubs.

  • The Federal Association of Railway Mail Association operates with its fully equipped railway mail cars in Losheim a railway postal museum and puts the car in the historic post office or have a special trains for special trains of heritage railways ride.
  • 13 historic railway mail cars of all eras of the Communication Museum are parked in Augsburg Railway Park. A railway mail cars from 1926 can be viewed alongside other postal vehicles
  • One of the famous railway mail cars of the Royal Mail (post office robbery) is exhibit at the Birmingham Railway Museum
  • The Swiss railway mail car Z4i 923 ( Landi car) is as historical vehicle owned by the SBB.
  • The railway company many former railway mail car survived as disco, bar and luggage carts.

Post robbery

The goods carried in the railway mail car insured items were always a worthwhile prey. Very often raided et al in the U.S. bandits railway mail cars. ( These raids were always for Hollywood in Western since 1903 turned silent film The Great Train Robbery is a popular topic.) Therefore in USA very solid railway mail cars were put into service with steel superstructures (see photo).

The most spectacular Postzugraub in Europe took place in England. 1963 was a band of the London underworld, led by Bruce Reynolds a mail train of the Royal Mail. The robbers captured 2.63 million pounds in old notes. The raid was filmed ask to Checkout Horst Tappert with the German television under the title The Gentlemen.

Pictures of Railway Mail Service

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