Mobile post office

Mobile post office

Mobile post offices deliver mail and other postal services through specially equipped vehicles, such as trucks and trains.

Contents

Mobile Post Offices around the world

United Kingdom

Interior of a mobile office of the Great Northern Railway

The United Kingdom pioneered the modern use of what it calls the Travelling Post Office (TPO), a railway service that operated for the first time in 1838.[1][2] TPOs were removed from service by Royal Mail in early 2004.[3]

In the UK road vehicles that provide postal services are known as Mobile Post Offices, to differentiate them from the (now obsolete) rail Travelling Post Offices (TPOs). Mobile Post Offices were first introduced in 1936 to provide telegraph, telephone and postal services at special events such as race meetings and shows. The need for large Mobile Post Offices declined over the years, but since the mid 1990s small van versions have appeared in rural towns without a permanent Post Office.[4]

United States

In the United States, the most prominent mobile post offices are railway post offices. For about 30 years, ending in the 1920s, a few cities had streetcar offices. In addition, the U.S. runs a Boat Railway Post Offices. The boat services were first available for inland waterways, beginning in 1857, and subsequently ocean routes to Puerto Rico, Canal Zone, and from Seattle to Alaska. The rail and boat offices were discontinued in 1977 and 1978, respectively.

Canada

Canada began its railroad mail services in 1859.[5] Both CN Rail and CP Rail used mailcars]] to haul mail across Canada. With the switch to mail delivery by air or truck, Canada Post no longer delivers mail by rail.

VIA Rail provides courier/mail service, VIAPAQ Courier, at select train stations in Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.

Israel

In Israel, mobile post offices began in 1955 as part of the country's postal services for the Negev.

China

A mobile postal truck serving Chinese University of Hong Kong.

In China, mobile postal trucks serve two routes for Hongkong Post operating within Hong Kong.

Pakistan

Following an earthquake in 2005, the Universal Postal Union (UPU) donated monies to Pakistan for a mobile postal office truck.[6]

Other countries

According to the UPU database, other countries with mobile post offices include: Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Egypt, Greece, Hungary, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Madagascar, Moldova, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Viet Nam, Yemen, and Zimbabwe.[7]

Postage stamps

Countries have issued postage stamps to recognize mobile postal services. For instance, in 1913, the U.S. issued parcel post stamps that portray a mail train as well as an employee of a railway post office. In 1974, Zambia issued a series of 4 stamps as commemoratives for the centenary of the Universal Postal Union. Israel issued a stamp in 1959 picturing its red mobile post truck, pictured.

In 1950, the Mobile Post Office Society was established as a philatelic organization interested in the postmarks and activities of mobile offices, primarily in the U.S.

Popular culture

In popular culture, the mobile post office may be best known for the Great Train Robbery (1963).

References and sources

Notes
  1. ^ Johnson 1995.
  2. ^ White p.472
  3. ^ The British Postal Museum & Archive. "What happened to the TPOs?". http://postalheritage.org.uk/page/3267/What-happened-to-the-TPOs. Retrieved 2011-06-24. 
  4. ^ The British Postal Museum & Archive. "Mobile Post Office". http://www.postalheritage.org.uk/page/movingthemail-mpo. Retrieved 2011-06-24. 
  5. ^ White, p 473
  6. ^ Pakistan Post news on its mobile office
  7. ^ UPU database by country, report created to list mobile post offices on 02-14-2008.
Sources
  • Bergman, Edwin B. (1980) 29 Years to Oblivion, The Last Years of Railway Mail Service in the United States, Mobile Post Office Society, Omaha, Nebraska. Available from http://www.eskimo.com/~rkunz/mposhome.html Mobile Post Office Society. Members receive literature discounts.
  • Johnson, Peter. (1995) Mail by Rail - The History of the TPO & Post Office Railway, Ian Allan Publishing, London. ISBN 0 7110 2385 9
  • Wilking, Clarence. (1985) The Railway Mail Service, Railway Mail Service Library, Boyce, Virginia. On boats and streetcars, available as an MS Word file at [1].

External links


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • mobile post office — A trailer unit equipped to handle all major postal needs as an emergency or temporary replacement post office …   Glossary of postal terms

  • Railway post office — In the United States a railway post office, commonly abbreviated as RPO, was a railroad car that was normally operated in passenger service as a means to sort mail en route, in order to speed delivery. The RPO was staffed by highly trained… …   Wikipedia

  • Post Office Ltd — For the UK s mail delivery service, see Royal Mail. Post Office Ltd Type Wholly owned subsidiary Industry postal service Founded 1986 …   Wikipedia

  • Post Office Ltd. — Infobox Company name = Post Office Ltd type = Wholly owned subsidiary genre = foundation = 1986 founder = location city = location country = location = 80 86 Old Street, London EC1V 9NN origins = key people = area served = United Kingdom industry …   Wikipedia

  • Streetcar Railway Post Office — (RPO) routes operated in several major USA cities between the 1890s and 1920s. The final route was in Baltimore, Maryland. The Mobile Post Office Society, Affiliate 64 of the American Philatelic Society, has published monographs detailing the… …   Wikipedia

  • Ankh-Morpork Post Office — The Ankh Morpork Post Office is featured in Going Postal , one of Terry Pratchett s Discworld series of books and the 2007 Discworld Diary, based on previous mentions in Men at Arms and the 1998 diary.The Post Office, which was once a vibrant,… …   Wikipedia

  • Mobile, California — Mobile is a former settlement in Imperial County, California.[1] It was located 5 miles (8 km) west of El Centro.[1] A post office operated at Mobile from 1910 to 1912.[1] References ^ a …   Wikipedia

  • Mobile multi-coloured composite — A mobile multi coloured composite (MMCC) is a two dimensional coloured barcode designed to distribute media via traditional print media, without the need for network connectivity[1]. MMCC barcodes are designed to be scanned with ordinary camera… …   Wikipedia

  • Mobile telephony — Mobile phone tower Mobile telephony is the provision of telephone services to phones which may move around freely rather than stay fixed in one location. Mobile phones connect to a terrestrial cellular network of base stations (cell sites),… …   Wikipedia

  • Mobile Enterprise — (Mobile ERP) is a collection of Online Interactive Business Applications made possible by Mobile Broadband. Cellular Networks with GPRS and UMTS are connected to the Internet via Media Gateways. Mobile Enterprise serves HSDPA and HSUPA. Mobile… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”