British Rail newspaper trains of the past

[editor]

Great article this:

At 01.40 on the dot, the train pulls out punctually and for the next three hours, the men don’t get a minute’s rest as they sort and collate the load according to the various newsagents’ requirements, untying bundles, transferring the relevant papers, then re-tying and labelling them with addresses so that each new parcel is ready to be immediately off-loaded.

It’s not even possible to learn the job by rote as newsagents’ orders change every night.

Physical

It is hard to believe that by the end of the journey this crew alone will have handled 130,000 papers – more than 25,000 per man – and wrapped and tied more than a thousand bundles, not to mention the tough physical work of heaving the heavy bales backwards and forwards along the carriage and up and down onto tables.

In some cases, the weight will have been increased by the inclusion of magazine parcels, but those will have been sorted and labelled by wholesalers the previous day.

After a run at speeds of up to 75mph (a diesel having replaced the electric at Northampton for the second half of the journey via Market Harborough), the train pulls into a dedicated siding at Nottingham at 04.15 to be met by no fewer than 30 road vans, all backed up with their rear doors ready open.

During the night, the sorted bundles have been carefully stacked next to the 10 external doorways according to which district they are destined for. As the train draws carefully to a halt, the reason for this becomes apparent, for the doors line up exactly with the first 10 vans, enabling the papers to be thrown straight from one to the other to save precious minutes.

Within a quarter of an hour, the carriages have been emptied and less than an hour later, every newsagent’s shop and bookstall within a 15-mile radius of Nottingham has had its orders delivered by vans. Paper delivery boys and girls earning a bit of pocket money will do the rest.

NEWSPAPER TRAINS: Read All About It

 

[TruXta]

Not trains made out of newspapers then.

 

[pseudonarcissus]

Not trains made out of newspapers then.

Papier machê thread here....
Papier Mache ... how do you do this?

 

[planetgeli]

Trainspotting as a kid (Sandy, KX mainline) there were two locos you always wanted to see. The goods train, came through roughly 8.15 each evening. And the mail train, 5.30 in the morning. Because, for some unknown reason, they always had 'different' engines on to the ones that regularly came through pulling passengers.

Stayed out for the goods train most nights. Stayed up for the mail train, all night, one night. Aged 14.

Days of innocence?

 

[Sprocket.]

Trainspotting as a kid (Sandy, KX mainline) there were two locos you always wanted to see. The goods train, came through roughly 8.15 each evening. And the mail train, 5.30 in the morning. Because, for some unknown reason, they always had 'different' engines on to the ones that regularly came through pulling passengers.

Stayed out for the goods train most nights. Stayed up for the mail train, all night, one night. Aged 14.

Days of innocence?

My uncle Peter was the senior signalman at Sandy for years, he loved that job. He was there through the great years of steam.

 

[Dogsauce]

The Northampton to Market Harborough line is long gone too, apart from a small preserved section which is shared with a cycle path.

 

[farmerbarleymow]

A good picture of Manchester in the article, from 1979. Place is a bit cleaner now.

 

[davesgcr]

The 0055 Paddington to Swansea was a great train - about 14 bogies ,including a half-brake standard class coach for any travellers. Endless supply of free reading material.