Mail is the most important attribute of communication that unites people of all countries and peoples. The messengers delivered important messages during the time of the pharaohs. Since then, methods for delivering correspondence have been constantly improved. Sending letters and parcels by a postal carriage actually began to be carried out from the moment the first railway lines were built.
Historical reference
Horse messengers have been sending messages since ancient times. In the 15th century, with the popularization of mail, the volume of correspondence increased significantly, as a result the first mail carts appeared. A century later, unpretentious carts and sledges were replaced by high-tech covered carriages equipped with shock absorbers, flashlights and other attributes of technological progress.
The closest analogue to the mail carriage is the "horse" - horse-drawn carriages moving on rails. They began to be used at the beginning of the XIX century and were very common, especially in the UK and other European countries.
From horsepower to steam
In 1825, the English engineer and inventor George Stephenson built the first experimental railway between the towns of Darlington and Stockton-on-Tees, on which a "steam cart" of his own design pounded. The second railway line between Manchester and Liverpool was commissioned in 1830. A steam locomotive began to run along this line, transporting a passenger and a luggage car, in which, among other things, messages were delivered.
The British realized that this type of transport would help speed up the delivery of correspondence. Initially, mail carriages were simply loaded onto special platforms. However, the loading / unloading process took a long time. On 6/01/1838 the first specialized postal car in history went to the London-Birmingham line. Since September of the same year, letters and parcels began to be sorted along the way, this significantly reduced the time between sending a message and receiving it.
World experience
Given that rail transport is little dependent on the vagaries of the weather, fast enough and adheres to a strict schedule, it gradually became the main way to deliver messages. After England, the postal car began to be used in many advanced countries:
- Belgium (1841);
- Germany (1848);
- France (1848);
- Russia (1861);
- USA (1864).
the Russian Empire
The 1837th was the year of birth of public railway transport in Russia. On the 27-kilometer stretch Petersburg-Tsarskoye Selo-Pavlovsk, steam locomotives of increased power transported up to 300 passengers. Considering the British experience, the postal department has concluded an agreement with Tsarskoye Selo railway for the transportation of correspondence. Parcels were loaded into a luggage carriage, parcels and letters were delivered by couriers.
The first specially designed postal car of Russian Railways, which allowed processing correspondence on the fly, began work in 1861. Prior to this, delivery methods were “motley”: transportation of bales in freight and slightly converted passenger cars, transportation of carriages on freight platforms, couriers, etc.
In 1869, the railway mail transport department was formed. By this time, messages and parcels were transported along 35 railway lines, including abroad. By the end of 1903, nearly 600 mail wagons were operated in Russia.
USSR
The country of the Soviets began the construction of new railway lines at an accelerated pace. A new generation of high-speed locomotives appeared: diesel locomotives and electric locomotives. Large junctional postal stations began to be created on the junction lines. The mail car has become the basic, most reliable means of delivery of letters.
Since 1962, mail and baggage trains began to run, including up to 12 mail and up to 8 baggage cars. Any of the segments of the composition could be easily undocked and attached to another composition. Subsequently, 23 such trains moved to the country's railways, and the number of postal cars approached 900 units. Correspondence processed during the course of the journey was marked with a special stamp - “PV”.
Russia
In the 21st century, the Russian Post continues to deliver correspondence by rail. However, the volume of shipments decreased significantly. If in the last year of the USSR’s existence, 1319 postal cars operated, by 2007, 1079 units remained in service. Today there are half as many.
However, you can not talk about the sunset of the railway post. In many regions, railway transport is the most reliable (often the only) way of communication. In 2005, the St. Petersburg plant “Vagonmash” designed a new postal car modification 61-531. It creates comfortable conditions for employees, there is a TV, microwave, air conditioning, telephone. An effective fire extinguishing system will save valuable cargo.
A modern automated sorting system allows you to process shipments with just two employees, instead of six. As a result, the usable space increased, the carriage capacity increased to 22 tons. The main method of transportation will be multi-turn packaging loaded into containers.
Since 2009, delivery by Russian Post has been carried out, inter alia, by new wagons of the Torzhok plant. Model 61-906 is designed for delivery of correspondence in containers. Specifications:
- Allowed speed: 160 km / h.
- Payload: 22 t.
- Number of employees: 4.
- Number of doors for loading: 4.
The car is equipped with air conditioning, heating, ventilation.
Evolution
The first models of mail cars were imperfect. Short and narrow, they provided little space for staff and correspondence. Gradually, the design improved. In England, devices were invented that made it possible to quickly load bags of parcels and letters on the go. Over time, rooms were equipped where employees could process and sort messages, compartments for relaxing and eating. In some models there were comfortable coupes for high authorities.
Interestingly, the development of postal cars in the United States, running through the Wild West, was going on. In connection with the frequent attacks of bandits, they gradually strengthened until they turned into fortresses on wheels. Escort of the mail car was carried out by armed personnel. The hull was armored, along the perimeter there were loopholes for shooting, in open areas magnesium torches illuminated the territory for several kilometers.
A modern mail carriage is a complex complex in which shipments of any type are processed. It allows the reception, storage, sorting and transportation by rail of containers and bags with parcels, letters, parcels, telegrams and other types of messages.
Types of wagons
Over a century and a half history, various designs of mail cars have been developed:
- Courier
- postal and warehouse;
- postal sorting;
- mobile control cars;
- common use;
- brake.
Prospects
In developed countries, postal traffic by rail is reduced. It is inferior to aviation in speed, and to motor transport in mobility. However, due to the high carrying capacity and the ability to process shipments on the go, this type of delivery remains relevant.
One of the first countries where postal cars were no longer used was the United States. Until the 40s, rail transport transported about 300 tons of parcels, letters, parcels. There were over 9,000 routes. Previously, it was the transportation of correspondence that brought railway companies the main income and covered the losses from transporting people. By 1950, as a result of a change in the policy of the US Postal Service, the number of lines was reduced to 794's. And in 1962 only 262 routes between major cities were preserved.
In 1967, the Postal Service canceled the transportation of shipments by rail. The cancellation of profitable contracts led to financial problems for railway companies, many passenger routes were closed. The last time a postal car in the USA traveled along the New York-Washington route on 06/30/1977.
In the UK, the vast majority of mail was carried by rail. In the 90s, the privatization of the state-owned company Royal Mail, the transportation structure has changed. In 2003, the company decided to suspend mail delivery by trains, but later some of the routes were restored. There are also private companies in the country that control part of the market.
In the vast Asian space, mail trains remain a popular way of delivering correspondence. For example, in 2016, in addition to the baggage cars of international fast passenger routes, the Beijing-Moscow route launched a regular train consisting exclusively of mail cars. China intends to increase the transportation of letters and parcels along the New Silk Road route with the extension of routes to the largest cities in Europe.