BOOK
REVIEW OF THE MONTH
Mail by Rail
Peter Johnson
Pen & Sword Books, 47 Church Street, Barnsley, South Yo rkshire S70 2AS. Tel: 01226 734222. Web: www.pen-and-sword.co.uk. Email: enquiries@pen-and-sword.co.uk Description: Hardback, 178mm × 205mm, 120pp. ISBN: 9781526 776136, Price £35.
If detail is heaven, this is definitely a book to uplift you.
As well as narrow gauge, Peter Johnson is a known expert on the 200-year relationship between the Post Office and the railways. When he first tackled the subject, handling the post made our major stations 24-hour operations, and even he could not have predicted the rapid shift of the business to road and air.
Mail by rail. It all began with the opening of the Liverpool & Manchester Railway and travelling post offices (TPOs) flourished from 1838 until 2004, sorting letters and parcels art-route for speedy delivery once they reached their destination. Today only a tiny fraction of this once massive business survives, employing a few hundred people
