Postal Technology

Transportation:

Motor Vehicles | Railways | Airmail

Motor Vehicles
Motor vehicles may be slow, but they can't be beaten in terms of low cost and versatility.  At the beginning of the 20th century, cars and trucks were starting to replace stagecoaches that were previously used to transport mail over long distances.

From the 1930's to the 1970's, a common vehicle for transporting mail was the "Highway Post Office".  This was a bus on which mail could be sorted, much like in mail cars on trains.  However, since the use of railways was in a decline, post office buses took over much of the work.

By the middle of the 1950's, mailmen were realizing that there was simply too much mail to carry around in a single bag.  Their mail bags were spilling out over the top because they were so full.  It soon became apparent that they would also need motor vehicles to help them deliver the mail.

There has been an endless variety of mail delivery vehicles, from jeeps to station wagons.  Many modern mail trucks are powered by electricity.  The problem postal services have always faced with mail trucks is trying to find one that can hold a lot of mail, travel in all kinds of weather, and still be extremely cheap and very compact.  A perfect solution is difficult to reach.

For mail transport across long distances, it isn't quite as hard to find the right vehicle for the job, because normal trucks can be used.  Unlike mail delivery trucks, these trucks don't have to be custom designed.  Postal services employ large fleets of mail transport vehicles, ranging from small trucks to 18-wheelers.

Railways
Railroads first became practical for use in mail delivery during the 1830’s. Steam locomotives had advanced enough that they could travel in excess of 30mph, and countries such as the United States realized that railroads could be put to great use in the postal service.

Small experimental routes were established first, but by the 1840’s trains were carrying mail between major cities. One of the great advantages of delivering mail by train was that it could be sorted while en route to its destination. Up until that time, all mail was sorted in distribution offices. However, sorting mail on the train reduced the time it took to deliver mail by eliminating the need to stop at those distribution offices. Although at first these mail cars were only equipped for sorting letters, they were eventually able to sort other types of mail as well.

Sorting mail inside the mail car on a train.

Postal services would continue to use railroads to deliver mail for over a century, but by the 1960’s, other more efficient means of mail delivery had been developed, such as airmail, and railroad mail service rapidly declined.  However, railways still play a major part in the postal system in some countries like India.

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