Post Office Stowage Van

A Post Office Stowage Van is a type of rail vehicle built for use in a Travelling Post Office (TPO). Several of these have passed into preservation as they are very useful for storage on the railways.

British Rail Post Office Stowage Van
In service1959–2004
ManufacturerBR Wolverton & York
Family nameBritish Railways Mark 1
Number built19 (new), 21 (converted)
Fleet numbers80400–80439
Operator(s)British Rail(ways)
Specifications
Car length64 ft 6 in (19.66 m)
Width9 ft 3 in (2.82 m)
Height12 ft 9 12 in (3.90 m)
Maximum speed90–100 mph (145–161 km/h)
Weight34–35 tonnes (33.5–34.4 long tons; 37.5–38.6 short tons)
Train heatingDual heat (steam and electric),
ETH 3 or 4
BogiesBR2 or B5
Braking system(s)Vacuum or Dual (Air & Vacuum)
Track gauge4 ft 8 12 in (1,435 mm)

Preservation

The preserved stowage vehicles are as follows:

Preserved BR Mk1 TPO Stowage Vehicles
Number TOPS Code Built Location Notes
80401 NTA 1959 Wolverton Great Central Railway Originally fitted with collection nets.
80402 NTA 1959 Wolverton Nene Valley Railway Originally fitted with collection nets.
80411 NTA 1966 York Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway Rebuilt from BSK 35003.
80413 NTA 1966 York Rushden, Higham & Wellingborough Railway Rebuilt from BSK 35004.
80417 NTA 1968 York Nene Valley Railway -
80423 NTA 1968 York Buckinghamshire Railway Centre -
80429 NTA 1973 York Colne Valley Railway -
80433 NTA 1976 Wolverton Strathspey Railway Rebuilt from SK 25150.
80435 NTA 1976 Wolverton Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway Rebuilt from SK 25117.
80437 NTA 1976 Wolverton Bo'ness & Kinneil Railway Rebuilt from SK 25068.
80438 NTA 1976 Wolverton Great Central Railway Rebuilt from SK 25139.

In addition, 80421 was also purchased for preservation by the Embsay and Bolton Abbey Steam Railway, but was scrapped in July 2008.

Pre-Nationalisation TPO Stowage Vehicles:

Number Company Built Location Notes
70268 LNER 1931 Dunkinfield Great Central Railway Converted from Pigeon Van in 1950.[1]
4958 Southern 1939 Ashford Pontypool and Blaenavon Railway In use as C&W store.[2]
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References


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