R416 Hornby Travelling Post Office Coach

 

Recently, someone dropped off a box of "stuff" on one of the tables of the railway club. Truth is, most of it was junk, broken plastic buildings, ancient and battered rolling stock. One item that appealed to me though, was this Travelling Post Office coach. 

I think it's a unprototypical BR blue and grey livery that grabbed me. Hornby has produced a TPO for many years, the original being a Tri-ang product. That one took the mail in through one side, and chucked it out the other. This version, from 1980, is a little more prototypical in that entry and exit are from the same side, in something approaching a realistic manner. 

Operated by skates that hit ramps under the coach, the top and bottom "nets" are swung open when required. 

The top net collects the mailbags, as long as the coach is travelling in the correct direction. 

When it snaps shut, the bags drop into the bottom net, which has a hole in the base to drop them at the appropriate point. 

Sadly, my coach has come with either operating device, but I'm sure I can pick one up. TPO coaches never seem to be very valuable, one of these in this livery with all the bits, if on eBay for less than a tenner, and that's not that unusual. A shame, as this is a rare operating accessory with a real railway background. 

 

As far as I know this set has appeared in GWR, BR blue, and Red 1980s Royal Mail colours, and now it's back in the Railroad range, with a quite modest livery. I'm going to say that blue and grey is my favourite. The final mail drop was in 1971 - could this have been a blue coach? I'm sure someone will know. 

Finally, while digging around, I tripped over this video that demos the Hornby, Dublo and Joueff (didn't know about this one, was it really HO? ) versions.