Mail is the most important attribute of communication,uniting people of all countries and peoples. The messengers delivered important messages even in the time of the pharaohs. Since then, the methods of delivering correspondence have been constantly improved. The sending of letters and parcels by the postal car actually began to be carried out from the moment of construction of the first railway lines.
Sending messages by horse messengershas been practiced since ancient times. In the XV century, with the popularization of postal items, the volume of correspondence increased significantly, as a result, the first postal vehicles appeared. A century later, unsightly carts and sledges were replaced by high-tech covered carriages equipped with shock absorbers, lanterns and other attributes of technological progress.
The closest analogue of a postal car is"Konki" - horse carriages, moving on rails. They began to be used in the early 19th century and were very common, especially in the UK and other European countries.
In 1825 the English engineer-inventorGeorge Stephenson built the first experimental railroad between the towns of Darlington and Stockton-on-Tees, along which the "steam cart" of his own design cruised. The second railway line between Manchester and Liverpool was put into operation in 1830. On this line the locomotive began to shuttle, transporting the passenger and baggage car, in which, among other things, messages were delivered.
The British realized that this type of transportwill help speed up the delivery of correspondence. Initially, the mailboxes were simply loaded onto special platforms. However, the process of loading / unloading required a lot of time. 6.01.1838 on the London-Birmingham line left the first-ever specialized postal car. Since September of the same year, letters and parcels began to be sorted on the way, which allowed to significantly shorten the time between the sending of the message and its receipt.
Given that the railway transport is smalldependent on the vagaries of the weather, fast enough and adheres to a strict timetable, it gradually became the main way of delivering messages. After England, the postal car began to be used in many advanced countries:
1837 became the year of the birth of the publicrailway transport in Russia. The 27-kilometer stretch of the "Petersburg-Tsarskoye Selo-Pavlovsk" shuttle was operated by high-power locomotives carrying up to 300 passengers. Taking into account the British experience, the postal department concluded an agreement with the Tsarskoye Selskaya railway to transport correspondence. The parcels were loaded into a baggage car, parcels and letters were delivered by couriers.
The first specially designed postal carRZhD, allowing on-the-go to process correspondence, began work in 1861. Prior to this, the delivery methods were "raznochorstnymi": transportation of bales in freight and slightly converted passenger cars, transportation of carriages on freight platforms, couriers, etc.
In 1869, the railwayOffice mail transport. By this time, messages and parcels were transported along 35 railway lines, including abroad. By the end of 1903, almost 600 mail wagons were in operation in Russia.
The country of the Soviets accelerated theconstruction of new railway branches. There were high-speed engines of the new generation: diesel and electric locomotives. On the nodal lines large post-railroad post-offices began to be created. Postal wagon became the base, the most reliable vehicle of delivery of letters.
Since 1962 began to ply postal and luggageTrains that included up to 12 postal and up to 8 luggage wagons. Any of the segments of the composition could easily be undocked and attached to another compound. Subsequently, 23 such trains moved to the railways of the country, and the number of mail cars approached 900 units. The correspondence, processed on the move, was put a special stamp - "PI".
In the 21st century, delivery continues"Mail of Russia" correspondence through rail. However, the volume of items decreased significantly. If in the last year of the existence of the USSR there were 1319 mail wagons, then by 2007 1079 units remained in service. Today, they are half as many.
However, one can not speak of the sunset of the railwaymail. In many regions railway transport is the most reliable (often the only) mode of communication. In 2005, the St. Petersburg plant "Vagonmash" designed a new mail wagon of modification 61-531. It provides comfortable conditions for employees, there is a TV, microwave, air conditioning, telephone. An effective fire extinguishing system will save valuable cargo.
Modern automated sorting systemAllows you to process shipments to only two employees, instead of six. As a result, the useful space increased, the load capacity of the car increased to 22 tons. The main way of transportation will be a multi-turn container, loaded into containers.
Since 2009 delivery by the "Post of Russia"is carried out, among other things, by the new cars of the Torzhok plant. Model 61-906 is designed for delivery of correspondence in containers. Specifications:
The car is equipped with air conditioning, heating, ventilation.
The first models of mail cars wereimperfect. Short and narrow, they provided little space for staff and correspondence. Gradually, the design was improved. In England, invented devices that allowed fast, on-the-go loading bags with parcels and letters. Over time, the premises were equipped, where employees could process and sort messages, coupe for rest and eating. In some models there were comfortable coupes for high authorities.
Interesting was the development of postal cars in the US,cruising along the "Wild West". In connection with the frequent attacks of bandits, they gradually strengthened until they turned into fortresses on wheels. The postal car was escorted by armed personnel. The case was armored, perimeter gun embrasures were located, in the open area magnesium torches illuminated the territory for several kilometers.
A modern postal car is a complex complex, inwhich handle the shipping of any type. It allows the reception, storage, sorting and transportation by rail of containers and bags with parcels, letters, parcels, telegrams and other types of messages.
During the history of a century and a half, various designs of postal cars were developed:
In developed countries, mail turnover by railtransport is reduced. By speed, it is inferior to aviation, and by mobility - to motor transport. However, due to the high load capacity and the ability to handle the items on the move, this type of delivery remains relevant.
One of the first countries where postal carshave ceased to be used, have become the United States. Until the 1940s, rail transport transported about 300 tons of parcels, letters, parcels. There were over 9,000 routes. Previously, the transportation of correspondence brought the main income to railway companies and covered losses from transportation of people. By 1950, as a result of a change in the policy of the US Postal Service, the number of lines dropped to 794. And in 1962 there were only 262 routes between the major cities.
In 1967The postal service canceled the carriage of items by rail. The cancellation of profitable contracts led to the financial problems of railway companies, many passenger routes were closed. The last time a postal car in the US drove on the route New York - Washington on June 30,
In Great Britain, the vast majority of postalIt was carried out by rail. In the 1990s, the state company Royal Mail was privatized, the transportation structure changed. In 2003, the company decided to suspend mail delivery by trains, but later some of the routes were restored. Also in the country there are private companies that control part of the market.
In the vast Asian area, postaltrains remain a popular way of delivering correspondence. For example, in 2016, along the Beijing-Moscow route, in addition to the luggage cars of international fast passenger routes, a regular train consisting exclusively of mail cars was launched. China intends to increase the transportation of letters and parcels along the route "New Silk Road" with the extension of routes to the largest cities in Europe.
