“THIS is the Night Mail crossing the border, Bringing the cheque and the postal order…”
W H Auden’s opening lines to 1936’s evocative GPO documentary film Night Mail about the work of the Travelling Post Office (TPO) are known by thousands, and to many conjure images of Fowler 4-6-0s on the West Coast Mail Line, footplate crews working hard, and the stunning scenery north of Carlisle.
The short film, which is regarded as a classic, will be 85 years old in 2021, and to mark the anniversary the Great Central Railway-based Rail Vehicle Preservations (RVP) group plans to take a six-coach TPO set back onto the main line for a steam-hauled run between Derby and Bristol.
Read more in the August 2019 issue of The RM – on sale now!
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About the Author
Railway Production Editor at Mortons Media Group Ltd.
Nigel Devereux is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Lincoln, working in the School of English and Journalism. He has worked within the print publishing industry for 38 years. Nigel was editor of his hometown newspaper - The Horncastle News - from 1998-2001. Nigel is currently the Production Editor on The Railway Magazine, the UK’s biggest selling magazine for railway enthusiasts. He is also responsible for maintaining and updating several websites across the Mortons portfolio.
01507 529529 | NDevereux@Mortons.co.uk
01507 529529 | NDevereux@Mortons.co.uk
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