3 ms·

I read a story once of somebody sending a postcard from one part of the country to the other end saying that they planned to catch a train in a couple of hours,

I read a story once of somebody sending a postcard from one part of the country to the other end saying that they planned to catch a train in a couple of hours, and would the recipient please meet them at the other end, etc. - the expectation is the card would get there in plenty of time before the sender themselves. It's hard to believe. Whenever I mention this story to people and say it was all for the cost of a penny (the penny post being introduced in 1840), people say that back then a penny was worth so much more, we were able to invest in the infrastructure. According to inflation calculators, 1p in 1840 is worth about 96p today. It's about 1/3rd more than a 1st class stamp today, and of course most postage is now paid for by bulk carriers (advertising), which is even cheaper. There's some interesting stories to find in the economics of the UK postal system over the last 182 years...

Balero 9y ago
I imagine that some of that will be going to pay posties more, and provide better services for them. Whilst I hope a good deal of the back office is automated, there is still a great deal of manual work. Modern employees have a much better standard of living, and benefits than those in 1840, and cost more.
billpg 9y ago
A "penny" might have meant an old penny, or 1/240 GBP.
- isostatic 9y ago
  It certainly would have done. In 1840 average weekly wage for a skilled man in his 30s was £2 according to the first link on ddg. A penny post would be about 1/480th of a weekly wage. If we assume that a skilled man in his 30s today would earn £40k, that would put today's stamp in the £1.50 range, rather than 65p. Far cheaper today, despite being pretty much meaningless. It's no wonder people "hacked" the system, this was a time before phones, or even telegrams, but a time when long distance commerce and connected economies were beginning to become established.
Symbiote 9y ago
[1] is a timetable for Sutton Coldfield in 1902. It seems fairly reasonable that you could send a letter to Birmingham and have it delivered within two hours + travel time, but not to another part of the country unless you were lucky with the timings. Remember, it was usually possible to post a letter from a station, which presumably gave it a very good chance of being on the next train. [1] http://www.sutton-coldfield.net/rail/1902%20train%20timetable.jpg http://www.sutton-coldfield.net/rail/1902%20train%20timetabl...
- isostatic 9y ago
  If your letter from London to Edinburgh was posted at Kings X at 0800, and sent on the 0830, it may have arrived in Edinburgh at 1530 and arrived at the office at 1600. The contents could be "I'm taking the 1000 train, meet me when it arrives at 1700" If you were to then catch the 1000 train, arriving 1700, that would give the recipient time to get to Waverley in time for the arrival.
ubernostrum 9y ago
Top Gear once did a race where they dropped a letter in a box in the Isles of Scilly, addressed to a house in Orkney, then climbed into a Porsche and tried to beat the letter to its destination. The letter got there first.

Balero 9y ago

I imagine that some of that will be going to pay posties more, and provide better services for them. Whilst I hope a good deal of the back office is automated, there is still a great deal of manual work. Modern employees have a much better standard of living, and benefits than those in 1840, and cost more.

billpg 9y ago

A "penny" might have meant an old penny, or 1/240 GBP.

isostatic 9y ago
It certainly would have done. In 1840 average weekly wage for a skilled man in his 30s was £2 according to the first link on ddg. A penny post would be about 1/480th of a weekly wage. If we assume that a skilled man in his 30s today would earn £40k, that would put today's stamp in the £1.50 range, rather than 65p. Far cheaper today, despite being pretty much meaningless. It's no wonder people "hacked" the system, this was a time before phones, or even telegrams, but a time when long distance commerce and connected economies were beginning to become established.

Symbiote 9y ago

[1] is a timetable for Sutton Coldfield in 1902. It seems fairly reasonable that you could send a letter to Birmingham and have it delivered within two hours + travel time, but not to another part of the country unless you were lucky with the timings. Remember, it was usually possible to post a letter from a station, which presumably gave it a very good chance of being on the next train. [1] http://www.sutton-coldfield.net/rail/1902%20train%20timetable.jpg http://www.sutton-coldfield.net/rail/1902%20train%20timetabl...

isostatic 9y ago
If your letter from London to Edinburgh was posted at Kings X at 0800, and sent on the 0830, it may have arrived in Edinburgh at 1530 and arrived at the office at 1600. The contents could be "I'm taking the 1000 train, meet me when it arrives at 1700" If you were to then catch the 1000 train, arriving 1700, that would give the recipient time to get to Waverley in time for the arrival.

ubernostrum 9y ago

Top Gear once did a race where they dropped a letter in a box in the Isles of Scilly, addressed to a house in Orkney, then climbed into a Porsche and tried to beat the letter to its destination. The letter got there first.