He went again, and actually,
that same evening, delivered the second quantity in Manchester, "having
travelled 120 miles in four separate journeys, and bought, sold, and
delivered, 30 miles off, at two distinct deliveries, 300 tons of goods,
in about 12 hours." The occurrence is perfectly astounding; and, had it
been hinted at fifty years ago, would have been deemed impossible.

--_Railway Magazine_, 1840.

RAILWAYS AND THE POST-OFFICE.

It might naturally be thought that the new and quicker means of transport
afforded by the railway would be eagerly utilised by the Post-office.
There were, however, difficulties on both sides. The railway companies
objected to running trains during the night, and the old stage-coach
offered the advantage of greater regularity. The railway was quicker,
but was at least occasionally uncertain. Thus, in November, 1837, the
four daily mail trains between Liverpool and Birmingham on ten occasions
arrived before the specified time, on eight occasions were exact to time,
and on 102 occasions varied in lateness of arrival from five minutes to
five hours and five minutes. There were all sorts of mishaps and long
delays by train. The mail guard, like the passenger guard, rode outside
the train with a box before him called an "imperial," which contained the
letters and papers entrusted to his charge. In very stormy weather the
mail guard would prop up the lid of his imperial and get inside for
shelter. On one occasion when the mail arrived at Liverpool the guard
was found imprisoned in his letter-box. The lid had fallen and fastened
in the male travesty of "Ginevra." Fortunately for him it was a
burlesque and not a tragedy. Bags thrown to the guards at wayside
stations not unfrequently got under the wheels of the train and the
contents were cut to pieces. On one occasion, on the Grand Junction, an
engine failed through the fire-bars coming out. The mails were removed
from the train and run on a platelayer's "trolly," but unfortunately the
contents of the bags took fire and were destroyed. But many of these
mishaps were obviated by the invention of Mr. Nathaniel Worsdell, a
Liverpool coachbuilder, in the service of the railway, who took out a
patent in 1838 for an appliance for picking up and dropping mail bags
while the train was at full speed. This is still used. The loads of
railway vehicles, it may be mentioned, were limite