The History of the Postmarks of the British Isles from 1840 to 1876 - John Hendy (1909)

74 THE POSTMARKS OF THE BRITISH ISLES FROM ISJfQ.
In the earlier days of the Travelling Post Office important auxiliaries to this service
were the Sorting or Forward Offices established at certain of the principal railwaycentres,
such as Bletchley, Chester, Crewe, Derby, Ely, Gloucester, Normanton, and
Swindon. Some of these offices, such as those at Crewe, Gloucester, and Swindon, had
particular stamps and obliteration marks ; as, for instance. Fig. 450, the obliteration mark
Fig. 450.
being "O 47
'' ; while others, such as Chester, used marks similar to Fig. 451. At these
RAILWAY-STATION
Fig. 451.
offices the work, never otherwise than heavy, was at times subject to remarkable fluctuations.
Take Derby, for instance ; in consequence of this town being as nearly as
possible in the centre of England, it frequently happened that mail-bags which were
thrown out of course, in consequence of accidents or the non-arrival of trains at the
proper time at the different points of junction, reached the Derby Station Office for
disposal ; this entailed heavy additional pressure on the force, and necessitated the
making up of many special bags so as to prevent further delay to the " out-of-course "
correspondence.