Luggage in Advance

Many years ago when I was a kid, my parents would take me away to the seaside for two weeks for a summer holiday. As we didn't have a car we would go naturally by train. My mother would always pack a large trunk and it would be taken to our local station for onward transport to our chosen Guest house. As a child it always amazed me that we could take our trunk to our station and mysteriously
it would be waiting for us on the Saturday when we arrived at say Weymouth.
Does anybody else remember using this facility and can you imagine it be available now.

You had three options Carriage and Delivery, Collection and Carriage and finally the ultimate; Collection, Carriage and Delivery. Oh Halcyon days

Plenty of courier services will do it now - at a price

You mean like this http://www.southwesttrains.co.uk/Carrymyluggage.aspx

http://fgw.2020apps.co.uk/Content.aspx?id=1872

Yes I can remember them days too, I can remember going on a cruise from Southampton in 1990,s went to Southampton in January and took me case down to Western Docks to put on board the Canberra to be put in the baggage room.
I flew out to Los Angeles to join the ship with just on holdall, upon arrival on board the ship, asked the cabin steward to collect my case from the baggage room on board, and hey presto on heavy case full of clothes. After 6 weeks cruise repacked case and returned it to baggage room with paperwork etc and iI left the ship at Hong Kong to fly home.
When the Canberra arrived back at Southampton in early April, my case was offloaded and sent by Red Star back home to home address, my clothes have sailed round the world and I sailed half way round the world.
When Red Star finished that then was the end of the fastest parcel delivery network that run to a timetable.
You could n,t run a service like that now due to privatization and also the is no facilites on most trains to carry parcels anymore.
It was also the way that back in BR days we sent internal mail bye train and not by Royal mail.

As a student 40 years ago, used it regularly at beginning and end of the academic year - it was considerably cheaper than any of the alternatives then available. However, it didn't offer the precise delivery times we expect nowadays. After the first time I made sure I took in my case everything I might need for the first week!

It was called "Passenger's Luggage in Advance" or PLA.

I too used PLA in the 60s to send a trunk to and from University.

The Swiss railways, of course, still offer such a service:
http://www.sbb.ch/en/station-services/services/baggage/baggage-switzerland.html

rmt-driver said:

You mean like this http://www.southwesttrains.co.uk/Carrymyluggage.aspx

http://fgw.2020apps.co.uk/Content.aspx?id=1872

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Sadly I fear this will have gone on the back of a lorry - doesn't have quite the same feel!

Oliver said:

It was called "Passenger's Luggage in Advance" or PLA.

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My 1959 timetable shows it cost 2/9 for Collect/Convey or Convey/Deliver, or 5/6 for all three, between any two GB stations.
This at a time when the ordinary single fare from Manchester to London was 30/-, so the equivalent charge today would be about £25 all up.

Having had to move all my stuff up to Aberdeen in September, I wish it was still around now.

rmt-driver said:

You mean like this http://www.southwesttrains.co.uk/Carrymyluggage.aspx

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South West Trains: As a South West Trains passenger, you are entitled to receive 10% discount on Carrymyluggage delivery.

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rmt-driver said:

http://fgw.2020apps.co.uk/Content.aspx?id=1872

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First Great Western: We've teamed up with Carry My Luggage to offer customers travelling with First Great Western an exclusive 10% discount...

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So First Great Western, how exactly is that discount "exclusive"?

You have to remember that 'exclusive discount' is actually a single word.

I've been offered a similar discount through a tour operator