Quakers Yard
Member
Both Merthyr and Pontypridd were served.
It certainly did, I was the depot manager there in the 90s.I'm sure Sheffield station had a Red Star office before the station front was all redeveloped.
If there was a booking office it most likely also had a parcels office. I have a book from 1987 which lists all stations with a red star office but (from memory) there were over 600 so I can't list them all right now. Parcels offices also dealt with other railway matters like left luggage, overweight luggage, lost property, weighing scales etc.I can’t find a list of which stations it was available from though. Was it literally anywhere that had a booking office? Or just larger stations? Does anyone have a list? Or can people contribute to a list?
You should have got a discount, BR staff were entitled to 50% discount on next day delivery and 75% discount on next day station to station.I didn't get a discount despite being BR staff but I seem to remember the price wasn't unreasonable.
It being a long time ago my memories are hazy, I'm guessing that it never occurred to me that there might be a discount so I guess I didn't ask.You should have got a discount, BR staff were entitled to 50% discount on next day delivery and 75% discount on next day station to station.
I sympathise, I worked in the parcels office at Euston in the late 80s and the procedure was that a customer requested a parcel and gave you the consignee's name, you then looked for a postcard size card with the consignee's name on and placed it on a table through a door behind you. You then had to wait for a railman to pick it up and go and search for it among the racks, being clercial officer grades we weren't supposed to fetch the parcels ourselves, it wasn't our job, so we just had to wait for it to appear. It just seems so outdated these days.Sometimes it was quite a challenge for them to locate the parcel you wanted.
It certainly did, I was the depot manager there in the 90s.
If there was a booking office it most likely also had a parcels office. I have a book from 1987 which lists all stations with a red star office but (from memory) there were over 600 so I can't list them all right now. Parcels offices also dealt with other railway matters like left luggage, overweight luggage, lost property, weighing scales etc.
The Red Star services were:
Station to Station same day - TCF (to be called for) the same day
Station to Station next day - TCF the following day
Red Star Plus - Station to door, delivered the same day, there was also a door to door same day service as well.
Night Star (later became Red Star Overnight) - station to door delivered the following day
Red Star Overnight 0900 - station to door delivered by 0900 the following day
Red Star Worldwide - started in 1987 to many countries around the world, I think this was done in association with DHL.
Eurail - in my head I've got "Eurostar" but maybe I'm confusing it with the trains through the channel tunnel! This was for parcels by air to Europe and was a faster service to TCX described below.
There were also contract deliveries for regular business customers door to door, they had specially negotiated rates.
There were also other services, some of which have been mentioned, they all had separate coloured consignment notes.
Rail Express Parcels - blue consignment notes. This was a station to station service identical to red star station to station but wasn't guaranteed to be there next day. It was £1 cheaper than Red Star, not many customers knew about it and it wasn't advertised. Officially parcels would be conveyed as and when space was available on trains but in reality the parcels went on exactly the same services as red star.
Livestock - green consignment notes. Most common would probably be "lost" pigeons, they had special boxes they had to be transported in so that they couldn't turn round. Also dogs, cats, rabbits etc.
Newspapers - black consignment notes. These were for non-contract newspapers.
Magstar - for magazines, I think these were contract services as I never dealt with them.
Dangerous Goods - red consignment notes. Railway detonators were sent around the country and radio active substances for hospitals, these were strictly regulated. Guards had to be advised of their presence and were to be separated in the guards van.
TCX - can't remember what it stands for now, possibly TransContinentalExpress? This was a slower and cheaper service that existed before Eurail and parcels went by rail to Dover (I think) then by ferry (no tunnel in those days) then by rail across Europe.
LIA - Luggage in Advance. Has been mentioned, it was cheaper to send luggage LIA than Red Star.
I'm sure there were some brown consignment notes but I can't think what they were for now - it was 30 years ago!
I worked in 9 different parcels offices over the years and have a few anecdotes but I've probably bored the pants off you by now!
Yes, I keep meaning to add a picture. Thanks for the reminder! I will try and add one tonight.Just been looking at Google Streetview for up to date images of HS2 prep at Euston. Noted that the car park above the station still retains the Red Star banner (as was taken in April this year) - viewed from Hampstead Road
Blacpool North had a Red Star Parcels office, it was also the left luggage counter, between the former back exit to the station and the toilets.
You'd be correct. Most parcels offices also dealt with left luggage, the exceptions were the large stations like Euston.I also remember their dual use as left luggage offices. I'm sure on family holidays to Tenby in the late 70s/early 80s we would be turned out of the B&B early on a Saturday morning, leave the luggage in the Red Star office and have the morning on the beach before the direct train back to Paddington in the early afternoon.
I also have a hazy memory of the same at Broadstairs but could be wrong.
Yes. Up to the late 80s fresh fish would arrive at Euston overnight from Kyle of Lochalsh, langoustines, smoked salmon etc. for London restaurants. They would be carried in polystyrene boxes, the langoustines would stil be alive I recall.Anyone remember an office at Dundee or the Kyle?