Source: Some information on this page may have been sourced as part of the 2023 Wikimedia Australia Partnership Projects grant, with the purpose of improving and expanding the use of Wikidata on our website. Wikidata is a free and open knowledge base that can be read and edited by both humans and machines. Read more about this project here.
Classic British documentary recounting the journey of the ‘Postal Special’ train from London to Glasgow. Carrying no passengers, the postal staff sort mail on board and receive and despatch mailbags ‘en route’. The non professional cast performed scripted scenes, giving a human dimension to the mechanics of mail delivery. Along with a dry factual voice-over, the soundtrack offered music by composer Benjamin Britten and verse by W.H. Auden.
Content notification
Our collection comprises over 40,000 moving image works, acquired and catalogued between the 1940s and early 2000s. As a result, some items may reflect outdated, offensive and possibly harmful views and opinions. ACMI is working to identify and redress such usages.
Learn more about our collection and our collection policy here. If you come across harmful content on our website that you would like to report, let us know.
How to watch
Collection
In ACMI's collection
Credits
Collection metadata
ACMI Identifier
007619
Language
English
Subject categories
Advertising, Film, Journalism, Mass Media & TV → Motion pictures - Study and teaching
Communications, Infrastructure, & Transport → Postal service
Communications, Infrastructure, & Transport → Postal service - Great Britain
Communications, Infrastructure, & Transport → Railroads
Documentary → Documentary films - Great Britain
Education, Instruction, Teaching & Schools → Motion pictures - Study and teaching
Sound/audio
Sound
Colour
Black and White
Holdings
16mm film; Limited Access Print (Section 2)
16mm film; Access Print (Section 1)
VHS; Access Print (Section 1)
16mm film; Preservation Print (Section 5)