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[[File:{{Infobox maroon carriage|image = BR 80300 Post Office Sorting Van.jpg|300px|thumb|right|caption = BR 80300 Post Office Sorting Van|construc = BR Wolverton|status = Static display|carno = W80300|livery = BR Maroon|othernos = M80300|designed = |diagram = 720|lot = 30486|cartype = [[:Category:Carriage Type POS|POS]]|topscode = [[:Category:Carriage Type POS|NSV]]|seats = None|built = 1959|years1 = 1997|events1 = Arrived on SVR|years2 = |events2 = |years3 = |events3 = |years4 = |events4 = |years5 = |events5 = |years6 = |events6 = }}80300 was the first of 96 Post Office sorting vans built between 1959 and 1977 for use in travelling post offices ("TPOs").<ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post_Office_Sorting_Van</ref><br>

==Service==80300 was the first of 96 prototype BR Mark 1 Post Office sorting vans Sorting carriage.<ref Name=SVR>SVR Stock Book 9th Edition</ref> It was built between by BR at Wolverton in 1959 to Diagram 720 (NS501), Lot 30486. It entered service in the Western region in October 1959 and , transferring to the London Midland region in October 1977 .<ref>[[Bibliography#Other References|Longworth (2013)]] p.182.</ref> In the latter region it was used on the nightly ‘postal special’ which left Euston for Glasgow at 8.30pm. Stops were made at Crewe and Carlisle to transfer mail to and from other TPOs serving different parts of the country. At one time the coach was fitted with a net and apparatus to allow the high speed collection and dropping of mailbags at 34 locations along the route<ref>Information displayed in the coach</ref>.  ==Preservation==[[File:80300atHighley.jpg|thumb|300px|right|80300 in use as the visitor centre]] 80300 arrived on the SVR on 19 March 1997 from Barton Hill near Bristol, already restored in late 1960s maroon livery, having been donated to the railway by EWS Railways.<ref Name=SVR/> It was presented to the railway on indefinite loan in travelling post officesa ceremony at Kidderminster on 21 March 1997 by Richard Dykes, Managing Director of Royal Mail, and Ed Burkhardt, Chairman of EWS.<ref>https:SVR News 122<//enref> Before the opening of the Engine House in 2008, 80300 was used as the visitor centre at Highley.wikipediaThis visitor centre was officially opened on 2 June 2001.org/wiki/Post_Office_Sorting_Van</ref>SVR News 137<br/ref> {{As of March 2015|2019}}, it 80300 is on long term display at [[The Engine House]] with the interior accessible to the public. The ‘postal special’ featured in the 1936 GPO film ‘Night Mail’, noted for the poem written by WH Auden and music by Benjamin Britten. Part of this film can be seen in the TPO at Highley.

==LinksSee also== *[[http://www.cs.vintagecarriagestrust.org/se/CarriageInfo.asp?Ref=2429 80300 on www.vintagecarriagestrust.orgCarriages#BR Designed Coaches | List of carriages]<br>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkLoDg7e_ns "Night Mail" on YouTube, a 1936 documentary showing practices that changed little over the following 40 years.]

==See alsoLinks==*[[Carriages#BR Designed Coaches | List of carriages]http://www.cs.rhrp.org.uk/se/CarriageInfo.asp?Ref=2429 80300 on Railway Heritage Register On-Line]<br>*[https: [[BR 80222 Courier Van//www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvOj8FBPAXg "Night Mail" on YouTube, formerly Brake Corridor Second 35315 | Previous ]]<br>: [[BR 80328 Post Office Sorting Van | Next ]a 1936 documentary showing practices that changed little over the following 40 years.]