Paddy mail
Encyclopedia
Paddy mails, generally considered as being workmen's trains, were operated by, or for many companies to transport their workers to their place of work or between their sites of work.
Originally they were operated by railway contractors, on temporary tracks laid to remove spoil from their workings, to transport workers from their "shanty villages" to the work site. Many of these navvies
as they were known were of Irish origin, hence the name given to the trains (see: Paddy).
Once the main line was built the name passed to the workmen's specials, which in many cases, were operated along the main line railways and sometimes operated by the main line companies to an exchange point where the trains were taken over by the industrial company.
In a time before the provision of pit-head baths it was illegal to travel in a normal service train in working clothes, so special trains were provided, usually of the railway company's most ancient coaches. There is a preserved example of such a vehicle from 1869 at the Midland Railway Centre at Butterley
.
Most of the services were terminated due to competition from motor buses in the 1930s. One much loved line was the Southwell Paddy.
Since their main line demise the name has continued in use being applied to the underground man-riding trains which operate between the pit bottom and the working coal face.
Originally they were operated by railway contractors, on temporary tracks laid to remove spoil from their workings, to transport workers from their "shanty villages" to the work site. Many of these navvies
Navvy
Navvy is a shorter form of navigator or navigational engineer and is particularly applied to describe the manual labourers working on major civil engineering projects...
as they were known were of Irish origin, hence the name given to the trains (see: Paddy).
Once the main line was built the name passed to the workmen's specials, which in many cases, were operated along the main line railways and sometimes operated by the main line companies to an exchange point where the trains were taken over by the industrial company.
In a time before the provision of pit-head baths it was illegal to travel in a normal service train in working clothes, so special trains were provided, usually of the railway company's most ancient coaches. There is a preserved example of such a vehicle from 1869 at the Midland Railway Centre at Butterley
Butterley
Butterley is a village in the English county of Derbyshire near to Ripley. It is the site of the Midland Railway - Butterley, as well as the old Butterley Brickworks.- Notable residents :...
.
Most of the services were terminated due to competition from motor buses in the 1930s. One much loved line was the Southwell Paddy.
Since their main line demise the name has continued in use being applied to the underground man-riding trains which operate between the pit bottom and the working coal face.
- References to main line operations, See: Birley CollieriesBirley CollieriesThe Birley Collieries were a group of coal mines set in the Shire Brook Valley in south east Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. They were connected to the railway system by a branch line from the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway at Woodhouse East Junction, about 800 yards east of...
, Orgreave CollieryOrgreave CollieryOrgreave Colliery was a coal mine situated adjacent to the main line of the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railwayabout south east of Sheffield. The colliery is within the parish of Orgreave, from which it takes its name.- History :...
, Silverwood CollierySilverwood CollierySilverwood Colliery was owned by Dalton Main Collieries Ltd., and was originally called Dalton Main. It was renamed after the local woodland where it was situated, between Thrybergh and Ravenfield, in Yorkshire, England, although it could easily have been called Gulling Wood.- History :Dalton Main...
, Treeton CollieryTreeton CollieryTreeton Colliery was a coal mine situated in the village of Treeton, near Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England.Work on the sinking of Treeton Colliery commenced, with all due ceremony, in October 1875...
. - References to underground operations, See: Nunnery CollieryNunnery CollieryNunnery Colliery was a coal mine close to the city centre of Sheffield, South Yorkshire. The mining company, known as The Waverley Coal Company, also worked High Hazels Colliery about 3 miles further east.- History :...
, Silverwood CollierySilverwood CollierySilverwood Colliery was owned by Dalton Main Collieries Ltd., and was originally called Dalton Main. It was renamed after the local woodland where it was situated, between Thrybergh and Ravenfield, in Yorkshire, England, although it could easily have been called Gulling Wood.- History :Dalton Main...
.