Post Van (T&F)

The Railway Series

Thomas & Friends

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Post Van
Background Information
First appearance	Mind that Bike (1995)
Last appearance	Cleo the Road Engine (2021)
Creator(s)	Christopher Awdry
Character Overview
Name	Post Van Sodor Mail Van
Country	Island of Sodor England (built)
Affiliation	Ffarquhar Branch Line
Technical Details
Basis	Morris J-type
Vehicle	Road vehicle
Type	Post van
Fuel type	Petrol
Drivetrain	4x2
Wheels	4
Top speed	53 mph
Builder(s)	Morris Commercial
Company	Sodor Mail

Tom Tipper has a Post Van (also known as the Sodor Mail Van) which he uses to collect and deliver mail across the Island of Sodor. The van was once taken away and replaced with a bike while Tom was ill, as the postmaster saw it as too old and expensive. However, when Percy accidentally ran the bike over, destroying it beyond repair, Tom received a new van after the postmaster decided that it was worth the expense after all.

Technical Details

Basis

The Post Van is based on a Morris Commercial J-type van, built between 1949 and 1961. Approximately one-eighth of J-type vans built were bought by the General Post Office, which used them for mail collection and deliveries in country areas all over the United Kingdom. The Sodor Bakery van and the T. Drysdale Signwriter van are also based on these vans.

The post van's basis

Livery

The Post Van is painted red with a light grey rooftop. In The Railway Series, it has the Sodor Mail logo on its sides. Before its restoration, its hubcaps were painted black, but have now been repainted red.

In the video game, Railway Adventures, the Post Van's rooftop is painted red.

Appearances

• Television Series
• Other Media

Thomas & Friends Series 4 - Mind that Bike Series 5 - Toby and the Flood, Toby's Discovery and Oliver's Find Series 6 - Thomas the Jet Engine and Edward the Very Useful Engine Series 7 - Bulgy Rides Again Series 24 - Emily's Best Friend, Emily to the Rescue, Kenji on the Rails Again and Cleo the Road Engine Music Videos Series 5 - Every Cloud has a Silver Lining and Harold the Helicopter Series 24 - Party Train

Magazine Stories 2000 - Lucky to be Lost! 2008 - Percy's Post! 2010 - Pulling the Post 2011 - Steam on Stamps Video Games 2001 - Railway Adventures

Official Description

• 1999-2000

From Official Media[1]

“

Sodor Mail Van: The Sodor Mail Van is used for mail collection and delivers on the Island of Sodor. Historical Note: The Sodor Mail Van is bases on similar vans built by Morris and Bedford in the 1940s and 1950s for mail collection and delivers in country areas over the whole of Britain.

”

Audio Files

Horn

Only used	Sound Effect
Mind that Bike

Trivia

• The Post Van's model had a cast made for the Sodor Bakery van, and began sharing its chassis with the latter.
• The Post Van's model used to be on display at Drayton Manor, but it was sent back to storage in early 2020. The model was then redisplayed at the second Clearwater Event in August 2022.
• Despite the fact it is faceless and apparently non-sentient, the Post Van was given a nameboard. It is also the only faceless vehicle to have one.
• The Post Van's CGI model was originally made under Nitrogen Studios, however the model went unused until the twenty-fourth series.
• In some shots from Mind that Bike, the van has silver rims on its wheels, for most of the episode the hubcaps are entirely red, then in the fifth series one of the front hub caps was silver with red trimmings.

Merchandise

• Ertl (discontinued)
• Thomas Engine Collection Series (with flatbed; discontinued)
• Capsule Plarail (normal, advertisement with Mr. Bubbles, and metallic)
• Nakayoshi (with postbox; discontinued)
• Pocket Fantasy (discontinued)

References

Ffarquhar Branch Line

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* 1991 map only | ** 2014 map only

Non-rail vehicles

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