Excerpts and relevant images are below
This artwork is one of the top 20 UK railway artworks voted for by the public as part of Railway 200.
Born in 1904 within the sound of Bow Bells (a true Cockney) Grace Golden lived and worked in London her whole life. Growing up on the edge of the river Thames, she became fascinated by the busy comings and goings of the river folk. That enchantment with city life never left her.
In 1948 Golden produced a series of posters illustrating the work of Post Office workers at four locations across London. Thousands of posters, each measuring 20 x 25 inches, were produced for display in telephone exchanges, workrooms and staff dining rooms. Euston Station: Loading the Travelling Post Office was one of these posters.
The Travelling Post Offices (TPO) were specially adapted railway carriages. Post Office workers sorted the mail into pigeonholes whilst travelling at speed across the UK. Golden shows us hundreds of huge mail sacks being pulled out of bright red Post Office vans and hauled to the carriages – by hand, on sack trucks and in trailers. How many uniformed workers can you see? Dozens at least. The sense of urgency is palpable.
In the travelling post office image, Golden has captured the intense activity of Euston station, London's first major mainline railway station. Opened in 1837, it was designed by Robert Stephenson. The soaring Doric arches that fill the top of the picture were designed by Philip Hardwick. Smoke billows from the train engines, and we can almost hear the hiss and sputter of these giant steam locomotives. At this exact point in time, 1948, the British Railways system was nationalised. And although steam was dominant, the move to diesel and electric traction was on the horizon.
The railways, of course, were a marvellous representation of the modern, industrialised world, moving people, parcels and post across the UK and across the world. Changes in technology meant changes in the architecture of the city as well as changes in the activities and employment of its citizens. Golden encapsulates it all in her images.