Fitzalan Square: what's the history of the old Post Office?

[George 10]

The telegram boy priory,it would be about middle of the 50s getting on to the 60s,god they used to think they was the bees knees,thinking back now the bikes was only small engines but to me well that was going to be my job i said,heeeeeeeeeee.plus can you lot remember the lift side of the post office took you up to the square but was always broke.

[mojoworking 10]

As a kid I always found the steep flight of steps next to the GPO quite scary - I used to image them in a spooky Italian horror film (or something).

[detectorist 10]

Originally posted by Lostrider

You and me both, George.

 

Do you remember those little three wheeler lorries that used to deliver parcels. Maybe they were railway lorries ?

Those lorries were Scammel (Ironhorse) and yes they belonged to British Rail.

[prioryx 10]

Originally posted by George

The telegram boy priory,it would be about middle of the 50s getting on to the 60s,god they used to think they was the bees knees,thinking back now the bikes was only small engines but to me well that was going to be my job i said,heeeeeeeeeee.plus can you lot remember the lift side of the post office took you up to the square but was always broke.

I was early 50s.The bikes were BSA Bantams 125cc. It was a great time.

[mojoworking 10]

Originally posted by detectorist

Those lorries were Scammel (Ironhorse) and yes they belonged to British Rail.

 

The famous rounded cab models of the 50s & 60s were called Scammell Scarabs. Here are the specs for the anoraks amongst us:

 

Scammell first introduced its "Mechanical Horse" in the UK in 1934. From the late 1920's railway companies had been searching for a vehicle that they could use that would replace the horse drawn carriage.

 

The London and North Eastern Railway initially approached Napiers and although they created a few designs the project was sold to Scammell Lorries where the Mechanical Horse was designed by O.D North. One of the unique features was that it automatically coupled and uncoupled with trailers.

 

The Mechanical Horse was a large 3-wheeler with a steel frame with a wooden cab attached to it and came in two sizes with either a 3 ton or 6 ton load capacity. Power came from Scammell's own 1,125cc side valve petrol engine in the 3-ton model and the 2,043cc engine in the 6 ton model.

 

The unique thing about the Mechanical Horse was that its single front wheel could turn 360 degrees and so produced a highly manoeuvrable vehicle. The mechanical horse remained largely unchanged until the late 1940's when the tractor section was redesigned creating the Scammell Scarab.

 

This featured the same successful automatic coupling from the original but now used the Scammell 2,090cc side valve engine in both the 3 ton and 6 ton versions. A diesel version was also introduced with a Perkins engine. The Scarab's cab was more rounded and made from Steel and with the engine being mounted lower than in the Mechanical Horse the Scarab was much more stable.

 

Production of the Scarab ceased in 1967 and was replaced with the Scammell Townsman that now featured a fibreglass cab.

 

The Townsman utilized many developments in large vehicles including vacuum-assisted hydraulic brakes and although the same automatic coupling feature was used this now used a vacuum operated release mechanism rather than a hand lever found in earlier models.

 

Despite numerous improvements the Townsman was mainly only sold to British Rail and the Royal Mail and production ended in 1968.

[Lostrider 10]

Originally posted by mojoworking

The famous rounded cab models of the 50s & 60s were called Scammell Scarabs. Here are the specs for the anoraks amongst us:

 

 

Cheers for that, I managed to find a link to some pictures.

 

Scammell

[Caz1 10]

Originally posted by Joby

Hello everyone,

 

I'm an architecture student at Sheffield Uni doing a project based around Fitzalan Square.

I was just wondering if anyone knew the history of the post office, Regards Dan. (Joby)

 

Hi

i know it was used as the telephone exchange and it was called Vulcan..i still know people who worked there when it was Vulcan. The switchboard operators were sat in rows and the supervisors were sat on high seats like lifeguards so they could keep an eye on everyone..they had big poles that they used to poke the girls in the back with if they weren't working.

[vhopkinson 10]

Originally posted by Caz1

Hi

i know it was used as the telephone exchange and it was called Vulcan..i still know people who worked there when it was Vulcan. The switchboard operators were sat in rows and the supervisors were sat on high seats like lifeguards so they could keep an eye on everyone..they had big poles that they used to poke the girls in the back with if they weren't working.

 

Hey Caz. Sorry ! no big poles when I were worked there, yes they sat on high chairs behind you' if you weren't working they'd stand very close to you and devolop this funny cough just to let you know they were there. if you were doing anything wrong they couldn't see what you were from the back so sneaked up close.

Vera

[vhopkinson 10]

Originally posted by Bushbaby

You could tell a switchboard op when you met her. She would have a biro with a big rubber bulb on the end which they used for dialling. My dad used to nick 'em when he worked there.

 

Hey There!!

Bushbaby until recently I still had my biro with the dialler on the end we used to carry them all the time cos SOMEONE would nick them (hello).

Mine travelled with me all the way to Australia different pen though now wish I still had it.

Vera.

[rbbt 10]

The telephone exchange was called Sheffield Vulcan and I worked as a telephonist for there for 4 years before transefering to Sheffield Hallam- next door to Telephone house on Wellington St. From a cord exchange to cordless switchboards.

 

The exchange was on the next to the top floor and we could only go up in the lift...never down ...don't know why but as a 15 yr old I didn't argue with my supervisors. We even had to ask to go to the toilet..seriously! You had to ask if you could

"slip on top" cos the loo's were on the floor above ,only two girls were alowed at a time tho!

 

The swithboard suites when fully seated held over 250 telephonists.

100,192 and 191 calls were taken there aswell as 999's.

 

The top floor was the canteen but we prefered to go over the road to the sorting office to see the telegram lads who were based across the road.

 

In the basements were rooms that basically had been turned into bunkers and had never been changed since ww2 apparently.

 

Best days of my working life... ruled by supervisors with a rod of iron ..but some of the best mates I have ever come across.

Proud to say I was GPO trained!

 

C

[peppermint 10]

did anyone know that the posting box on the corner of the building had a shute about 30-40 foot long.

 

Apparetly they used the lower ground floor for the delivery office for areas sheff 1-4 and 14 up until 5 years ago when they transfered across the road. The exteria of the building is a listed building so they can't pull it down. however they can change the inside.

 

there are 2 ex posties here telling me this.

[Joanl 12]

Originally posted by mojoworking

As a kid I always found the steep flight of steps next to the GPO quite scary - I used to image them in a spooky Italian horror film (or something).

 

We used to as well when we were scuttling down them to catch the last bus after dancing at Alfred Golds on a Friday night....Big trouble if the whistle went before we got to the bottom in time. They were gone..whoosh, bang on eleven...then we had to get thinking as to how we were going to explain being in late.

All those phone boxes outside the GPO, but we didn't have a phone at home to call to tell them.