The railway from Melbourne to Kyneton opened in April 1862. The extension to Sandhurst (renamed Bendigo in 1891) opened in October 1862 and the further extension to Echuca opened in September 1864.

TPOs 3, 4 and 14 served along this route. The evidence suggests TPO3 only went as far as Sandhurst until about 1890, after which it went to Echuca. TPO4 travelled to Echuca from the start and may have provided service from Bendigo to Mildura after 1903.

Stations served include Macedon, Woodend, Kyneton, Taradale, Castlemaine, Daylesford, Sandhurst, and further north to Rochester and Echuca.

No uptrain service is recorded on TPO14 until 1924.  The scarcity of material form TPO14 suggests it had limited use.

T14-U1 (Uptrain)

The earliest recorded date for an uptrain cancel on TPO14 is July 24, 1924. The latest recorded date is May 4, 1928. It is presumed that no uptrain service was provided in the earlier years.

This is a scarce cancel on stamps and I have not yet recorded any covers.

T14-D1 (Downtrain)

I have only recorded two examples of this strike so far - one dated December 7, 1883 and the other on a cover I have dated October 30, 1884. It is another of the great rarities in this field.

Another example on cover has now been recorded in the Prestige Philately sale in July 2009

T14-D2 (Downtrain)

The 25mm octagon type is first recorded on February 25, 1886 and the latest recorded date is April 28, 1909.

This is common on stamps, but I have only recorded 2 covers.

T14-D3 (Downtrain)

The 28mm circle type is seen from June 7, 1909 until December 9, 1927.

This is quite scarce on loose stamp and I have not yet recorded a cover

The Early and Late Record Dates shown are those published by Purves, or otherwise confirmed to me by various TPO collectors based on inventory in their respective collections.

Rarity factors shown have been deduced from the aggregate inventory of several major collections in this field, exceeding 10,000 strikes on loose stamps and 1050 covers in total; however, the statements on relative rarity are observations only and no warranty of accuracy shall be implied.

Reference: Victoria: The Travelling Post Offices and Their Markings (1865-1912) by JWRPurves (1979

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