Wien 105 and Wien 107 service dates

Back to main narrative

Wien 105 (Hernals) was at XVII Bergsteiggasse 26; Wien 107 (Hernals III) was at XVII Hernalser Hauptstrasse 124. They provided a pneumatic service for periods which overlapped during 1946-56.

Summary:

  1. W105 was opened as a pneumatic office in 1887 and closed after 1946 and before 1956.
  2. Items posted at W107 before 1938 and requiring speedy handling (eg pneumatic letters, express mail, telegrams) were cancelled there but taken from there to another office, almost certainly W105.
  3. The pre-1938 cancels of W107, even though they had a P, R/a, or R as the counter letter, do not imply that the office had a pipe.
  4. W107 was opened as a pneumatic office in early 1938 and closed in 1956 when the system shut down.

Evidence:

  1. As shown in the "Instradirungs-Behelf" extracts below, W105 was a pneumatic office in 1933 and 1940 but not in 1953. W107 was not one in 1933 but was one in 1940 and 1953.
  2. Covers are known sent to and pneumatically-cancelled at Wien 107 on 19 April 1938; Schatz made the <7a> canceller in late 1937.
  3. An express cover from 107 exists cancelled in 1917; others exist, also express, dated 1931 and after the war.
  4. Stohl says "Das Postamt erhielt erst sehr spät eigene Rohrpoststempel" which is "The office received its own pneumatic cancels very late".
  5. Stohl's last-seen cancel from 105 is dated 1949.
  6. In the maps, 105 appears from 1900 to 1946 but has gone by 1956; 107 is present from 1945 to 1956. 107 is also in a map entitled "1875-1912" drawn in 1978 where it is shown as linked to 105 in 1887; comparing this with the other maps suggests the '107' is a misprint for '102'.
  7. Hajek (written in 1933) lists 105 as having opened in 1887; 107 is not listed.
  8. The 1932 Dienstanweising part 2 page 23 lists 105 but not 107.
  9. Turner page 61 gives an after-1945 circuit as Z-66-76-110-105-107. However his page 78 gives the October 1955 timetable, in which 110 links direct to 107 and 105 doesn’t appear.
  10. Stohl Two has the following data for pneumatic cancels from offices 105 & 107:

RefTypeCancelDates; comments
R0051a1f16WIEN 17/1 / 105 r1900-1902; our VI-104; single circle with curved ornaments
R0051b1f18WIEN 17/1 / 105 r1906-1907; our VI-104; single circle with straight ornaments
R0051c6t2017/1 WIEN 105 / * P. *1917-1925; our VII-192; bridge
R0051d6t2017 WIEN 105 / * 6a *1914-1925; our VII-192; bridge
R0051e6t2017 WIEN 105 / * P *?-1928; our VII-192; bridge
R0051f6k2217 WIEN 105 / * R/a *1925-1934; our VII-192; bridge
R0051g6t2017 WIEN 105 / * R *1929-1937; our VII-192; bridge
R0051h6t9017 WIEN 105 / 6a?-?; our VII-194; bridge
R0051j6t9017 WIEN 105 / R1939-1949; our VII-194; bridge
R0051k6t92WIEN 105 / R/a1940-? ‘17’ missing; bridge
R0052a6l2017/1 WIEN 107 * R *1913-1917; bridge, no minutes; our VIII-236
R0052b6l2017 WIEN 107 * R *1919-1937; bridge, no minutes; our VIII-236
R0052c6t2017 WIEN 107 * 7a *1937-?; bridge; our VIII-236
R0052d6t9017 WIEN 107 7a1939-56; bridge; our VIII-238
R0052e6t9017 WIEN 107 R1938-45; bridge; our VIII-238
R0052f7D1WIEN 107 r?-?; ring

The "Instradirungs-Behelf"

The "Instradirungs-Behelf" (in later years called "Leitbehelf") is an index, forming the vital link between the address as written on the envelope or card, and the destination number of the pneumatic station from which it would be delivered. [The 1901 edition is discussed here]. Three of these documents were found in the Post Office archives, for 1933, 1940, and 1953. The cover and a page of each are illustrated.

Pic

DetailsComments
1933: coverThis is "Brief- und Rohrpost=Leitbehelf für Wien / Juli 1933", the list of all offices with the services available at each.
1933: pageOffice 105 at XVII Bergsteiggasse 26 has P T & R service (Post, Telegraph, and Rohrpost) while 107 at XVII Hernalser Hauptstrasse 124 has P & T only.
1940: coverThis is "Brief- und Rohrpost=Leitbehelf für Alt-Wien / Reichpostdirektion Wien / Juli 1940", the street index showing which office to send pneumatic delivery items to.
1940: pageThe 1940 street index (the 3 leftmost letters wouldn’t copy; but for example the first entry is Belvedere) showing pneumatic delivery to offices 105 and 107. The dual numbering, eg 148/141, is explained on another page: "If an address has two entries under the Rohrpost column, the second is for use during the period after 18:00 and all day Sundays when the first office is closed".

Half way down the page you can see that both ordinary and pneumatic items for Julius Bergergasse are to be sent to office 107; however ordinary mail for Johann Nepomuk Berger Platz nos 12 & 13 is to be sent to office 107 but pneumatic items to office 105. Hence both were in operation as pneumatic mail delivery offices at that date.
1953: coverThis is "Brief- und Rohrpost=Leitbehelf für Wien / Oktober 1953", a list of the offices to send telegrams and pneumatic items to. [The Vienna Technical Museum reference for this (the scored-out B1667) was B2230 in 2005]
1953: pageThis page shows that items for office Wien 1 are to be sent to 'W' (defined as Telegraphenzentralstation), 20 goes to 129, 27 to 27, 31 to 27 and so forth. In particular 107 apparently covers Bezirke XVI and XVII, and pneumatic items for it are to be sent to it; however 105 isn't listed at all.
1938: cardThis card was written on 18 April 1938 but posted the following afternoon; it invites members of the association to attend a celebration of Hitler’s birthday on the 20th. It is franked with 30 + 3x3 = 39 Groschen; the rate on that date was 5Rpf=8G for a local postcard plus 30G express fee: total 38G. It was posted at 15 Wien 101 (Westbahnhof) at 3-something pm, receiving an Instradirungs-Chiffre of 107 and arriving at 17 Wien 107 (Hernals) after 4pm
1952: reg letterThis registered letter was sent from Wien 9 (Minoritenplatz; never a pneumatic office but it had a red letter-box), possibly cancelled at 16 hrs. It would have been collected by messenger and taken to the Telegraph Central, as shown by the segment cancel on the back timed at 17 hrs. There it received an Instradirungs-Chiffre of 107 and arrived at 17 Wien 107 within the hour. The franking is 4S50. The rates are: local letter 1S + registration fee 2S + express fee 1S50 totalling 4S50. The express fee included pneumatic transport when it seemed sensible to the post office. [The apparent difference in colour between the front and back is a computer artefact!].
Back to main narrative