TPO -> Greek Travelling Post Offices from the 1970s
Greek Travelling Post Offices from the 1970s
By Tony Goodbody
TPO marks from Greece usually incorporate the word KINETON (in Greek: KINHTON) or an abbreviation thereof, meaning "travelling." The word "kinematics" comes from the same root.
| Postmarks of the Thessaloniki - / Alexandroupolis Route. | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
||
| Fig 1 | Fig 2 | Fig 3 |
The postmarks in figs 1-3 are all from the Thessaloniki - Alexandroupolis route.
Fig.1 reads ΘΕΣΣΑΛΟΝΙΚΗ -
ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥΠΟΛΙΣ / KIN /Date/1 A
Fig.2 uses initials only: Κ.Θ.Α.1Β/ Date/ *. The significance of the filled in circle at the base (*) is not known to this author. It probably means "night train."
Fig.3 shortens the names to ΘΕΣ / ΝΙΚΗ/
Date/ ΑΛΕΞ/ ΠΟΛΙΣ - KIN 1Δ
Other TPO routes in operation in the 1970s included Piraeus - Thessaloniki and Piraeus - Larissa.
Mailguards
Postmarks incorporating the initials AMB were from mailguards.
Fig 4.
Fig 5.
Figs. 4 & 5 read AMB. THESSALONIKI - IDOMENI and vice. versa.
Idomeni is on the border with Yugoslavia but on the Greek side. Another mailguard route
operating at that time was the international route AMB. SIDIROKASTRON - KOULATA, the second
named place being just inside Bulgaria. It will be noticed that all four postmarks are in
Latin script with the letters AMB. This is probably because they are international, or nearly so.
The TPO Office, Athens
This postmark (fig. 6) reads
ΑΘΗΝΑΙ / ΚΙΝ - ΤΑΞ. ΓΡΑΦΕΙΟΝ 3 (
TPO Office, Athens Station 3)
