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By the 1860s or 1870s at the latest, nearly all British railway companies had begun to maintain and operate horse drawn vehicles of their own, most of the agencies having been found wanting in terms of reliability and efficiency. The N.E.R for example owned 693 horses by 1875 and 1,523 by 1907.
Traders in Gateshead asked for a van to be provided , in place of hand carts for the delivery of parcels carried by passenger trains.
Two horses and a van were duly provided and the deilvery boundary was extended to one mile from the station, parcel horses were called "trotters" being lighter and faster than goods horses.
Railway horses were for the most part magnificent animals, carefully bought, well fed, well groomed and well cared for by their drivers. Many of those employed in London used to appear in the Regents Park parade, where they were handsomely decorated and they nearly always finished the event with prizes.

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