Although British Rail's letter service ended in June 1984, Royal Mail allowed the operation of a railway letter service for some special events, for which stamps were issued. Unofficial privately printed labels have also been produced for covers which British Rail were paid to carry.

Designer: British Rail and T. Stephenson & Sons, Prescot. Printer: T. Stephenson & Sons, Prescot. Lithography in sheets of 10 (5 rows of 2), imperforate proofs in sheets of 10 (5 rows of 2) and 40 (10 rows of 4). Perf.: ll and imperforate. Number Printed: 100,000.

Designer: British Rail and T. Stephenson & Sons, Prescot. Printer: T. Stephenson & Sons, Prescot. Lithography in sheets of 10 (5 rows of 2). Perf.: 14. Number Printed: 10,000. First Day Covers: 3440.
A label with a white background was originally printed for the inauguration but it was not used as British Rail substituted it with a higher quality reprint with a red background.

Printer: T. Stephenson & Sons, Prescot. Lithography in miniature sheets of 4 (2 rows of 2). Perf.: 14 and imperfoarte. Number Printed: 49,000 perf. and 1,000 imperf. 10,000 perf. and 200 imperf. sheets were surcharged "Vale of Rheidol" and 2,500 perf. and 100 imperf. sheets were overprinted "Paddington Station 1838-1988" and "London / Birmingham 1838-1988". First Day Covers: 1,000 with sheets and 3,000 with single stamps.