Great Western Coffee Shop

On this day - 5th December (1927) - https://www.postalmuseum.org/collections/story-of-mail-rail/

why bring backn BR?

I was thinking more like why stebbo bothered adding a pretty random rant to an 8 month old thread...

Paul

Mail Rail: What is it like on the 'secret' Tube?

Deep under the streets of the capital, a disused railway tunnel stretches for six miles. After being shut for a decade, there are now plans to reopen the London Post Office Railway - known to many as Mail Rail - as a tourist ride.

In a chilly central London railway depot, it feels as though Mail Rail's workers suddenly upped and left and time has stood still since. Thick dust has settled on discarded orange overalls, safety cones and an abandoned kettle and a musty smell lingers.

Hefty 1920s giant levered mechanical equipment sits idiosyncratically next to 1980s jumbo walkie-talkies, while industrial pipes and strips of peeling paint hang from the ceiling. Loose cables wind up the walls alongside a 1989 safety bulletin notice, while an 1959 Ordnance Survey map of Holborn sits rolled up on a desk. Locker doors have been left half open with used shower gel bottles and dirty towels hanging inside.

Mail Rail was approved by an Act of Parliament a century ago, and during its heyday its driverless trains carried 12 million postal items daily on the line stretching from East End's Whitechapel to west London's Paddington. But it was mothballed a decade ago.

You leave the depot and descend in a lift to the Mount Pleasant platform. You enter what feels a lot like a normal Tube platform, but the tunnels at each end are smaller, reducing to 7ft (2.1m) in diameter. A tiny train sits on the track, one of 70 stored on the network, but this one has been specially adapted for passengers.

A dozen small seats are squeezed into the carriage. Once inside, a plastic shutter is secured over your head and it feels like you are about to embark on a rollercoaster ride. The train sets off and you notice every bump as it rumbles into the tunnel and hear the brakes screech as it winds around tight corners. You get within inches of the filthy tunnel walls and limescale stalactites hanging from the roof.

Tourists may be able to experience the thrill of this in the not-too-distant future. Proposals submitted to Islington Council would see visitors board trains at Mount Pleasant and ride a section of the tunnels. But the team behind the project still needs to raise ^2m from sponsors by March to secure further Heritage Lottery funding.

One person rather familiar with the railway is Ray Middlesworth, who has worked as an engineer in the tunnels for 27 years. "It's the holy grail for underground explorers - a hidden part of the rail network," he says. "Some people called it the Post Office's best-kept secret."

After the line closed in 2003, he stayed on in a small group of engineers whose job it was to preserve the network. "It's like having a giant train set," he says. "I used to have a train set when I was a boy so I've upgraded a bit."

In its prime, 220 people worked on the line, which runs beneath Oxford Street in central London - at one point within a few feet of the Bakerloo Line.

"They said, 'once a railwayman, always a railwayman'," Mr Middlesworth says proudly recalling the railway's past. "There was a real family feel, with lots of fathers and sons working among teams."

His tasks were varied and included working behind scenes for the Christmas party. "There was a Santa's Grotto and we'd invite kids from a care home along to ride on the trains," says Mr Middlesworth.

Mail Rail's raison d'etre is proof that congestion is certainly not a new problem in the capital.

"A century ago, in the days of predominantly horse-drawn vehicles, congestion was causing delays to the movement of mail," says Chris Taft from the British Postal Museum and Archive.

A report looking at the case for building the railway concluded London's traffic speeds would never surpass 6mph (9.5kmph), convincing MPs to approve plans to build the railway, which could run at 40mph (64kmph).

The line was completed in time for the 1927 Christmas parcel post and "it became the world's only electric underground railway dedicated to moving mail," says Mr Taft.

Mail Rail ran throughout the 20th Century, carrying four million letters 22 hours a day during the 1980s.

The tunnels also doubled as a film set for the Bruce Willis action flick, Husdon Hawk. Scenes were shot in a Mail Rail depot mocked up to be fictional Vatican secret railway Posta Vaticano.

But by the 1990s, Royal Mail built a new hub in Willesden, west London, and by 2003, only three of eight Mail Rail stations still worked. That year, Royal Mail said the line cost five times as much as using roads and the network shut down.

"Closing it was a shame," says Mr Middlesworth. "But closure became inevitable."

However, he is enthusiastic about plans to open the railway to tourists. "It would be a shame if it passed into history unmarked," says Mr Middlesworth. This will move it on in a unique form."

Islington Council is expected to make a decision on proposals next month and if approved, the attraction would fully open by 2020.

Plans approved to open Mail Rail 'secret Tube' as ride
(http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/71475000/jpg/_71475826_71442665.jpg)
Plans to open The London Post Office Railway - known to many as Mail Rail - as a tourist ride have been approved by Islington Council.

Visitors will be able to ride 0.6 miles (1km) of the tunnels under central London from 2020.

A new postal museum will open at Mount Pleasant, in central London, in 2016.

The British Postal Museum & Archive (BPMA) still needs to raise ^0.5m and plans to launch a public appeal later this year.

The team also expects a decision to be made in May on its application for ^4.5m funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Mail Rail was approved by an Act of Parliament a century ago, and during its heyday its driverless trains carried 12 million postal items daily on the line stretching from East End's Whitechapel to west London's Paddington.

In its prime, 220 people worked on the line, which runs beneath Oxford Street in central London - at one point within a few feet of the Bakerloo Line.

But by the 1990s, Royal Mail built a new hub in Willesden, west London, and by 2003, only three of eight Mail Rail stations still worked

(http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/72542000/jpg/_72542678_72542677.jpg)
Tourists would get on to a train in Mount Pleasant's depot and descend into the tunnels

(http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/72539000/jpg/_72539101_72539100.jpg)
The tunnels are narrower than Tube tunnels at just 7ft (2.1m) in diameter

That year, Royal Mail said the line cost five times as much as using roads and the network was mothballed.

Ray Middlesworth, who has worked as an engineer in the tunnels for 27 years, said: "It's the holy grail for underground explorers - a hidden part of the rail network.

BPMA director Adrian Steel said: "It is a fantastic opportunity that Islington borough council has given us - the green light to open up these unique tunnels to the public and reveal the captivating story of Mail Rail."

(http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/72547000/jpg/_72547474_mailrail-_royalmailgroupltd2013,courtesybritishpostalmusuem&archive.jpg)
Up to 220 people worked in the tunnels  The trains are 4ft (1.2m) high and 29ft (8.8m) long

Post Office Railway orders new trains

The British Postal Museum & Archive has announced that transport engineering specialist Severn Lamb (http://severn-lamb.com/) has been brought on board to develop and construct the train for the Mail Rail ride, opening as part of The Postal Museum (http://www.postalheritage.org.uk/explore/history/mailrail/) in 2016.

(http://static.ianvisits.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/mail-rail-concept-500x331.jpg)

The Mail Rail ride will let people take a trip through a small section of the post office railway tunnels, as part of the site visit.

Not unheard of, as there was an official people train for the postal railway, but that was reserved for special occasions, and apart from being a historic artifact in its own right, almost certainly wouldn^t pass H&S requirements today.

Severn Lamb has almost 70 years^ experience creating train rides for the leisure industry, largely abroad, with clients including Disneyland Paris and Drayton Manor Theme Park. They will be responsible for the creation of the train and associated ride system for the Mail Rail visitor attraction from design, through construction, to the completion of the project in 2016.

London’s new underground railway attraction is one step closer to the finish line, after the Mail Rail trains made their first journeys through the tunnels in early December.

It is the first time in four decades that trains have been lowered into the tunnels through the original engineering shaft at Mount Pleasant, and run on the perfectly-preserved time capsule of a network.

The two bespoke trains were lowered into the tunnels, 70 feet under London, on October 24 (RAIL 815), following their arrival from manufacturer Severn Lamb

Since its closure in 2003, the railway (which runs from Whitechapel in East London to Paddington in the west) has been maintained by three Mail Rail engineers - they have looked after the narrow tunnels, which are just seven feet wide in some areas and containing stalactites.

It was initially planned that the new Postal Museum, incorporating a ride through the Mail Rail tunnels, would open in spring 2017. However, the Museum is now saying "mid-2017", with no specific launch date announced as yet.

Bookabke from June 28th I think, so no panic.

But I can see that site crashing on that day: doesn't seem to have the bandwidth available to it?

We wanted to let you know first that from Friday 28 July 2017, you’ll be able to experience Mail Rail and The Postal Museum all for yourself.

We feel pretty fantastic about it. We hope you do too! 
 
How much are tickets?
 
Adult tickets will cost £16 inclusive of an optional £1.50 voluntary donation.

We'll be announcing all our ticket prices soon including child and group rates, along with an on-sale date. So keep an eye on your inbox! You'll be the first to hear! 
 
At The Postal Museum you’ll get to:
•Experience Mail Rail - a subterranean world that, up until now, has remained hidden from view
•Ride on a miniature train and go back in time to the railway's heyday
•Reveal curious stories in our interactive galleries, and see if you have what it takes to be a Mail Coach Guard or a Mail Rail Controller

Plans to build a new £19m museum in Swindon have been scrapped.

The British Postal Museum and Archive (BPMA) had planned to make Swindon's Railway Works Conservation Area the home of a new British Postal Museum.

But after "undertaking extensive feasibility work" the trustees have decided not to continue with the plan.

Tim Ellison, BPMA project manager said: "Nothing against Swindon - the BPMA remain convinced that Swindon offers a fantastic option for the museum." "But unfortunately last week we had some very disappointing news regarding our funding expectation for the project and it was deemed that the project in its current form in Swindon was no longer viable," he said.

Interesting to note the calling pattern of the horse-drawn mail coaches in the days before the railway

Tickets Alert: Walk through the Mail Rail tunnels

Posted on 11th December 2020 Posted in London Ticket Alert, Underground London

More dates have been announced for a chance to walk through the tunnels deep under Clerkenwell once used by the Post Office?s private Mail Rail trains.

Visitors will get access to the original tunnels, tracks and station platforms of London?s 100-year-old postal railway, letting you explore parts of the railway that aren?t accessible on the Mail Rail ride.

Tickets cost GBP 55 per person, for ages 12+ only.

Walks will depart at 15.00, 15.30, 18.00 and 18.30 on the following dates:

Wednesday 6, 20 January
Wednesday 3, 17 February
Wednesday 3, 17 and 31 March

My name is on one of their sleepers.

A visit to Mail Rail and the Postal Museum June 16th 2023. My first visit, bobm's second.

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid0m2WESRikzowt5LkfEdoVUhH1soSrJJvfuAf3fHfcQsCs8JiVNER5WAzgvgjQmenml&id=100081904762207

Really enjoyed the Mail Rail ride. Excellent visuals and commentary.

A visit to Mail Rail and the Postal Museum June 16th 2023. My first visit, bobm's second.

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid0m2WESRikzowt5LkfEdoVUhH1soSrJJvfuAf3fHfcQsCs8JiVNER5WAzgvgjQmenml&id=100081904762207

Really enjoyed the Mail Rail ride. Excellent visuals and commentary.

The railway was finally opened on 5 December 1927 with parcels traffic running between Mount Pleasant and Paddington. Mount Pleasant to Liverpool Street opened for Christmas parcels from 19 to 24 December and then for a full parcels service from 28 December. Liverpool Street to Eastern District Office opened for parcels on 2 January 1928. Letter traffic began on 13 February with the opening of West Central District Office station, followed by Western District Office on 12 March.