View source for London Post Office Railway

{{Short description|Closed railway system in London}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}}
{{Infobox rail line
|box_width       = 301
|name            = London Post Office Railway
|color           =
|logo            =
|logo_width      =
|image           = Mail Rail trains (13267574833).jpg
|image_width     = 300px
|caption         = Mail Rail trains at a platform
|type            = Private industrial railway
|system          = 
|status          = Closed; partially re-opened as museum
|locale          = [[London]], England
|start           = Paddington Sorting Office
|end             = Whitechapel Eastern Delivery Office
|stations        = 9
|routes          = 1
|open            = 3 December 1927
|close           = 31 May 2003
|owner           = [[Royal Mail]]
|operator        = 
|character       =
|depot           = [[Mount Pleasant Mail Centre|Mount Pleasant]]
|stock           = 1980 [[Greenwood & Batley]]
|linelength      = {{convert|6.5|mi}}
|tracklength     =
|tracks          = 
|gauge           = {{RailGauge|2ft|lk=on}}
|load_gauge      = Custom gauge
|electrification = 440&nbsp;V DC [[Third rail]]
|speed           = {{convert|40|mph|abbr=on}} through core tunnels; {{convert|7|mph|abbr=on}} through stations, platforms and loops
|elevation       = {{convert|70|ft}} below street level}}

The '''Post Office Railway''', known since 1987 as '''Mail Rail''',<ref name="story">{{Cite web |title=The Story of Mail Rail |url=https://www.postalmuseum.org/collections/story-of-mail-rail/ |access-date=5 June 2024 |website=The Postal Museum}}</ref> is a {{RailGauge|2ft|lk=on}} [[Narrow-gauge railway|narrow-gauge]], driverless underground railway in [[London]] that was built by the [[General Post Office|Post Office]] with assistance from the [[Underground Electric Railways Company of London]], to transport mail between [[sorting office]]s. Inspired by the [[Chicago Tunnel Company]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mailrail.co.uk/ |title=Speeding London's Mail |publisher=MailRail.co.uk |access-date=19 August 2009 |last=Karslake |first=Colin }}</ref> it opened in 1927 and operated for 76 years until it closed in 2003.<ref>Subterranean city: beneath the streets of London. Antony Clayton. 2000</ref><ref name="finalcall">{{cite web|url=http://www.thisislocallondon.co.uk/news/topstories/301893.final_delivery_for_mail_rail/ |title=Final delivery for Mail Rail |publisher=This Is Local London |access-date=19 August 2009 |date=30 May 2003 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090705163438/http://www.thisislocallondon.co.uk/news/topstories/301893.final_delivery_for_mail_rail/ |archive-date=5 July 2009 }}</ref> A museum within the former railway was opened in September 2017.

== Geography ==
The line ran from Paddington Head District Sorting Office in the west to the Eastern Head District Sorting Office at [[Whitechapel]] in the east, a distance of {{convert|6.5|mi|km}}. It had eight stations, the largest of which was underneath [[Mount Pleasant Mail Centre|Mount Pleasant]], but by 2003 only three stations remained in use because the sorting offices above the other stations had been relocated.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Pelling|first=Andrew|date=April 2003|title=The Future of Mail Rail: A Report by the London Assembly's Public Services Committee|url=https://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/gla_migrate_files_destination/archives/assembly-reports-pubserv-mailrail.pdf|journal=[[Greater London Authority]]|isbn=1-85261-469-2|via=www.london.gov.uk}}</ref>

==History==
===Use as post office railway===
{{London Post Office Railway}}
{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title           = Post Office (London) Railway Act 1913
| type                  = Act
| parliament            = Parliament of the United Kingdom
| long_title            = An Act to enable the Postmaster-General to construct for the purposes of the Post Office certain underground railways and other works in London and for purposes in connexion with such railways.
| year                  = 1913
| citation              = [[3 & 4 Geo. 5]]. c. cxvi
| introduced_commons    = 
| introduced_lords      = 
| territorial_extent    = 
| royal_assent          = 15 August 1913
| commencement          = 
| expiry_date           = 
| repeal_date           = 
| amends                = 
| replaces              = 
| amendments            = 
| repealing_legislation = 
| related_legislation   = 
| status                = 
| legislation_history   = 
| theyworkforyou        = 
| millbankhansard       = 
| original_text         = https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/Geo5/3-4/116/pdfs/ukla_19130116_en.pdf
| revised_text          = 
| use_new_UK-LEG        = 
| UK-LEG_title          = 
| collapsed             = yes
}}
In 1911, a plan evolved to build an underground railway {{convert|6+1/2|mi|km}} long<ref>Romance of London's Underground, Ayer Publishing</ref> from [[Paddington]] to [[Whitechapel]] serving the main sorting offices along the route; road traffic congestion was causing unacceptable delays. The plan was approved by the '''{{visible anchor|Post Office (London) Railway Act 1913}}''' ([[3 & 4 Geo. 5]]. c. cxvi). The contract to build the tunnels was won by [[Mowlem|John Mowlem and Co]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.time-capsules.co.uk/picture/number2132.asp|title=Sign in to Photo Forums|website=www.time-capsules.co.uk}}</ref> Construction of the tunnels started in February 1915 from a series of shafts. Most of the line was constructed using the [[Tunnelling shield|Greathead shield system]], with limited amounts of hand-mining for connecting tunnels at stations.

The main line has a single {{convert|9|ft|adj=on}} diameter tube with two tracks. Just before stations, tunnels diverge into two single-track {{convert|7|ft|adj=on}} diameter tunnels leading to two parallel {{convert|25|ft|adj=on}} diameter station tunnels. The main tube is at a depth of around {{convert|70|ft}}.<ref>{{cite magazine| title=London's Post-Office Railway| date =  March 1952| page =164|volume= 97| number= 3| issn = 0032-4558|magazine = [[Popular Mechanics]]| publisher =[[Hearst Magazines]]|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yNwDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA164}}</ref> Stations are at a much shallower depth, with a 1-in-20 gradient into the stations. The gradients assist in slowing the trains when approaching stations, and accelerating them away. There is also less distance to lift mail from the stations to the surface. At [[Oxford Circus]] the tunnel runs close to the [[Bakerloo line]] tunnel of the [[London Underground]]. The tunnel also runs under [[Selfridges]] as the recent 2018 refurbishment of the building revealed.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.ajbuildingslibrary.co.uk/projects/display/id/8258 | title=Selfridges London &#124; AJ Buildings Library }}</ref>

{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title           = Post Office (London) Railway Act 1924
| type                  = Act
| parliament            = Parliament of the United Kingdom
| long_title            = An Act to extend the time for the completion of works under the Post Office (London) Railway Act 1913.[d]
| year                  = 1924
| citation              = [[14 & 15 Geo. 5]]. c. lxxx
| introduced_commons    = 
| introduced_lords      = 
| territorial_extent    = 
| royal_assent          = 7 August 1924
| commencement          = 
| expiry_date           = 
| repeal_date           = 
| amends                = 
| replaces              = 
| amendments            = 
| repealing_legislation = 
| related_legislation   = 
| status                = 
| legislation_history   = 
| theyworkforyou        = 
| millbankhansard       = 
| original_text         = https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/Geo5/14-15/80/pdfs/ukla_19240080_en.pdf
| revised_text          = 
| use_new_UK-LEG        = 
| UK-LEG_title          = 
| collapsed             = yes
}}
[[File:London Post Office Railway Map.jpg|thumb|Map of the Post Office Railway]]

During 1917, work was suspended due to the shortage of labour and materials. By June 1924, track laying had started, and additional time was granted by the '''{{visible anchor|Post Office (London) Railway Act 1924}}''' ([[14 & 15 Geo. 5]]. c. lxxx). In February 1927, the first section, between Paddington and the West Central District Office, was made available for training. The line became available for the Christmas parcel post in 1927 and letters were carried from February 1928.

In 1954, plans were developed for a new Western District Office at Rathbone Place, which required a diversion, opening in 1958.<ref>New Tunnels for Post Office Railway ''[[Railway Gazette International|Railway Gazette]]'' 25 April 1958 page 495</ref><ref>{{Cite journal | last1 = Blackford | first1 = S. | last2 = Cuthbert | first2 = E. W. | doi = 10.1680/iicep.1960.11893 | title = Underground Station for Western District Post Office, London. (Includes Plate) | journal = ICE Proceedings | volume = 15 | issue = 2 | pages = 81 | year = 1960 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal | last1 = Collingridge | first1 = V. H. | last2 = Tuckwell | first2 = R. E. | doi = 10.1680/iicep.1960.11897 | title = Underground Station for Western District Post Office, London. (Includes Plates) | journal = ICE Proceedings | volume = 15 | issue = 2 | pages = 95 | year = 1960 }}</ref> It was not until 3 August 1965 that the new station and office were opened by the [[Postmaster General of the United Kingdom|Postmaster General]], [[Tony Benn]]. The disused section was used as a store tunnel; some parts of it still have the track in place.

In 1987, the railway changed its name to Mail Rail in celebration of its 60th anniversary, and some trains were rebuilt with more aerodynamic casings.<ref name="story"/>

===Closure===
A [[Royal Mail]] press release in April 2003 said that the railway would be closed and mothballed at the end of May that year. Royal Mail had earlier stated that using the railway was five times more expensive than using road transport for the same task. The [[Communication Workers Union (United Kingdom)|Communication Workers Union]] claimed the actual figure was closer to three times more expensive but argued that this was the result of a deliberate policy of running the railway down and using it at only one-third of its capacity. A local governmental report by the [[Greater London Authority]] stated that the "line carries an average of four million letters and parcels per day" and was in support of continued use and criticized the increase of lorries on local roads, estimated to be 80 more truck loads per week.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/gla_migrate_files_destination/archives/assembly-reports-pubserv-mailrail.pdf|title=The future of Mail Rail|author=London Assembly's Public Services Committee|website=Greater London Assembly}}</ref> The railway was closed on 31 May 2003.<ref name="finalcall"/><ref>End of the line for Mail Rail ''[[Today's Railways UK|Entrain]]'' issue 19 July 2003 page 12</ref>

In April 2011, an [[urban exploration]] group called the "Consolidation Crew" published accounts of illicit access to the tunnels. Detailed photography and text revealed that the railway is still largely in good condition, despite some natural decay.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.placehacking.co.uk/2011/04/24/security-breach-london-mail-rail/ |title=Security-Breach: London Mail Rail|publisher=placehacking.co.uk |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110429171845if_/http://www.placehacking.co.uk/2011/04/24/security-breach-london-mail-rail/ |archive-date=2011-04-29 |access-date=2021-04-25 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.silentuk.com/?p=2792 |title=The Post Office Railway (Mail Rail)|publisher=silentuk.com |archive-date=23 April 2011|url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110423152336/http://www.silentuk.com/?p=2792|access-date=20 April 2011|date=18 April 2011 }}</ref> More recently, media have been admitted to the tunnels as part of the pre-launch publicity for the Postal Museum. Photographs show much of the infrastructure in place.<ref>{{cite web|title=Eight storeys down on abandoned tracks|url=http://leftoverlondoner.tumblr.com/post/160455903728/eight-storeys-down-on-abandoned-tracks|website=Leftover London|access-date=10 May 2017}}</ref>

A team from the [[University of Cambridge]] has taken over a short, double track section of unused Post Office tunnel near [[Liverpool Street Station]], where a newly built tunnel for [[Crossrail]] is situated some two metres beneath. The study is to establish how the original [[cast-iron]] lining sections, which are similar to those used for many miles of railway under London, resist possible deformation and soil movement caused by the new works. [[Digital camera]]s, [[Brillouin scattering#Fiber Optic Sensing|fibre optic deformation sensors]], [[laser scanner]]s and other low-cost instruments, reporting in [[Real-time computing|real time]], have been installed in the vacated tunnel. As well as providing information about the behaviour of the old construction materials, the scheme can also provide an early warning if the new tunnel bores are creating dangerous soil movement.<ref>{{cite web|title=Bridging the Knowledge Gap in London's 'Secret Tube'|url=http://www-smartinfrastructure.eng.cam.ac.uk/news/20140613BCIawardshortlist|publisher=Cambridge Centre for Smart Infrastructure & Construction|access-date=16 June 2014}}</ref>

===Redevelopment and preservation===
[[File:All Aboard the Mail Rail (44303391761).jpg|thumb|Tour carriages on the Mail Rail at the Postal Museum]]
In October 2013, the [[Postal Museum, London|British Postal Museum & Archive]] announced that it intended opening part of the network to the public.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/magazine-25918218|publisher=[[BBC News]]|title=Mail Rail: The hidden trains under London's streets}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://postalmuseum.org/mail-rail|publisher=[[Postal Museum, London|British Postal Museum & Archive]]|title=Mail Rail}}</ref> After approval was granted by [[Islington London Borough Council|Islington Council]], work on the new museum and the railway began in 2014.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2014-03/14/mail-rail|title=Ride London's abandoned underground 'Mail Rail'|last=Solon|first=Olivia|date=14 March 2014|magazine=Wired UK|access-date=8 June 2014}}</ref> Special tourist trains were installed in late 2016. It was planned to open a circular route, running beneath the depot at Mount Pleasant with a journey time of around 15 minutes, by mid-2017.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.postalmuseum.org/discover/attractions/mail-rail-ride/|title=Ride Mail Rail - The Postal Museum -}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2017/jul/28/mail-rail-underground-london-postal-museum|title=Mail Rail delivers an underground history lesson at London's new Postal Museum|first=Priya|last=Khaira-Hanks|date=28 July 2017|work=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://postalmuseum.org/discover/attractions/|title=Attractions {{!}} The Postal Museum {{!}} Opening July 2017|work=The Postal Museum|access-date=2017-04-24|language=en-US}}</ref> The museum opened on 5 September.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/sep/02/engineer-lends-voice-to-mail-rail-tours-as-secret-world-opens-to-public|title=Engineer lends voice to Mail Rail tours as secret world opens to public|last=Kennedy|first=Maev|date=2017-09-02|work=The Guardian|access-date=2017-09-06|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

In its first year of operation (2017&ndash;2018), the trains performed 9,000 trips totalling {{convert|6213|mi|-1}}, with the railway and museum hosting over 198,000 visitors.<ref>{{cite magazine |editor1-last=Milner |editor1-first=Chris |title=Rail Mail's first year of success |magazine=[[The Railway Magazine]] |date=October 2018 |volume=164 |issue=1,411 |page=10 |publisher=Mortons Media |location=Horncastle |issn=0033-8923}}</ref>

==Rolling stock==
The first stock was delivered in 1926 with the opening of the system. All stock used was electrically powered.
[[File:London Post Office Railway 1930 Stock.jpg|thumb|1930 Stock Car No. 803 at the [[Buckinghamshire Railway Centre]]]]

===Electric locomotives===
*Original 1926 electric locomotives <!-- No info at all? -->

===Electric units===
*[[London Post Office Railway 1927 Stock|1927 Stock]] — Original stock
*[[London Post Office Railway 1930 Stock|1930 & 1936 Stock]] — Replacement stock for 1927 Stock
*[[London Post Office Railway 1962 Stock|1962 Stock]] — Prototype stock
*[[London Post Office Railway 1980 Stock|1980 Stock]] — Replacement stock

Some trains have been preserved at the [[Launceston Steam Railway]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.launcestonsr.co.uk/|title=Launceston Steam Railway|website=www.launcestonsr.co.uk}}</ref>

==In fiction==
*The railway features in the novel ''[[The Horn of Mortal Danger]]'' by [[Lawrence Leonard]] in which there is a connecting tunnel to a secret railway to the North London network. The only other known connection is in the disused tunnel between [[Highgate tube station|Highgate]] and the disused [[Cranley Gardens railway station|Cranley Gardens]].
*A version of the railway is featured in the novel ''The Great Game'' by [[Lavie Tidhar]]. It takes mail to [[Buckingham Palace]], and is run by the book's featured [[Simulacra]].
*The railway appears in the film ''[[Hudson Hawk]]'' as 'Poste Vaticane' in the [[Vatican City]]. [[Bruce Willis]] (as Hawk) stows away in one of the mail containers.
*A mail train system closely based on the railway is in [[Charlie Higson]]'s third ''[[Young Bond]]'' book, ''[[Double or Die]]''.
*The railway is prominent in Oliver Harris's 2014 book ''Deep Shelter''.{{citation needed|date=November 2017}}
*The railway features in Mark Leggatt's 2016 novel ''The London Cage,'' as a means for Connor Montrose to move about London.  The International Thriller, a follow-up to ''Names of the Dead'',<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/usreviews/books/fledglingdead.html|title=Names of the Dead by Mark Leggatt: Undiscovered Scotland Book Review|last=By|first=Undiscovered Scotland|website=www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk|language=en-GB|access-date=2017-12-19}}</ref>'' was'' published by Scottish-based publisher Fledgling Press in June 2016.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://crimereview.co.uk/page.php/review/3900|title=The London Cage Review|website=crimereview.co.uk|access-date=2017-12-19}}</ref>
*The railways make an appearance in [[Adrian Tchaikovsky]]'s 2020 novel ''The Doors of Eden'' as Khan and Lee are being led by Stig towards a door to escape from pursuit by Rove's henchmen.

==Similar railways==
A pneumatic underground railway<ref>{{cite book |last= Martin |first= Andrew|date= 10 January 2013|title= Underground Overground|publisher= Profile Books |isbn=978-1846684784}}</ref> was used by the Post Office in London between 1863 and 1874 using individual wheeled capsules, operated by the [[London Pneumatic Despatch Company]].

In 1910, a {{convert|450|m|adj=on}} tunnel railway opened in [[Munich]], Germany between [[München Hauptbahnhof]] and the nearby Post office. The tunnels were damaged in [[World War II]], restored in 1948 and partially rebuilt in 1966 to allow for the first [[Munich S-Bahn]] tunnel. Operations ceased in 1988.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.merte.de/BE/archiv/80335-01.htm | title = Deutsche Bundespost, Bahnpostamt, 80335 München | language = de | work = Bahn-Express | access-date = 12 December 2013}}</ref>

[[Postal Telegraph and Telephone (Switzerland)]] opened the {{convert|340|m|adj=on}} Post-U-Bahn (underground railway) in [[Zürich]] in 1938. It ran between [[Zürich Hauptbahnhof]] and the {{ill|Sihlpost|de}}, Zürich's main post office. The track gauge was 60&nbsp;cm, and the small electric railcar, which could carry 250&nbsp;kg of mail, collected power from wires between the tracks. Operations ceased on 11 October 1980 when a rubber-tired system replaced the train.<ref>Hans Waldburger: ''Zürichs Post-U-Bahn ist nicht mehr''. In: Schweizer Eisenbahn-Revue 4/1980, page 133 (in German)</ref>

The [[Chicago Tunnel Company]], in operation between 1906 and 1959, delivered freight, parcels, and coal, and disposed of ash and excavation debris. It operated an elaborate network of {{RailGauge|2ft}} [[Narrow-gauge railway|narrow-gauge]] track in {{convert|2.29|x|1.83|m|ftin|order=flip|abbr=on|adj=ri1}} tunnels running under the streets throughout the [[central business district]] including and surrounding the "[[Loop (Chicago)|Loop]]".

== See also ==
*[[Subterranean London]]
*[[List of British heritage and private railways]]
*[[Travelling Post Office]]
*[[London Underground]]
*[[Royal Mail]]
*[[British Rail Class 325]], a train operated by Royal Mail for carrying bulk mail.

== References ==

=== Notes ===
{{Reflist|30em}}

=== Literature ===
{{Refbegin}}
* {{cite book|author=Bayliss, Derek A.|title=The Post Office Railway London|year=1978|publisher=Turntable Publications|location=Sheffield|isbn=0-902844-43-1}}
* {{cite web|url=http://postalmuseum.org/mail-rail|publisher=British Postal Museum & Archive|title=Post Office Underground Railway (Mail Rail)}}
* [[Bradley Garrett]] (2013). "Explore Everything: Place-Hacking the City". Verso Books, London. {{ISBN|978-1781681299}}
* {{cite journal|title=The Post Office (London) Railway|journal=[[The Post Office Electrical Engineers' Journal]]|volume=21|issue=2|date=July 1928|pages=147–154}}
* {{cite journal | author=Mackay, A.C. | title=The New Post Office Railway Station at the New Western District Office | journal=[[The Post Office Electrical Engineers' Journal]] |date=April 1966 | issue=1 | volume=59 | page=12}}
* {{cite journal | author1=Finden, R.E. | author2=Piqué, P. | author3=Kettridge, K. | title=New Transformer/Rectifier Units for the Post Office Railway | journal=British Telecommunications Engineering | volume=2 | issue=4 |date=January 1984 | page=256}}
*{{Cite journal | last1 = Mew | first1 = G. M. | title = Paper 3: The Post Office Railway | doi = 10.1243/PIME_CONF_1964_179_009_02 | journal = Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Conference Proceedings | volume = 179 | issue = 1964 | pages = 39–56 | year = 1964 }}
* {{cite journal | url=https://archive.org/details/poeej198110/page/n145/mode/2up | last1=Berg | first1=I. W. S. | title=The Post Office Railway | journal=[[The Post Office Electrical Engineers' Journal]] | date=October 1981 | access-date=27 February 2021 | pages=280–281 | volume=74 | issue=3 }}
{{Refend}}

== Further reading ==
*{{cite magazine|title=Going underground to avoid the jam|magazine=[[Rail (magazine)|Rail]]|issue=334|publisher=EMAP Apex Publications|date=1–14 July 1998|pages=36–41|issn=0953-4563|oclc=49953699}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|London Post Office Railway|<br/>London Post Office Railway}}
*[http://www.postalheritage.org.uk The British Postal Museum & Archive]
*[http://www.placehacking.co.uk/2011/04/24/security-breach-london-mail-rail/ Place Hacking] A collective report of the trespass into the network by urban explorers in 2011.
*[https://www.theguardian.com/uk_news/story/0,3604,940742,00.html Guardian article] on proposed mothballing.
*[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/magazine-25918218 BBC article] A video from the mothballed railway, detailing plans for future use.
*[http://www.openstreetmap.org/way/146237290 Mail rail in openstreetmap.org]

{{Heritage railways in England}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Coord|51.5240|-0.1126|display=title}}

[[Category:London Post Office Railway| ]]
[[Category:Electric railways in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Industrial railways in England]]
[[Category:2 ft gauge railways in England]]
[[Category:Subterranean London]]
[[Category:History of rail transport in London]]
[[Category:Postal history of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Railway lines opened in 1927]]
[[Category:Railway lines closed in 2003]]
[[Category:Postal infrastructure in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Tunnels completed in 1927]]
[[Category:Tunnels in London]]
[[Category:1927 establishments in England]]
[[Category:2003 disestablishments in England]]