Mail Rail at the Postal Museum
London, UK (34 photos)
This is a fantastic museum located in the Mt. Pleasent district of London. The Postal Museum gives a history of the Royal Mail and across the street a chance to ride the Mail Rail that ran underneath the streets of London.
The Postal Museum itself is a great place to visit with interactive displays and artifacts. But, for me, the pinnacle was walking across the street and head underground to Mail Rail. This was a network of small profile tunnels linking various London Post Offices. The ides behind the tunnels was to move mail much faster than on the streets above. In the tunnels ran automated small profile trains delivering mail. Construction started in 1914, but war delays, etc, meant the system did not open until 1927. As some post offices closed and the need to transfer mail between them lessened, the trains became less economical to use. The train stopped running in 2003.
Today you can take a 15-minute multi-media ride through a small section of the tunnels around the MT. Pleasant post office. Highly worth the price of admission.
The closest London Underground station is Farringdon, about 10~15 minute walk away. Several bus lines stop close by.
For more information, visit the Museum’s Website
All photos are from my visit to the museum in August of 2018.