Why London Had A Hidden Extra Underground Line Just For The Mail

For 76 years, a private underground line ran under the streets of London, completely separate from the Tube. And most Londoners have never seen or even heard of it - because you could only ride it if you were a mailbag. I went to find out more about the story of the Post Office Railway...

IMAGE CREDITS
Central London Railway by David Cane -
West Derby Delivery Office by Rept0n1x -
Mail Rail trains by Matt Brown -
Mail Rail station by Steve Knight -
Mail Rail train by Steve Knight -

[Scruffi]

Geoff: Battersea Power Station Station
Jago: Battersea Power Station Station Station
Tim: MAIL RAIL :)

[gerardmorvan]

In 1995, at the sorting center in which I worked, there was a competition, and I was one of the winners of a trip to London, which included a guided visit to the Mount Pleasant Mail center. That was then I discovered the history of the center (once a prison, not making this up), and the Postal Underground. Thank you for reminding me of a fond memory.

[freedomforever]

I'm glad that the postal service had the sense to maintain the system after the shutdown. It would be a terrible waste to lose such an important piece of London history.
Thanks.

[kamiljuszczyk]

I was the person putting you and Ammy at the front of the train (in the overall). If I remember correctly there was a lot of people for that train so ironically I was going to get you guys to sit together on a single seat since you're both thin! 😅😁

[nicolek]

Bear in mind that in the times of Churchill, he could exchange several messages a day with his wife, all carried by the Royal Mail which provided residential addresses in London with several deliveries a day, so you could hold a conversation by mail.

[OndrooGaming]

Felt the musical choices here were inevitable.

[JagoHazzard]

I recall there was an idea when the line originally closed to turn the trains into railcars for use on narrow gauge heritage railways. I guess that plan has fallen through.

[UPWonders]

This video got 'posted' at the right time

[Sckadoo]

Chicago was inspired by this, and built almost 60 miles of tunnels just for packages and shipping for delivery all over the city.

[truckerallikatuk]

And soon after they closed the underground mailrail, they closed down the overground mail trains. The depot at Peterborough posted the poem by W H Auden on their door on the last day of working. I was a temp driver for the Royal Mail at the time, and managed to set foot on a mail train with a york full of mail. Very sad to see both these systems go.

[chrisoddy]

I like how everyone is making Tube videos at the moment because Northern Line to Battersea! and here you are making a Tube video about the cute little trains in the Mail Rail lines! Love that!

[Drewster]

When I was younger, my uncle was a lorry driver, and he regularly drove mail from where we live (Manningtree) to Mount Pleasant on a Friday evening. He used to take me and my brother down with him sometimes, we loved it! He was friends with one of the duty managers in Mount Pleasant, so we got to go down and look at the railway and trains going past! We always wanted to ride on one, and now we can! Awesome video ☺️

[kaitlyn__L]

I know you kind of touched on it with the old name of the Central Line, and apologies if other people have left this comment already, but it helps to have the historical context in mind that there wasn’t The London Underground back then. This was just another independent underground railway just like all the others. It was just the first freight-only line, in fact something there was a great desired to have more of (until the age of automobile dominance). The post office underground railway was built in the midst of that kind of thinking among men who set up railway companies, and that helps it seem a bit less bonkers in my opinion.

[PaulAlexander]

This bought back some great memories. More people travelled on that rail than you think. When I joined RM in the '80s the initiation was to ride from WCDO (Holborn) to the Western (Rathbone Pl.).

[ppeter]

I was part of the team who renovated the rails down in the tunnels. We ripped out the centre rail, re laid the worn out curves and fixed in place many of the turnouts so that they can't be moved. The back to back turnout at the top of the ramp is mostly my handiwork.
We also put in the inspection ramp at the bottom of the incline.

[valleyscottblog]

I truly appreciate how you include information in your videos about the accessibility of the places you go. I have several friends & family members with mobility issues, so this is very personal to me. It's very rare for anyone who does travel videos or blogs to include that kind of info.

[roberthuron]

The Mail Rail was/is the only operating 2 foot Guage line out side of Wales! Also, there was in Chicago, a system of 2 foot Guage tunnels, which also carried the mail to the various Chicago terminals! Both systems were unique to their respective cities, and as an addendum, the track layout at Mount Pleasant, duplicates Park Street Station, on the Green Line in Boston! Those double loops are extremely distinctive[ See Boston Street Railway Association]! Thanks for the update on the current situation of that interesting Line! ( And definitely, if you want to talk about tight clearances, that Tube line takes the cake, and the icing too!🎂🍰🍪🍩) THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!!

[Solarlube]

That was amazing, when I was a kid {now 65} I discovered that Sydney Central Station {Australia} had more than two levels to their station. While no one was watching I ducked under the barriers for a closer look. Before I could get too far down the stairs the voice of authority (my Dad) echoed down the staircase> Get back up here before I give you a clout behind the ear. It was very exciting but never gave much thought until watching your doco! Every city has so many hidden secrets, Thank you.

[RealGestumblindi]

Love the piano version of OMD's "Electricity" as you talk about the fully electric railway. You're so often praised for your piano covers in your videos, and this is finally a song I recognize! (as I'm not really a pop music expert, but I'm fond of OMD!) :-)

[cj]

Thank you for always adding tidbits about accessibility in your videos, it means a lot. Travel should be for everyone!