(Image: cakehole. Mail Rail: ride London’s preserved Post Office Railway)
It’s one of subterranean London’s most unusual abandoned places. The Post Office Railway, also known as Mail Rail, spans 6.5 miles of deserted tunnel beneath the streets of England’s bustling capital. Originally opened in 1927, the line served eight stations on its route between Whitechapel and the Paddington Sorting Office, and was well maintained after closing down in 2003.
As of today, visitors can descend deep beneath the city streets and take a 20 minute ride on the historic Mail Rail’s miniature trains. The tour is open every day except Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day, and the last train leaves at 4:30 pm.
Ride Mail Rail at The Postal Museum from The Postal Museum on Vimeo.
(Images: cakehole)
From the Postal Museum website:
Descend into the former engineering depot of Mail Rail – the one hundred year old Post Office railway – board a miniature train and descend into the stalactite-filled tunnels.
Pass deep below Royal Mail’s Mount Pleasant sorting office, see the original and largely unchanged station platforms and be transported back in time. Take in a theatrical experience that peels back the layers of time to the railway’s lively 1930s heyday.
See and hear the people who worked on it, experience their lives below ground and glimpse hidden parts of the railway that kept the mail coursing through London for 22 hours every day.
(Images: cakehole)
This is exciting news for those fascinated by transportation history and those often little-known subterranean spaces that lie hidden beneath our feet, and in some cases become the stuff of folklore and urban legend. Book your ticket here.
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