Mail Rail

Mail Rail was the Royal Mail automated underground railway that transferred mail between various locations in London. The railway opened in 1927 and closed in 2003. A couple of years ago the new Postal Museum opened at Mount Pleasant sorting office and a centrepiece of the museum is the Mail Rail exhibit with newly build special trains taking people on trips of some of the old tracks. I travelled on that train yesterday and it is an excellent visitor attraction.

However the real purpose for my visit came later when I joined a walking tour of the tunnels and Mount Pleasant station. Now I have done a number of Hidden London tours in disused parts of tube stations but this tour was something else entirely walking on the tracks, often with hidden obstacles in the dim light deep underground. I have to rate this as one of the best rail adventures I have ever made. Years ago my Great Uncle Leslie worked at Mount Pleasant, I don't know where exactly he worked but maybe he worked on the Mail Rail all those years ago. You can see my photos here.