the London Post Office Railway

I thought this was fascinating, but it must mean even more to a number of you boys ...





BBC News



Mail Rail: What is it like on the 'secret' Tube?

Deep under the streets of the capital, a disused railway tunnel stretches for six miles. After being shut for a decade, there are now plans to reopen the London Post Office Railway - known to many as Mail Rail - as a tourist ride.

In a chilly central London railway depot, it feels as though Mail Rail's workers suddenly upped and left and time has stood still since.

Thick dust has settled on discarded orange overalls, safety cones and an abandoned kettle and a musty smell lingers.

Hefty 1920s giant levered mechanical equipment sits incongruously next to 1980s jumbo walkie-talkies, while industrial pipes and strips of peeling paint hang from the ceiling.

Loose cables wind up the walls alongside a 1989 safety bulletin notice, while an 1959 Ordnance Survey map of Holborn sits rolled up on a desk.

Locker doors have been left half open with used shower gel bottles and dirty towels hanging inside.

Mail Rail was approved by an Act of Parliament a century ago, and during its heyday its driverless trains carried 12 million postal items daily on the line stretching from East End's Whitechapel to west London's Paddington. But it was mothballed a decade ago.

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Watched a news item on this yesterday & listened to a radio story on the frost fairs on the Thames - first was 200 years ago.  Interesting history of the old place!

Johnny K wrote:Watched a news item on this yesterday & listened to a radio story on the frost fairs on the Thames - first was 200 years ago.  Interesting history of the old place!

I'd heard about them but never looked into them, so here is a bit more:

Between 1400 AD and 1814, the last time it happened, the River Thames in London froze over 26 times. And when it froze solidly, Londoners made the most of it, and the “Frost Fairs” developed. The tidal, somewhat salty Thames is a deep, fast-flowing river today, but before the Old London Bridge was demolished in 1831, the river’s waters were pooled slightly behind the medieval arches, which probably helped the ice take hold. It was also the time known as the “Little Ice Age”, when winters were colder and more severe than they have been since 1800 or so.

The huge, medieval bridge, with houses and shops above the numerous archways, is shown in the background of the woodcut to the right of this text, depicted during the Frost Fair of 1683. The text accompanying the woodcut says:
An Exact and lively Mapp or Representation of Boothes and all the variety of Showes and Humours on the ICE of the River of THAMES by LONDON  During that memorable Frost in the 35th yeare of the Reigne of his sacred Maj King Charles the 2nd

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The embankments had not yet been built, either, and so the River Thames was wider, shallower, and probably a little slower.


The last proper freezing of the River Thames in London took place in 1814. The frost set in at the start of January, and by the end of the month, the River was frozen solid – an elephant was led across the Thames by Blackfriars Bridge to demonstrate the safety of the ice. Hoardes of traders and entertainers rushed to set up shop, and the fair was in full-swing. It was shorter than many, as the solid ice lasted only a week.

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There has, of course, been ice on the River Thames since 1814 – what has not happened since then is the absolute freezing of the water, thick enough to allow lots of activity to take place on the ice.

The photograph shows ice in 1895, with the newly-constructed Tower Bridge in the background.

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It looks pretty uneven, and not much fun to walk on!

Do like a bit of London history . Wonder how the generations to come will think of our times in the history books , all will it all be srubbed round as a cluster ****