Mail Rail

The fascinating story of how the Post Office's underground railway began, how itwas built, and why it closed is told here in an accessible way that tries tocover a highly technical and innovative system in a way that is easy tounderstand.

The Post Office Railway, when it started runningin 1927, was the first fully automated driverless railway in the world, a fullforty years before the Victoria Line started service in London in 1967. Therailway below London became the main means of moving mail, with Mount Pleasantbeing the hub of the distribution system. Linking with London's main linestations most of the country's long-distance mail travelled via the Post OfficeRailway. The fascinating story of how it began, how itwas built, and why it closed is told here in an accessible way that tries tocover a highly technical and innovative system in a way that is easy tounderstand. The railway closed in 2003, but that was notthe end of the story. The Postal Museumtook over part of the Mount Pleasant sorting office to tell the story of 500years of postal history and to open Mail Rail again with specially built trainsas a visitor attraction and the start of a whole new adventure. If you are a railway enthusiast,postal enthusiast, urban explorer or just interested in finding out more aboutone of London's best-kept secrets this book is a must read for you.