Mail railway
You're referring to the Mail Rail, also known as the London Mail Rail or the Post Office Railway!
The Mail Rail was a narrow-gauge railway that operated in London, England, from 1927 to 2003. It was built to transport mail between the General Post Office's (GPO) sorting offices and the main railway stations in London.
Here are some interesting facts about the Mail Rail:
- Purpose: The Mail Rail was designed to reduce the time it took to transport mail between the GPO's sorting offices and the main railway stations. Before its construction, mail was transported by horse-drawn carts, which was slow and unreliable.
- Route: The railway ran for approximately 6.5 miles (10.5 km) from the GPO's headquarters in Whitechapel to the main railway stations in London, including Paddington, Euston, and King's Cross.
- Gauge: The railway had a narrow gauge of 18 inches (457 mm), which was narrower than the standard gauge of 4 feet 8.5 inches (1,435 mm) used by most railways.
- Trains: The Mail Rail used small, electric trains with a top speed of about 30 mph (48 km/h). Each train had three cars, with the middle car being a driver's cab.
- Operations: The railway operated 24/7, with trains running every 2-3 minutes during peak hours. The trains were driven by postal workers, who were responsible for loading and unloading the mail.
- Closure: The Mail Rail was closed in 2003 due to declining mail volumes and the increasing use of air transport for mail delivery. The railway was sold to a property development company, which has since redeveloped the site.
Although the Mail Rail is no longer in operation, it remains an interesting piece of London's industrial heritage.