This article is part of the FT Globetrotter's guide to London
Imagine a system of driverless electric cars that transport packages and mail through specially designed tunnels across the city in a matter of minutes, oblivious to the busy streets above. En route, mechanisms at convenient stopping points move loads quickly to and from street level, integrating seamlessly with other transportation systems.
Sounds like an ambitious dream for a modern tech mogul, right? Well, you might be surprised to learn that the UK Postal Service has such a system, completely separate from the commuter underground network, operating efficiently in London since 1927 which ran seamlessly between Paddington in the west and Whitechapel in the east, via six other lines. to stop. Although the system closed in 2003, you can get a vivid taste of what it used to be by riding on a preserved section of its tracks at the London Postal Museum located near and under the Mount Pleasant Post Centre. It is a surreal and wonderful experience that can be enjoyed by adults and children alike.
The relatively unknown Mail Rail in London is the kind of interesting fact that I'm fascinated by. A team of science magazines I illustrated once told me that they like to provide content that a certain type of person would enjoy telling friends about at the bar. Being that kind of person, I understood exactly what they meant, and one of the reasons I enjoyed this museum was the abundance of such facts. It's an unusual layout for two locations, with a relatively small but fascinating exhibition about postal history at the Freeling House on Phoenix Place and a Mail Rail ride and exhibition across the road below the Postal Centre.
It is clear that in 2024, it is not possible to think of the history of the Post Office without the recent scandals involving miscarriages of justice inflicted on sub-postmasters looming large. However, seeing this in the context of the history depicted in the museum is a truly worthwhile experience. Here I've described the walk and train ride through the museum, highlighting some favorite exhibits and facts along the way. It can be completed in about three hours, but I suggest setting aside half to a full day to fully appreciate it.
After purchasing a ticket at Freeling House, you can cross Phoenix Place and descend via stairs or elevator into the underground cavern, formerly the Mail Rail's main maintenance depot, then board a narrow-gauge train for a 20-minute journey through the tunnels. Narrations provided by former employees through loudspeakers and audio-visual displays on platforms you pass paint a vivid picture of the operation of the system.
After the journey, you'll learn more about the system at the adjacent Mail Rail Gallery. Its first general manager immediately noticed that the wheels of the 1927 locomotives were too close together and would wear down the track quickly, and he was soon proven right.
Other Mail Rail locomotives on display here, including longer wheelbase variants, rolling stock, signaling and control equipment, give an insight into efficient and safe operations in the age of pre-digital technology.
After leaving Mail Rail, cross the street back to the galleries at Freeling House. 'Royal Mail' is an appropriate title for the first exhibition – Henry VIII set up the system to serve his own needs, and towns were required to provide horses to carry his letters. They were kept in stables called posts, and the king appointed a “postmaster” to oversee them and the name stuck. Charles I opened the system to the public in 1635, but not without installing spies in post offices to intercept mail. The impressive 1,800 mail carriages as well as associated artefacts illustrate the development of the network in the 19th century.
The following exhibit, “Mail for All,” shows how invention and technology modernized and democratized the postal service. By 1900, the invention of stamps made sending letters cheap and easy, and roadside pole boxes were widely installed. Originally painted green and difficult to see, it was soon changed to the usual post office red of today. As the twentieth century progressed, road and rail vehicles, ships, and airplanes were enlisted to speed the mail. In addition, from 1912 onwards, the Post Office operated telephone service, and in 1926 introduced the famous red telephone box.
Postal services are vital assets of national communications, and The Post Office in Conflict details the service's wartime role and involvement in political turmoil—in light of recent events, an exhibition that may require updating. In 1909, anything could be sent as an express message, and two suffragettes sent themselves, for the sum of threepence, to the Prime Minister in Downing Street. Voltage failure. After waiting for the messenger for 10 minutes, they were returned as “dead messages.” World War I diagrams of mail transport networks between the UK and the Western Front are fascinating and disturbing, as are the charred remains of bomb-damaged stamps and a piece of shrapnel found in a mail bag arriving at the sorting office in Reading. This stunning BSA Bantam motorcycle is a tribute to wartime telegram messengers.
In Designs on Delivery, I infuse my enthusiasm for design with a collection of displays that highlight the way in which the Post Office, since 1933, under the leadership of its head of public relations Sir Stephen Tallents, has put good design front and center in its posters, stamps, branding and even films. Using the talents of some of the most accomplished commercial artists of the time. This vibrant red 1935 Morris Minor delivery truck could belong to no other service
One of the interesting curiosities here are items designed for the reign of King Edward VIII, who abdicated just 11 months later in 1936. If you see a pillar box bearing his initial, you're very lucky, as only 16 of the boxes are still in operation.
Finally, it goes through communication and change, and looks at the Post Office's adaptation to the modern world. The mail coach services that carried passengers, goods as well as mail in rural areas between 1967 and 2017 are eerily reminiscent of the original 19th century mail coaches, and items relating to the Covid-19 pandemic remind us of the vital role mail has played during it.
Entrance tickets to the museum include one rail ride and unlimited admission to the rest of the museum for a year. Realizing, as we all know, how faulty new technology has led to recent horrific miscarriages of justice, I have recently found myself returning to the museum regularly to be delighted by more positive examples of how the service has innovated and evolved over its 500-year history.
Postal Museum, 15-20 Phoenix Place, London WC1X 0DA. Open Tuesday to Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. website; directione
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