For as long as I can remember explorers have joked, discussed and cried themselves to sleep over the possibility the Post Office Railway could be explored. Those keen to attempt entry desperately clawed at every scrap of information like a starving hobo snacking on bread crumbs. Just the idea of access, let alone the task of traversing the line seemed fraught with impossible obstacles and doubt.
With all the abandoned postal depots now converted or with a foot thick dump of concrete covering what would have been access below, all potential avenues of access pointed solely to the infiltration of live postal depots. In other words, somehow getting into a site and its central building, working your way down an unknown route through a series of passages, locked doors, workers and alarms until you somehow found your way into the basement and with it the depots Mail Rail station. In other words, impossible.
It is without a doubt the Mail Rail sits at the throne of London exploration, laughing maniacally at the puny adventurers unable to even stare it in the eyes without bursting into flames. There is, and will never be anything like it again, its uniqueness forever unrivalled, London’s final unconquered “Grail” now a slain beast.
In a way, it’s with a bit of sadness I write this, when your group has conquered the best location a city or country has to offer, those sites remaining will often seem tame by comparison. Its like fighting the last boss in an RPG, nine times out of ten when you defeat it, the games ends, leaving you little choice but to remember the good times, go out and buy another to spend the next six years of your life playing. However, if on occasion the game doesn’t end, you’re left to venture forth, the world opening for mini side quests and the possibility for 100% completion. This may seem fun and may occupy you for a while longer, but in the back of your mind and in your heart, you know deep down the satisfaction you once gained is gone forever, it packed its bags and moved abroad.
I had the same experience with the exploration of sewers. Back in 2005 I would crawl on my hands and knees squeezing my way up a 3ft, never-ending concrete pipes only to find a dead end or smaller tunnel, but I enjoyed it, going back for more week after week. Yet after discovering some of the Victorian lost rivers and storm drains, this once enjoyable activity instantly lost its appeal, in fact it became frustrating. I could do this now anyway because I’m fatter then I was six years ago and no longer fit in said 3ft pipes, but now I don’t even consider them an option or viable route. I guess I became a ”Sewer Snob”, if there is such a term, spoilt by bigger and better things. In fact it’s been the same across the entire board of exploration. Asylums, mills, bunkers, forts, all things I once enjoyed with equal passion, now nothing more then a space to kill some time. But then there was always Mail Rail, lurking in the background.
I think after time people just gave up with the Mail Rail. Many tried, all failed, it was branded impossible and we all just moved on. That was until last Halloween, when a group of ravers infiltrated the abandoned New Oxford Street sorting office. As with the outcome of most raves, vandals also turned up, utterly destroying the building, smashing windows, covering the walls with graffiti and ripping doors and fire escapes from their hinges.
The following day the Internet was ablaze with images and news articles condemning the rave, yet for explorers three pictures stood out from the rest. One depicting a set of double fire escape doors hanging from the wall, the other two, phone shots posted on Flickr from inside the station slumbering beneath. You’ve got to be joking, the Mail Rail, something which thwarted those who specialise in accessing abandoned structures, conquered by a group of party-goers with glow sticks. To be fair it was the result of extreme circumstances, drunk people, strength in numbers, all without a care. Unless you were willing to rock up on one of the busiest streets in London, several crowbars in tow, you weren’t going to get in anyway.
By the time we had arrived hoping the doors would still be open, they had been fixed, thick sheets of wood sealing them together. Although we had failed to gain access this time it did let us know one thing, that access from the abandoned depots, no matter how impractical, still existed. Quest De La Mail Rail was back on.
Fast forward a few months, Silent Motion and Statler while on a mission elsewhere inadvertently spotted a potential climb into the Paddington sorting office. Now when I say climb I don’t mean a small wall or fence, I mean a five story, rusty drain pipe shimmy of death that few in the right mind would ever think, or have the ability to do. Its the only reason I’m revealing what are effectively access details as I don’t know anyone who will be able to do it. Even standing on the ground I felt nervous as SM climbed, one slip, one loss of grip and the result would be a bloody mess on the roof of the small Peugeot parked below. With a few clangs he was in, those within the area seemingly none the wiser.
We hadn’t heard from our conspirator for over twenty minutes but the guard within hadn’t moved so we knew he wasn’t caught. Time ticked away, theories of what happening running through our minds before we heard a click behind us, SM sticking his house from a fire-escape, a large grin on his face as he simple said, “we’re in.”
For those who don’t know here is a brief history on the Post Office Railway, if you want more I suggest you look up Sub-Brit, their countless years of sitting in chairs has resulted in quite the in-depth collection of historical fact and technical nerdery regarding the place. The following is mainly the interesting bits plucked from theirs and other pages.
Originally designed using a pneumatic system in 1855, after years of testing, tunnel construction and usage its limitation began to show. The Post Office who were already unhappy with its high running costs, coupled with the fact the scheme only shaved four minutes from the delivery time by road decided in 1874 that they would no longer use the line, the Pneumatic Despatch Company being dissolved as the tunnels were closed. The pneumatic line would never reopen, its tunnels and depots being sold off for alternate uses and although the majority of the line was lost, small sections still remain housing cables.
Even before the demised of the Pneumatic line, several plans had been put forward recommending a similar mail delivery system, most promoting usage of electrified lines. In 1909 a committee was established to consider all the proposed schemes, eventually recommending a 2′ gauge, twin electric line to be constructed in a 70-foot deep tunnel running from the Paddington District Office to the Eastern District Office in Whitechapel Road. The line with a length of six miles and total track distance of 23 miles would run through intermediate stations at the Barrett Street, Wimpole Street, New Oxford Street, the main London sorting office at Mount Pleasant, King Edward Street and Liverpool Street.
Construction of the tunnels began on February 1915 from a series of shafts located along the route. The tunnels were primarily dug in clay using the Greathead shield system, although the connecting tunnels in and around the stations were mined by hand. Construction was suspended due to the outbreak of WW1, but was allowed to continue until completion for safety reasons. Further setbacks halted the construction of the stations during 1917 due to the shortage of labour and materials.
It wasn’t until June 1924 that workers began laying the track using 1000 tons of running rail and 160 tons of conductor rail. The remaining electrical installation took place in 1925 with the section between Paddington and the West Central District Office being ready for training. The line was eventually finished in 1927 with the first letter through the system running on February 1928.
In 1954, due to problems with access at the Western District Office and the Western Central District Office plans were drawn up to construct a new Western District Office at Rathbone Place. This meant the construction of a diversion to the line, which was completed in 1958 although the station was not opened until the 3rd August, 1965.
Although the main tunnel was constructed at a depth of 70ft, the stations themselves were constructed at a much shallower depth, for two reasons. One, the mail had less distance to travel to the platforms from the surface, and two, the incline on the track as the train approached the station helped slow the trains, assisting with acceleration on the other side.
Initially the Mail Rail line ran 22 hours a day, its staff working in three shifts. The two hours the line wasn’t in operation it was used by the maintenance team, with larger tasks being carried out on a Sunday when the line was closed. This service was later reduced to 19 hours a day, 286 days a year.
Although initially the system was a success, in its last years of service the line was continually loosing money. On the 7th November 2002, Royal Mail announced the line had become uneconomical with losses of £1.2M a day and that they planned to close it should no alternate uses be found. This was to be the death of the Mail Rail. The line from Mount Pleasant to the Eastern Delivery Office closed on the 21st March 2003, the remaining section from the Western District Office to Mount Pleasant following on the 29th. Now it just sits there buried where light cannot reach, rusting away, the trains sleeping silently in and around the stations waiting to be used again. Sadly a dream which we all know will never come true.
With access acquired we speedily descended into the bowels of the sorting office. The cameras, alarms and PIRs at every corner seemingly inactive. Paddington, which was closed in February 2010 as a result of the sorting office above being relocated to Rathbone Place is still in very good condition, the postal delivery belts still sit in place, the switch boards and power-relays in working condition, seemingly preserved within the damp environment.
As no one had ever explored the Mail Rail we had no idea what to expect, our only frame of reference coming from archive and other images on the sub-brit and unofficial Mail Rail page. So far the cameras and alarms had been somewhat avoidable, excluding the sneaky ones hidden above doors. As the final bulkhead creaked open, a musky smelling darkness greeted us on the other side.
We stepped out torches in hand, checking for further cameras and alarms. Surprisingly, there were none, or so we thought. Presuming the coast was clear we momentarily lowered our guard, stepping out onto the platform. With a bright flash of light the station lit up, a nearby PIR triggering a flood light under which sat a brand new camera. Like a deer mesmerised by the beam of a car’s headlight we stared straight at it, attempting in vain to cover ourselves when we saw the camera.
We hesitated, awaiting a response that never came. No alarms, angry security, postal workers, police dogs, nothing. Were the cameras watched? Maybe, but why? The Mail Rail had been mothballed since 2003 and as far as I was aware, considering there had been no successful attempts at entry outside of the Halloween rave, it was highly unlikely they would employ someone to look at blank screens for months on end.
The floodlight eventually dimmed, plunging the station back into darkness. Concluding the cameras were being recorded at best we threw caution to the wind, covering the cameras with excess items of clothing just to be sure. Flicking a nearby switch kindly labelled ”platform lights” the station buzzed and hummed, its lights springing into life one by one in quick succession.
With over six miles of track and nine stations to see we didn’t hang around for too long, poking our heads into the nooks and crannies, taking some photos before dropping onto the line and venturing into the portals. For the most part the tunnels themselves are standing height, there are a few section that require stopping down. Thankfully, they usually last no more then a hundred meters, where the track splits just before reaching a station.
The sections between stations are fairly uninteresting, once you leave the control area of each the line joins into one straight tunnel until reaching the next with little variance in between. Eventually we arrived at the next station, the Bird Street Western Parcels Office.
The Western Parcels Office was closed even before the mail rail was mothballed, primarily due to a lack of road access to the depot above. Everything had been stripped, the emergency exits bricked and sealed with partitions placed along the platforms.
As I said, little remained of the station bar the tunnels themselves, even the turn around loops and layups for the trains had been sealed off. It is also worth noting that this was the only station didn’t have cameras given the only way to access it would be to walk in from either Paddington or Wimpole. It didn’t take long before we had seen everything it had to offer, venturing off once more along the line.
Next stop, the Old Western Delivery Office at Wimpole Street. With a similar fate to Bird Street, the Wimpole office was closed long before the line and for the same reason of access problems. However unlike Bird Street, Wimpole was replaced by a new sorting office which was to be constructed further along the line at Rathbone Place, but we’ll get to that later.
Wimpole, again due to the early closure was stripped of all its features, a few tools and items suggested it was at one point used for storage. Once more the exits were sealed although this time the sidings and loop remained open, a few locomotives rusting away inside, covered in the fallen paint from the tunnels.
Moving on then.
So far our trip had been fairly casual, the sorting offices we were under abandoned, converted or disused. Next we would come to Rathbone Place, being the newest of London’s sorting office it was very much active. Even as we approached the station the banging and crashing of mail trolleys could be heard.
We edged closed and closer pausing at every sound, judging how far and in which direction it came from. Sitting at the portal we assessed our options, the moment we were to step out we knew the lights would fire up and we would be visible to the cameras. Before now we didn’t really worry as if anyone was watching them they were far away at Mount Pleasant. Having only seen a small percentage at the time, we didn’t want to risk capture for what is essentially one of the bland stations.
Eventually, after twenty minutes sitting in the dark we decided to skip it over, running the platform and continuing onto the next station. 3, 2, 1, Run. We darted from our safety, as predicted no more then two minutes from our hole the lights fired on illuminating our path but at the same time exposing us to both platform cameras. Faces partially covered we ducked into the eastbound portal, continuing at a brisk place until we were well out of the stations view.
Although we didn’t take photos on this instance, as we had to backtrack to our exit point we re-passed it later in the night, the house lights now on, silence from the depot above. Taking the moment as a golden gift we promptly took some photos before continuing our journey out.
Rathbone was unique in its design, its platform sat as an open plan island sandwiched between the east and westbound lines, the steel tunnel at this point replaced with flat concrete walls. It was reminiscent of a New York Subway, I don’t know if this was a good thing or not. Nevertheless the station was completely intact, trains, york carts, post belts, everything remained. This was the one station, with the exception of Mount Pleasant, I could see being re-used for its original purpose without any restoration work.
Yet again we continued, bumping our heads on the ceiling and stomping forward towards our next destination, the New Oxford Street Sorting Office. If you have read what I’ve previously written you’ll know that this is the location of the 2010 Halloween rave, the station that was accessed with the glow-sticks. If not, then your probably not reading this either so continue scrolling.
Given the state of the topside office I feared the station below would be utterly trashed, but no, it wasn’t. In fact I was hard pushed to see any damage at all caused by the revellers, most resulting from natural decay. Actually, excluding a beer can or two and a small tag at the top of the emergency escape, there was no sign the station had even been accessed.
It seemed they left the place well enough alone, returning back to the music above instead. Personally I felt New Oxford Street station was one of the best. It has all its features, trains, signs, only one camera and just enough natural decay that you knew you were exploring something.
With almost half the line now walked, the centre point of Mount Pleasant just around the corner, we decided now would be a good time to have a snack break, taking refuge in the crossovers between the platforms before planning our assault on the Eastern Branch.
With stomachs satisfied, strength in our legs returning we pushed on, 50% still to see. Next along the route, the Mount Pleasant sorting office. Mount Pleasant is effectively the centre of the line, home to the headquarters of Royal Mail and also includes the largest sorting office in London. In other words, a place you do not want to be caught messing around near.
Our vigilance now maxed we checked every corner for cameras and alarms. Unlike the other stations everything was powered, the lights, fans and almost certainly, the cameras. The latter of which there were many, counting at least eight. Previously we had spent time wandering the platforms, taking photographs accordingly, but here something just didn’t feel right. It seemed a bad idea to hang around in the area, let alone stop and crack out the tripod.
Stealth in mind we snuck from portal to portal, taking pictures of the trains and platforms from out protective cover, enjoying the time while we had it. Thanks to information available online we had learnt that the Mount Pleasant sorting office was also home to the maintenance depot, where they fix the broken trains and used to store them.
Pictures taken, we packed away, cutting back the way we came up the central siding and into the maintenance depot above. Although fairly empty in terms of trains, the machinery and cranes did give an accurate depiction on what life would have been like during service. A follow the line trail of rails bobbed and weaved around the hanger, a few locomotives sitting dismantled in the corner.
By this point I don’t even think we were underground, we were in the building’s basement at best, the noise from the depot above louder then ever. We were pushing our luck, one door stood between us and a team of mail workers, every bang, every crash setting us on edge. If they were to arrive we had two options. Give up and face the consequences, or run back into the tunnels, three miles back to Paddington and hope that they weren’t waiting for us at the other side. Neither seemed like fun.
Descending back into the underground we were now tasked with crossing the station, although unlike Rathbone, given the lights were on, we were a little on edge. Nevertheless with the choices of give up or go forward, we chose the latter, tripods in hand running the length of the platform in seconds and back into the relative safety of the tunnels.
By now we were starting to lag, four miles of walking which in itself doesn’t seem like much becomes a whole new ball game underground. That, coupled with the fact however far we walked, we would have to repeat walking back, meant suggestions of turning back now were now cropping up. After all, walking about fourteen miles in one day is the same a short marathon.
But this is the Mail Rail, possibly the best that London has the offer, the idea of leaving only to return to find it sealed depressing. As such we pushed on walking further, deeper into the line, eventually reaching the next abandoned station located underneath the King Edward Building.
Once more as the building above was sold off for alternate use the station below was cleared of anything of use and sealed, the lift shafts and stairwells capped, emergency exit signs now pointing towards Mount Pleasant. Although similar to both Bird and Wimpole, the King Edward station at least had its power-relays intact and for some reason was swept clean. I guess Royal Mail or its maintenance engineers have some special feelings towards this one? Or not.
As quickly as we came we left, our stays in each station becoming shorter and shorter, likely due to fatigue. Two more to go.
For us, the next station, Liverpool Street, held more opportunities then just that of the Mail Rail. As you may be aware our fascination with the London Underground has taken us to places many have never seen before, as such, an abandoned station so close to the main line Liverpool Street station had the possibility to give access to further possibilities and locations down the line. It was not to be passed up.
However it was not to be, like all of the Mail Rail, stations of which the depots and sorting offices above had been sold off, any connection to the surface now sat behind a wall of concrete. That is usually true, but here we saw two possibilities. One was a goods lift at the foot of the station that still appeared to be in operation, the buttons marked basement, ground, and station still glowing red. Yet given we had no clue as to where the lift actually went, who would be at the top and what we happen if we pushed one of the buttons, we left them alone.
The second was a spiralled fire escape which appeared to still have access to the surface. The only problem being where the power had been off for so long the sumps had also ceased to function, said fire escape now sitting across a thigh deep pit of dirty water. With no waders and the postal belts on either side looking like they would fall over if human weight was put on them we gave up. Access to the tube, if it even existed, was not to be given that night.
Time was ticking on, fast approaching 3am. With one station left to see we attained our second wind, charging into the tunnels like a marathon runner for the finish line.
After walking at least 7 miles of track we finally reached the Whitechapel Eastern Delivery Office, the terminus of both the Mail Rail line and also our adventure. So, what is there to be said about the ninth mail rail station that hasn’t already?
Given Whitechapel is the only Mail Rail station on the eastern branch that sits under an active depot, it remains the most intact. All its fixtures, machines and trains sat in a neat order, hoping to be used again. This once more came with a downside – there were workers, and lots of them. We were forced to repeatedly ditch our photograph opportunities and run into the tunnels, the stations lift shafts in constant motion although never actually reaching the station floor.
Although they had no reason to come down given the station hasn’t been active for eight years, we still couldn’t take that chance, knowing the one time we decided not to run away the lift would reach the station and confrontation would no doubt ensue. Caution was the word, creeping about taking pictures the name of the game. The usual.
So far the night had been unreal, Grail busting of the highest order, but what now. With practically everything of interest now stricken from London, visited time and time again, it seemed high time we look further afield. Paris, USA, Australia, all contained possibilities to entertain for the immediate years. But we didn’t have to make any decisions then, we had plenty of think about it on the six miles back to the exit.
[...] Postal Museum on September 14 could be the ideal opportunity. For more great photos, check out Silent UK. Hat tip to [...]
[...] 0 Just found this, amazing exploration of Londons disused mail sorting railway. Post Office. PIRs not working but electricity to lifts and lighting .They even got to the basement of the [...]
[...] http://www.silentuk.com/?p=2792 - This is a blog created by an urban explorer, showcasing his work of exploring an underground, abandoned Post Office Railway. It is a simple, continuous scroll down blog, showing his pictures and telling the story to go with them. It is effective to the point he is showing people his work easily and simply but, I dont think it really grabs your attention, it wont really interest the viewer if they have just stumbled across the site. [...]
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The Post Office Railway (Mail Rail) | Silent UK - Urban Exploration…
[...] by Raymond Chen, then followed a trail of interesting related articles, and eventually ended up here, a SilentUK post describing how they accessed and explored the hidden and not-quite-secret Post [...]
I’m impressed, I must say. Really rarely do I encounter a blog that’s both educative and entertaining, and let me tell you, you have hit the nail on the head. Your idea is outstanding; the issue is something that not enough people are speaking intelligently about. I am very happy that I stumbled across this in my search for something relating to this.
It would be a pity in this resource entirely went to waste. Now, it is at least a tunnel passing through central London, and I wonder no one has had the idea of using it as the basis of say yet another railway tunnel through London. Too late for Crossrail. Some may say, it sounds ridiculously compliacted, but then parts of the Victoria line at Finsbury Park were ground out of the North London Line City Extension from Drayton Park to FP. The NLCE then got a new conection to ground at FP, ending its fate as rather forgotten bit of the Northern Line.
Something should be considered fro the old Mail Rail, and an extra Cross rail connector E-W woulfd be a useful contribution. For example it could have no intermediate stations between Paddington and the City, permitting mainline express services from Wales, SW England and Oxford direct connection to the city and not the souped up metro of the RER sort that Crossrail is shaping up to be.
hi
no its hard to stand up straight in the main bores let alone cycle i have done paddington to edo so many times as peeway was one of the duties
i worked down there in the 1980.s and i see the new trains coming in. amazing day and the flood door at i think liverpool street
paddington with its long conveys
it’s brought some memories back seeing these pictures
i still have the orginal training document on how the whole thing worked
I agree with Charles. I work for LUL/TfL and find this really interesting stuff, and a shame if it goes to waste. To this end, I’m trying to raise interest within LUL. Trying is the word at the moment!
Can anyone tell me if the tunnels and “stations” can be used for passenger use in terms of size?
Where can you legally, get in to visit and who gets you access.
Any help would really be appreciated.
All the best
Tony,
Would be really interested to talk with you about your ideas for the space. Could the tunnels not possibly be used as subterranean cycle super highways? they mostly appear to be high enough. It would certainly be safer than road travel and provide access to key areas of London from commuter zones.
Get in touch at mattfranks AT outlook.com,
Matt
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Fantastic Story guys, real pukka stuff!
can anyone shed some light on the Solider story behind the metal door at KEB?
Love to find out a little more about this story!
Sorry if this is a stupid question but how many platforms do the stations have? I can only see one per station in the photos but a) the lines split and b) just one platform doesn’t quite make sense. Again sorry if it’s a stupid question but it’s bothering me for some reason.
All stations have two platforms, an eastbound and a westbound.
I started to work on the then named Post Office Railway (POR) when I was eighteen in 1980 and believe I was on of the youngest to do so. In addition, I also believe that I was the youngest Postman Higher Grade (PHG) on the POR and controlled the trains. Somewhere I still have some photos of some of my old colleagues (they were old to me then LOL!). In particular I remember Micky Letts who was tragically killed while working on the POR.
Great photos and story, which brought back a lot of memories. Thank you.
Yes i remember you bob
Hi Keith
Please remind me, what is your suraname?
Hello bob keith weyman, i was at the mount for many years, i was at e.d.o just before it was closed,
Hi Keith
Yes, I remember you too! Are you in touch, or know what happen to any of the other guys from the POR? If memory serves I think I worked on the POR from cMay 1980 to 1983 or ’84 when I left to work behind the counter in a high street Post Office (oh joy!). What are you doing now?
Hello bob no i dont know what happend to the guys a lot was going to stay with the post office, but then a lot went. what am i doing as little as possible i took volunteer redundancy, i got a lump sum and a penison i retired myself at 52 i sold my house and now live in mallorca spain. what are you doing now days.
Hi bob nice to hear from you, sounds like you have a great life, i wish you all the best. keith
Hi Keith
Lucky you! I left the Post Office in 1985 and went into field sales (rep!), where I have been ever since. I am now a qualified Lighting Engineer/Area Sales Manager and love what I do. After leaving the PO, I met my now wife in 1986 and we moved to Milton Keynes then Northampton in 2000. Having just turned fifty myself, if I could emulate you and retire at 52 (would need a lottery win though! lol) that would be great.
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I worked on the mailrail it was hard work when all the office were there, but it had its perks and great people to work with, i worked at all the stations on the mailrail the last at whitechapel,some great photos on here but it brings a lot of memories some good some bad. i wished i could have gone on this trip with you.
hello Keith, im glad to see you made it to spain, hows things with you.
Hello dave yes i made it to spain been here 8 years now, havn’t been back to england in that time cant face it its a different world here. how are things with you.
I am doing very well, have married to a lovely woman named Sue and we sold our house, bought a mobile home and we have a house in Florida on the Gulf Coast which we spend 6 months of the year, playing golf and sitting on the beach. Life is good. What do you do with yourself being out there all this time. It was nice hearing from you and pleased that you are keeping well.
Hi dave sounds like you have a great life, i always thought you would by a house in the u.s.a you always said you liked it there. what i do with myself here, chase after women some i catch i have had five girlfriends since i have been here, the last wanted to marry but its like all of it here she lost her job, she has left mallorca and now works in germany as a spainish teacher. i go to concerts here we get some good free ones, i walk alot with my mad dog hes a dalmation swim in the sea sit on the beach play padel tennis, lots more to much to say here. nice to hear from you again dave and that you are well.
Hi.
There was a documentary some years ago with the postal trains and as far as I can remember they Run/Ran without drivers !.
There is at the moment a Huge part of London underground up for sale !. or was I would like to know who bought it or if its still for sale ?.
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This is awesome stuff. Your article reminded me of how much I enjoy this type of adventure. Great photos and account. Thanks for sharing.
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The best adventure I have experienced in years, I am in awe of you guys, there can’t be much left after this
A miracle. My admiration knows no bounds. Thank you.
Good read and great photos - respect for having the balls to bust in there!
Great read/Story. The Pictures were amazing… wish us Canadians had more tunnels to explore!
Fun read. Thanks!
Incredible! I’ve always wanted to see this, great pics and this is where this country is so behind, I would pay good money to legally go down there.thank you all
Considering the financial situation RM are in, this might actually be a good way for them to make a bit of pocket money. You only have to look at similar event’s like Aldwych to see that lots of people would pay to do something like this!
Wonderful story and photography. Loved it. Well done.
Thank you for showing this. I saw the rail mail featured on Michael Portilo programme, not realising it can still be used. I know I couldn’t shimmy the drainpipe referred to in the article, as I have a Tremendous fear of heights.
Great little bunker to escape the rush hour
Happy memories. Great write up.
Ive found this story as Ive started looking into Urbexing.
I briefly worked along the Mail Rail for 4 weeks installing all the CCTV cameras you see now in preparation for the attempted sale of the tunnel in 2002. I am probably one of a few who actually got to legally be taken along its whole length and to every station. It was amazing and I wish I had photographed my visit as evidence.
I was down there being escorted by a Royal Mail worker and I asked if I could explore a few passage ways. He said no problem and we both went for a walk. I found a stairwell that went down maybe one of two floors. The worker said he would stay up top but said that I could take a look. When I got to the bottom I found a door, he kind of door you would find on a ship with a bit turn handle. I didn’t attempt to open it but when I spoke of this door to the worker he said that years ago a colleague of his found a similar door and when he opened it there was a British Soldier on the other side who told him t obasically go away!
Anyway I loved it down there.
This photo from Rathbone Place looks suspicious:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/62223187@N08/5656198245/
where does that stairway lead to?
I also heard the story of the soldier while I was an engineer for the POR. Was said doorway perhaps at KEB? Saddens me to see the old place run down like that. It was the best ten years work I ever had.
yes i heard the same story about the soldier, and the door was at K.E.B
I visited the platforms at Mount Pleasant in the 90s when they opened them to the press to publicise the new signalling system that had been put in. The VIPs were having rides in a special passenger carriage with a (very low) Perspex roof on. They offered to take us and our camera in the loop around Mount Pleasant. Because we couldn’t film from their passenger carriage they put us on one of the flat bed carriages which normally took the mail trolleys. I think health and safety might preclude such a trip these days as we were whizzing round corners with our heads crouched down and nothing between us and the walls or roof of the tunnels!
hi used to work at king edward buildings and mount pleasannt depots occasionally went down the platforms , it was a hard job to get on but they were close knit guys . lots of perks and extra money for working down there . it was only used at nights and closed sundays . the mount pleasant platforms were near the surface as you thought , also at xmas they converted a train into santas sleigh were a father xmas would come out of the tunnel smoke included this was done for the kids . also there was a bruce willis film hudson hawk the vatican have a miniture railway they would not let them film there so mount pleasant it was and a novel The_Horn_of_Mortal_Danger.nice to see those pics . nigel
it was in use when i went down at mount pleasant .in the early 90,s.it was the first fully automatic driverless railway. and was studied when they built the victoria line. tunnels were used to store guvenment papers in the war years. eric
I too was taken on a school visit to this fantastic installation in the 60’s, the memories come pouring back when I look at these pics, I love this sort of thing, (surface trolley busses were great too, like a big electric toy bus system) more power to you guys
Hi,
Does anyone know if these railways are free to rent/hire for an event??? Or does anyone know a contact for the holborn railway??
Many thanks.
You can’t be serious….
By the way it was a model railroad group http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HOn30/, for guys curious about all things two foot gauge where I located a link to your site. Just thought it might fun to now how far a field you blog is going.
Some of the comments:
1a. Re: 2′ Gauge Rail Beneath London Found
Posted by: “Bernd Beckmann” groups@schmalspur-feldbahn.de berndsf
Date: Sat Aug 20, 2011 11:55 am ((PDT))
thanx for this url.
I was down in that line, when it was in full service around 1975.
A friend of mine had published a book on that. (Derek A.
Bayliss - The Post office Railway, Turntable Publications).
As electrical engineer I was mainly fascinated by the large
tube-rectifiers to supply the voltage.
The railway worked like a model railway. Shut-on and off the
power on track sections.
This is really a fascinating industrial undergoud railway.
- bernd -
Guys,
There was a blurb in the Yahoo News this morning about an abandoned
railroad beneath London.
Nice story with good pictures are located at the following link.
http://www.silentuk.com/?p=2792
Al
Messages in this topic (7)
________________________________________________________________________
1b. Re: 2′ Gauge Rail Beneath London Found
Posted by: “Bernd Beckmann” groups@schmalspur-feldbahn.de berndsf
Date: Sat Aug 20, 2011 12:06 pm ((PDT))
thanx for this url.
I was down in that line, when it was in full service around 1975.
A friend of mine had published a book on that. (Derek A.
Bayliss - The Post office Railway, Turntable Publications).
As electrical engineer I was mainly fascinated by the large
tube-rectifiers to supply the voltage.
The railway worked like a model railway. Shut-on and off the
power on track sections.
This is really a fascinating industrial undergoud railway.
- bernd -
Guys,
There was a blurb in the Yahoo News this morning about an abandoned
railroad beneath London.
Nice story with good pictures are located at the following link.
http://www.silentuk.com/?p=2792
Al
_______________________________________________________________
The HOn30 Mail Car mailing list home page: http://www.hon30.org
Interesting as I have an interest in everything on rails. I visited England 1968 as well as Wales, Scotland, both Irelands, and the Isle of Man, bicycled 2300 milesusing an three speed bicycle. In the process and I checked out a number of the museum railroads in Wales and in the lsle of Man. I was a bit amused at the idea of 14 miles being considers something of a hike as I routinely walked fifteen to thirty miles a day back home in Los Angeles in my twentys and would have thought nothing of a fourteen mile hike. Even now, using a walker, I have done seven miles one evening, though that did require a couple of breaks at age 65.
But it sounded like you had a nice adventure and really that is all that matters. The difference between living and surviving is a matter of how much fun you have in the process. As you learned, it has nothing to do with your finances. Nice to know there are still people who like to see and go to places most people have never been. This is where walking beats almost any other for of transportation, because you have time to notice odd things and chances to take off on strange side adventures. May all the hidden passage ways open up to you in life.
Its like you read my mind! You appear to know so much about this, like you wrote the book in it or something. I think that you could do with some pics to drive the message home a little bit, but instead of that, this is wonderful blog. A great read. I’ll certainly be back.
Fantastic post, thank you for time and effort while writing this.
Have really enjoyed this article. I did my apprenticeship on Mail Rail and then worked on the railway before it’s closure. You’ve really brought back some great memories !! I remember when were used for a part in Bruce Willis’s film “Hudson Hawk” , one of the trains was painted yellow for a scene , pretending to be an underground system under the Vatican !! Thanks again guys for the memories !!
The few minutes of the Mail Rail in Hudson Hawk, was the ONLY redeeming part of that bloody awful movie.
It was the first time I had seen the railway, and, thanks to these urban explorers, I now know a LOT more about it than I did before.
Well done, folks. o/
- Smoov
A Waste of their time. When the battery will be dead, I use a pair of small side cutters to open the old electric battery case and use battery terminals for making connections on various battery power operated items. It’s less expensive than buying them in Radio Shack. Terina Caliguire
Super stuff!
Just to follow up a couple of earlier comments…
Did you have to switch the lights on at every platform? And it was just ones with still-active sorting offices above you were worried about?
And I wonder how they twigged you’d been down, but not while you were down there? Did you leave the lights on?!
How’s the documentary? And also, i’m going to ‘borrow’ one of your pics for a little online history-kinda-thing i do… hope that’s ok. i’ll send you a link when i’ve done so let me know if you want me to take it down. or just say nowt if it’s ok
Like the bit about the camera snapping them. A bit like the Hitchhikers Guide to The Galaxy where they trigger a dormant planetary defence system which starts ‘nuking’ them.
Fantastic pictures and quite an addition to my historical knowledge.
Absolutely fascinating. Fantastic pictures. I would love to be privileged enough to see it for myself! Would be excellent to see the system in operation again - sad that this will never happen.
You Guys are absolutely amazing. I would love to help you guys, I am a train driver in Sydney Australia, there are heaps of disused tunnels in Sydney’s rail system. contact me if you would like help.
Excellent selection of photographs. Still looks the same as when I visited there (officially) 2½ years ago and had a ride over the whole line. Don’t try walking the tunnels during the day as I believe maintenance train still operates. A real wasted asset for London.
seriously…. NO ONE!… help! I was in this long dark tunnel..lol
amazing, love the images you’ve captured, how the light is so important in the dark! how it effects and changes everything…. well done people for scurrying around and not getting caught!
Immense
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
going back to the top of the page to check out the text!!
Half life vibes x 1000! Amazing
Modern day exploration at its best. Bet the adrenalin rush was as strong as the backdraft from a farting camel?
great review love the photos
posted to london flickr meetups group
This is probably one of the most fascinating things I’ve ever seen. I am in awe of all of you. I hope to join you on an adventure sometime soon. Wow. I’m inspired. You knock my socks off.
Great Adventure - the forbidden shown to the world - great read - great fun - great photos - thanks for sharing it with us.
The most fascinating post I’ve ever read on the web - many, many thanks.
Yours, stuck on the surface at Southfields,
DD
Amazing. Would have loved to be part of your team.
I tip my hat to you guys that is a fucking sensational report…….Ive done work in Mount Pleasant a few years back…..wasnt even remotely aware of the Mail Rail………
Brilliant Photos and article well done…..just another waste of an asset that could be making money from tourists and rail fans….bet the excuse for not doing it would be the Health & Safety Bopllocks….I hope you get another chance to go and take some more photos….
Just saw this on the Make Magazine website. Interesting stuff.
It was interesting that the day after I had gone on a tour of our site offices for Crossrail and found out about this railway that I stumble across this blog. Working for an engineering firm they all seem to think that building new is better and when the railway was mentioned there was sign about the annoyance that it was there in one of the new station models and that they had to preserve it.
I still work for Royal Mail at Rathbone Place with the POR several floors below me. Back in the day I actually got to travel through the tunnels on one of the trains. Great fun if a little dirty. Given the interst it’s a shame we don’t make it a tourist attraction.
Vancouver, B.C. Canada has its history of a Post Office tunnel, not a railway, but read about it here:
http://www.sarahefron.com/stories/tunnels.shtml
Good work that you did this and pulled it off! My memories of the Mail Rail are from a school visit to one of the stations back in the late 1960′s. Our whole class went down there and watched while trains came and went in a buzz of activity. Shame to see it lying derelict now, such a huge asset wasted. Just like all those Beeching-closed railways. But a great place for an illicit adventure none-the-less! Hopefully one day a more enlightened society might see value in restoring it.
Good work that you did this and pulled it off! My memories of the Mail Rail are from a school visit to one of the stations back in the late 1960′s. Our whole class went down there and watched while trains came and went in a buzz of activity. Shame to see it lying derelict now, such a huge asset wasted. Just like all those Beeching-closed railways. But a great place for an illicit adventure none-the-less! Hopefully one day a more enlightened society might see value in restoring it.
Great article ,Great pics! Have you and the Guys ever encountered anything Paranaormal on your trips? I have a least one story from a couple places I have been which you and your guys I suspect would like a crack at exploring! But places you are unlikely ever to get into due to military security.The first place Dean Hill ,near Salisbury ,Wiltshire ,England .A large Royal Naval amminition depot with miles and miles of tunnels (with their own railway in them)set in the large chalk hill sides with huge blast doors.Used for storage of Cruise/Tomahawk missles.Tight security.Mobile phones ,matches,lighters,transitor radios left in box at front entrance!Although I had heard recently Dean Hill been closed and privatised,being used now for commmercial storage! So you would stand more chance now of illicit entry.The other place Gibraltar! Miles and miles of Tunnels within the Rock.I have spent many hours exploring the areas not open to the public.I expect illicit entry could be gained if one knew what one was about .public can pay for a tour with the military musuem at the northern end of the rock.Which was absolutely fascinating .But very short ,One doesnt get to see the main tunnels running north to south on different levels,full of old WW2 war equipment .One place we came across2 vast areas with two huge I MEAN HUGE generators just abandond.This areas have little military use except for the occassional training exercise and are only sealed by unmanned locked steel gates.The tunnels which I wento which you guys would NEVER acess to ,aredeep beneath Gibraltar from East to west running and again store Cruise and Tomahawk missles.Very heavily guarded .locked gates patrols etc!
Hey, what were the paranormal activities that you experienced in those tunnels. And how the hell did you get in em?
A.M.A.Z.I.N.G !!!!
Truly epic explore! Respect, guys.
nice..
AMAZING STUFF, mates! Very intriguing! I am an quite interested in tunnels and the underground - and history. I recently moved here to Baltimore and I have heard there are tunnels galore here. I have heard of ones used during prohibition, ones used as The Underground Railroad, ones used during the Civil War and then some. I have been trying to find a way in for the last 10 months and I doubt I will stop until I find one. Does anyone have any info on Baltimore tunnels?
Great adventure……what camera gear did you use for these exquisite pictures?
Wonderful read, though had to do it in installments over 2 days! Would love to have been there.
Regarding future places to explore, mention of the Pima Air Museum and Titan Missle site near Tucson, Arizona, put me in mind of something just a few short miles from where I sit, near a lot of currently functioning observatories, owned by a local university and some private institutions, an intact missle silo with a similar look, as if they had just walked out of the control room and locked the door, I’m told, by one of the employees who was fortunate enough to have seen it.
Hoping to see photos like this of that place of it one day! And thank you so much for leaving it undisturbed, but well documented and for sharing with all of us armchair adventurers!
D
Came across your website via a link from the Word Magazine.
Old derelict buildings etc really interest me - fascinating to read your adventure! Can imagine how thrilled you must have been to finally get inside.
Living in London, I had heard about the Mail train tunnel and, oddly enough, I had been to a previous small squat party about 8 years ago in the basement of the New Oxford Street sorting office and never thought about the tunnel being under there!
Well done. Reminds me of my youth exploring the steam tunnels underneath The Univ. OF Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, USA.
I would like to get in touch with someone who did this. Not going to say too much online but my E-Mail is attached.
Thanks
Loved reading this. Reminded me of back in my day exploring the Rail Road tunnel that goes from Detroit, Michigan USA to Windsor Ontario, Canada… The trains actually ran through the tunnel and still do today. Gosh, does this bring back a flood of good memories. Thanks for writting this. The pictures are priceless… You will appreciate them more as you all grow older and reflect back on the fun you had that night.
Hey guys, Great read, and awesome pictures. makes me wish I could still take the risk and continue urbex. I was going to ask why you didn’t aquire one of the trains for the mission, but I guess that would probally draw all kinds of attention, not to mention the fact that the power to the rails was probally out.
Being a railfan myself, that place would be a dream to explore! Thanks for the Article!
I worked for RM for a number of years and was always fascinated by the history. This article has been a joy to read. You guys are like an urban famous five minus the dog and ginger beer!
Very interesting adventure. I used to explore the local sewer pipes when I was a young lad myself. I have been working as an assistant and tour guide for the Portland Shanghai Tunnels for the last year and a half now. I’m envious of your escapade. Hopefully, some enterprising person will have vision enough to obtain the rights to give tours. It is important to start that work now while the place is in relatively decent shape. Good luck with your future endeavors and stay safe!
Unbelievable, how long ago did you venture down there? Did you attempt to return at all before posting this? Someone’s watching those camera after they get wind of this.
Chicago, Illinois also had an extensive freight delivery system underground. It closed up in the 1950s. It did not get so effectively closed off as MailRail, though a flood in the 1990s pretty much did in a significant portion. The city of Chicago still uses some of the freight tunnels, about 60% are underwater, and the rest, well….I suppose if you really wanted to, you might find a way in.
A replica of the tunnels was used at the end of the movie “The Blues Brothers”, when carrie Fisher shows up to try and blow away John Belushi.
fun! thank you…very enjoyable reading on your adventure!
Does anyone know who the writer of this story is? Moreover, how I can get in touch with him? One of the pictures he used in this piece is perfect for the cover of a novel I’m writing and I’d like to get permision to use it. Thanks!
nice try.
?? I am serious. I am a published author of several novels, and I am currently writing a supernatural thriller that involves the unused transit tunnels in the city of London. I really will appreciate if someone can let me know who is the owner of this page. I was unable to find it anywhere on site.
Thanks
Just use it, and then he will come forward if he objects, which would be unlikely considering he was trespassing.
If its for non-profit, non-professional use i usually have no objection. Given the circumstances here, email me at the email address on the about page.
What a superb piece of work.
I know where quite a few caves are that the oldtimers would tell me about, but every time I tried I got threatened with the law being called about it, so I did’nt get to go see them. I know thier where abouts, and I also know what will happen to me if I try anyway. I’m to old and out of shape now, so I like to see people getting to see a piece of history not meant to be seen and respectfully not disturb it. Life is short. live it! There’s a big difference between looking and taking or vandelizing. There’s more secrets out there to find. What struck me funny, was the fact that a certain part was still active and alot of it preserved. You may have stumbled onto more than you think! Thanks for the pictures. And the guts to go get them. Always keep Jesus in mind, because you never know what you’ll find; And if you’re not supposed to be there anyway; If you disappear, where are they going to look? sometimes hideaways have their catch 22′s!
Very enjoyable, your story and the photos reminded me of the tunnels at Ft. Hood, Texas. There is a mountain on West Ft. Hood that from a distance is a normal looking tree covered hill. But driving on the road around it, you see numerous truck sized reinforced entrances with concrete guard houses. Its rumoured that it stored nuclear weapons during the cold-war era. When I had access to it, I was an employee for Coca-Cola and Pepsi. There were bicycles at the entrance that we would use to ride down into the heart of the mountain, we would check our vending machines, then ride back topside, and push a cart with the drinks back down to fill the soda machines. It appeared that the tunnels were being used as office space. It was great finally seeing them as an adult, growing up in the nearby community I had heard stories about the tunnels as a child.
Great story and pics… I am from Washington, DC , USA. Have you ever heard of the rumored tunnels under DC? Supposedly built to house treasures during the civil war, some were never recovered. Rumors have them filled with gold and silver bars, along with other treasures, such as paintings and such. The records for them were lost, according to what I heard, so they should still be there, if there were truly ever built.
Could be just an old wives tale that old explorers tell or could be true, just wanted to see if you’ve ever heard of them?
A well done job at that times..tunnels seems very fixed and a nice construction. I think this system can be used for some purposes today. its very clean.
With todays economy and scrap metal so high there is a fortune to be made scraping the metals out of those tunnels
Absolutely incredible. I went on an official visit to the PO railway at Mt. Pleasant in the 1970s (It wasn’t called MailRail then) and seeing it working was fascinating- like a gigantic model railway- but we only saw that one station. I dread to think how much extra pollution the vans that have replaced it are pumping into London’s atmosphere.
There’s a lot of rubbish in the comments about this being some kind of state secret but there’s never been anything in the least secret about the railway. It was just well hidden.
very interesting pictures … but I see the most of trains have leave the system. only the old green Carriage at Mt. Pleasant stands here and I think he dream for a display at a museum …
Very cool. Reading that whole article reminded me of my friends and I exploring the “steam tunnels” beneath the University of Idaho back in the 1990′s. Wish we’d taken some photos.
Way cool and would have traveled from Alaska to attend. Years ago back in Colorado I would venture into some of the old coal
mines in the Grand Junction area with a spool of thread in hand to make sure I was not getting into a drift with dead airspace the deeper I went in. Also plenty of batteries and new bulbs for the flashlights. Never had a problem with the dead airspaces because back in the day the miners would have in many instances another portal mined in to maintain ventilation. Spent much time in these exploring, especially in the room that had the donkey in them for winching the ore cars along the tracks. The person manning the donkey would spend his shift there and because of this would bring his lunch, a newspaper and I also would find a good number of old whiskey bottles. My time in that room a lot of times was sitting down and reading the newspapers that had been brought in, especially the ones written in times of war. Made you feel as though you were living in that day. I never did take any out with me but would lay them back down where I found them. That time of adventure was truely an exciting time. Thank you so much for sharing your adventures. It brought back memories.
Ben is right. You were lucky. Others were not. From Wikipedia:
“Three Grand Junction teenagers were suffocated to death while exploring the Book Cliff Mine on August 13, 1989. Following the incident the mine adit was permanently sealed.”
A surprising number of people have suffocated in Colorado mines in recent times.
As an engineering student I think you were out of your mind. I have friends on a mine rescue team, and they hate dealing with people exploring mines. Unless the mine is in operation, there is little air circulation,. tons of radon, and possibly methane build up, potentially hydrogen sulfide (which will incapacitate under these conditions before being detectable without instruments.) And the basic fact, that the supports are not being maintained.
Not to sound like the worry wort, but it is really fun, but I have done with a group with serious gear including portable gas detection units, respirators, hard hats, and a ton of spare batteries.
Your article was very well written, I’m glad you weren’t caught. I used to be a temporary employee at Coors Brewing Company located in Golden, Colorado USA. There are literally miles of tunnels and huge storage areas where the hops and barley were stored, and exploring all those areas was like stepping back in time, much like your adventure here. Thank you for writing about your excursion and taking the quality pictures, very interesting!
Hey guys, here’s more info on our castle adventure. The castle was real at one point. We were all knee deep into Dungeons and Dragons at the time. I had two rogue cousins who lived near Granite City / Alton Illinois. One of my cousins swore they had crossed the mote years before while deer hunting and found a plywood covered hole. He then stated it contained a spiral staircase leading to a locked dungeon door. Once we heard that, we were bent on finding it. We knew the dungeon had existed years before, but had forgotten about it. The first night we spent hours walking and never located anything. We regrouped, did some more research and set out some months later with ropes and tools in hand. After walking a few miles,we found it! The “Holy GRAIL” of motes. It had a half moon concrete slab on our side of the mote with two bricked pillars marking its borders. The old slots for torches still in the brick. We crossed the mote by leap frogging from the partially submerged stone slabs. The slabs once supported the wooden beams on the draw bridge that would rise and lower from the other side. Our last friend across, Mark, lost his balance on the middle stone, bent over and one of our two flahlights popped out of his vest and lit up the bottom of the mote. We finally made it across and there were two concrete lions guarding the trail (spooky). We found a concrete lilly pond, gazebo and an old well. We had a blast and the adventure was over before it began. We went back the next weekend with more guys, home-made torches and plenty of weapons (machetes). We found more items and found a hugh patch of marijuana in the back part of the property. We found a portion of the mote that had been filled and walked out that way back up to the highway. We returned once more during the daytime and it was not nearly as fun. Wow! what a great memory that is.
Hello guys! Jay here from across the sea. My friends and I went on a similar journey back in 1994. There was a rumored old castle near Granite City, Illionis. We found the mote and alot of old stuff, but the castle had been torn down. Love the story and adventure is worth the price. I loved the fact that you guys were there to conquor, record and did not destroy anything.
Congratulations from an old timer!
When I was young (12 -25) I used to go exploring all the time. I’ll never forget the time I discovered a disused padlocked door behind some very thick bushes leading into a large chemical plant when I was maybe 13…a place I could reach completely through the woods from virtually my front door. A couple of days later I brought some bolt cutters and MY own padlock and explored the place. My friends and I played manhunt in that factory every Sunday for months. I wonder if my padlock is still on the door? I don’t think I could get near that plant these days, since it sits right by some major passenger train lines.
As I got older my friends and I looked for cool abandoned buildings to play paintball in…places where we wouldn’t get noticed. It was exciting having a point besides just exploring. I used to have a couple dozen places I could play in…half collapsed meat processing plant, old cement form factory with a maze of cement blocks in the yard, abandoned munitions facility etc.
Ah, to be young and not afraid of a trespassing charge, especially in the days before there were cameras everywhere (c:
This kind-of reminds me of the Abandoned Pennsylvania Turnpike over here in the states. Yinz should come here and check it out!
They filmed parts of “The Road” there.
Yeah I know, I’ve visited there both before and after they filmed it there. They actually took the time to restore the exterior to one of the tunnels there.
What an awesome adventure! You really should have used a copy editor though. Oh yes I did read your entire piece on the Mail Rail and I enjoyed it very much. I guess you didn’t notice you used the wrong form of “your” in that sentence which also mentions the 2010 Halloween rave. (See? Proof I was still reading.)
I laughed at the sign at New Oxfords Street, “Trains may move without warning.” Hmmm, trains may move and computers may crash — all without warning. My, how far we’ve come.
Thank you for sharing your most-humorous piece with lots of interesting factoids and photos. This story could have turned out much differently. Remember Geraldo Rivera opening Al Capone’s vault? Oy.
Kim
What a great source of revenue for the postal system! Restoration of the Mail Rail for tourism with modified actual rail cars would be quite profitable.
I’ve just had a most enjoyable 1/2 hour reading this piece.What is not generaly known is
that some of the”waggons” were adapted for moving MailRail workers.They had to lie almost
flat to use them and I’ve seen photographs of the modified waggons and staff riding in them.
So the idea of 4p tours would indeed have been viable. Adam (tunnel rat)
Awesome work, people. Simply incredible. Wish I’d a’been there. Best, M
Excellent adventure! I know the regular tube was used for raid shelters but were there any clues for the same use in the mail rail system? Just curious. Again, Well Done!
Just reading this fascinating article, 4 months behind everyone else. Doug, I very much doubt the Rail Mail system was used as air raid shelters. I work for RM and they take the security of the mail VERY seriously. You need photo ID to gain entry to RM sites, and ‘compromising the integrity of the mail’ is a sackable offence, so it is inconceivable to me that - even in wartime - they would risk the general public milling around the stations close to where items of mail could prove a temptation to opportunistic thieves. Plus, as Adam has alluded to, there are some heavy-duty cables in the tunnels that seem to be far bigger than would be needed for the operational railway. They wouldn’t want Joe Public seeing those cables and to have risked idle speculation and chatter reaching the ears of ‘the enemy’ !!!
Awsome Story what eles can be said ?
i myself did a few explore some areas back in my youth this one was in the cleveland ohio area and is the old subway station at w25 & detroit ave , we also had to climb up a 18″ steel drain pipe about 30 feet to gain axcess to the lower deck of the detroit bridge where we gained axcess to the under decking used for the subway trains back in the day ,1st we ventured out on the bridge decks over the cuyahoga river , myself being scared of hieghts we decided to go west towards the tunnels…we entered the tunnels on the west end of the bridge and proceeded down the tubes towards the station only axcess was the doors on the west end of the bridge withen cuyahoga county engineers offices so we ventured past not seeing anything resembeling cameras ,we ventured father and found ourselfs in the acutual station W25 …WoW was it wierd nobody had been down their in 50+yrs station walls still had the white tiled walls i found a pedestrian underpass to go from the westboud platforms to the eastbound platforms and a old switch/powerhouse connection room but it had been stripped of everything … we ventured a lil farther west only to find it capped with cement we went back to the station and followed the w25st tunnel to its capped and about a 1/2 mile south under w25 was like something outta planet of the apes movie …freaky but u wanted to see more we exited the same place we went in and returned to explore the east side found a place by the bridge to get in @ the old SAMMY’s but was blokked off so we never got in the east end lots of old abbandoned tunnles under the Terminal Tower from back in the days when it was a main train station …since then ….they have had tours a couple of times done by the county engineer…. the same guys i did this with also we did some exploring in the tunnels dug when they did the intorceptor sewer line from Center Ridge to the Crown Filtration Plant on the lake , we climbed down the drillingsite of the main hole just on the other sid eof the N&W train tracks we climbed down the shaft to the bottom where they had the narrow gage electric mine train they used to move the ground from the drilling site south of the hole , i found the jumper key for the battery and fired it up me and my friends decieded to take the lil train to the drill sight their was nobody around and it was a holiday weekend …so we did when we got close to the site we saw “CAVE IN CAMERA”S ” the closer we got to the drill site their where lites on thruout the tunnels and the vent fans were on 24hrs …when we saw the cams we freaked out reversed the train and headed for the exit site …we thought that every rocky river police officer would be at the top waiting for us …to our surprise not a one was in sight we hurried up and ran back to a house of one of the guys nearby …they musta know we where in their cause after that they had a 24 Guard on duty till the job was done … we also explored the old post office on the lakefront off of W3rd just befor it was tore down and checked out the Old Mt Siani Hospital befor it was torn down and the old attached school buildings on e105th
they had a all axcess open to the public GARAGE SALE to luiquidate assets …i spent 2 days just poking around the hospital every nook and cranny frome the morge in the basement to the phyco wards and lepper wards i saw it all it was pretty creepy but i couldn’t stop looking and exploring did some of the old foundrys also locally and also later in years i worked for LTV Steel and would slipp away to go explore the old BOF” Bessie” at one time was the biggest BOF in the world and it was shut down peob 20+yrs befor i ever was their , everuthing in the control room was on “stanby” as if it was going to be fired up any minute all the lights thouout the site where on and everything was jsut waiting to start (not that it could if it wanted too) well theirs some of my exploring i did as a kid/youngadult/adult if i find a place of intrest i would go thier now but my age (almost 50) limits my travels… enjoy what u see if u can’t photograph it and leave it just as its untouched as it was for years maybe other will someday be able to enjoy it as well GREAT STORY >>>I LOVED IT & all the comments thanks keep up the good work !!!!
Having been a member of the National Speleological Society with more than a few caves under my belt and an engineer fascinated by abandoned factories, as well as a resident of Northeast Ohio, the original article and your post are fascinating and get the (very) old juices flowing. Thanks!!
This is very cool! Thanks so much for sharing!
Well done to you guys on an excellent piece of documentary. It is nice to know that young people like you still have a great sense of adventure but at the same time taking safety and responsibility to yourself and others seriously. My sincere advice to many of our younger generations, wherever they may live - break away from the the shackles of ipods, iphones, ipads, alcohol, drugs etc., clear your mind and let your imagination and sense of adventure teach you about the excitement and wonders of the world.
Once more, thanks for a facinating piece of work. I enjoyed it very much.
Thank you for an adventure of a lifetime. I was only able to visit the wonders above ground years ago. What a fabulous journey beneath! The narration with the pictures had me feeling as though I was among the explorers exploring and I felt the tingle of excitement and fear of being caught would raise the hackles of anyone’s neck.
WoW! What a cool write-up! Thanks so much for your bravery, with such beautiful photographs. I will not soon forget your inspiring journey.
radio
How interesting. I have always loved anything to do with trains and when I saw this, my curiosity was aroused. I really enjoyed looking at the pictures and yes….I did read what was written. Thanks for your interest in doing this for others to see and read about. What a shame we have this and it’s not being used. And…..it was an inspiring journey!
I wonder what the time lapse is between photos #5 and #11 and I wonder if this photo was staged for that purpose or if it was just a wonderful coincidence?
I applaud your inquisitive and adventurous souls. Your photography and literary description has enable all of to be there with you on this wonderful discovery.
Thank for transforming an a dark and rainy day stuck at the computer into a adventure!
I agree with stan in ok
This is what I needed today it kept my thoughts away from my troubles and the nasty weather
I feel like i was there with you almost
you did a good thing here hope you never stop looking for new adventures as long as thier for good as this one seems to have been.
when I was younger I loved exploring new and strangely different places i only wish I had a camera at that time
all in all THANK YOU for the story and pictures and time away from my sorrows Penny
WOW, that place is cleaner than some of the tunnels presently. Definately cleaner than New York’s stations………
this is great it shows that our young people do care about there history
I think that this is great, just think of the history that would have been lost and of the people that it took to build this gu ho job well done
Excellent work to all concerned-well done. It makes our visits to Rhondda & Bolsover last year seem quite tame in comparison! You should have a look at the King William Street tunnels under the Thames for your next adventure
I am inspired and impressed by your adventure. Being too old to do it now myself, I’m hopeful that one, two, or all three of my children might one day be involved in such activities. There is so much to see and do in the world. I appreciate that you did this with care and no malicious intent. Thanks!
Jim
Maybe there is something to explore here in Arizona…..
What an amazing documentary. I’ve been to many places most of them either in California or Northern Virginia. This underground system is something you’d never find in the states, they ruin so many historical places without any regards for historical interest and preservation. I am very angered by the people who destroy our route 66, they also destroy old Drive in Theaters. We had a theater on Route 66 here in California. It was in Azusa, even though it was protected as a historic landmark, it was sold to a religious college who in turn challenged it’s status in court. Even though it was under federal protection, they had the protection modified so it would read “Just the Sign is Historic” so they razed the drive-in and used it for parking. I saw Town Mayors, Celebrities, Rich and Influential cinemaphiles, and just fans in general try to stop this, the college was able to remove it’s protected status despite other lawyers and financial backers doing their best to stop it. At least the Mail Rail will have a fighting chance, usually once something is sealed off they forget about it. My main reason for writing this comment was to applaud the explorers for showing us the Mail Rail and also to tell the guy in Arizona about a place to explore. Note that this is now a museum however you can sometimes slip away from the guide and find some neat things. Go to the TITAN II Missile Silo on Duvall Mine Road in Tucson, it looks like a science fiction movie and if you can get far below, the battery rooms have other things which are worth checking out, being an in ICBM silo is awesome, they let you simulate a launch and close the blast doors too.
Gosh! Sealed for nearly 10 years! I’m only 7 so that is a very long time!
Thanks for the pictures! Now that you’ve made it in, they’ll find a way to seal off remaining access. If it were the USA, they’d rent out the space for shops and small restaurants! Or perhaps they’d sell off the remaining cars for larger, theme restaurants.
There were several places where tunnels branched off. Did you explore any of those or just follow straight along your mapped route?
As to those complaining about your spelling or grammatical errors, they can do their own blog if they find it so objectionable!
Yes we had a look into most of the nooks and crannies of the line. The branches your referring to are either where the tunnel divides just before a station, each tunnel leading to either the westbound or eastbound platforms, or where the tunnel meets a layup or loop (where the train can be switched to the opposite direction)
Hey DICK!
Although I don’t condone breaking and entering, at least these kids were not there to do damage.
Seems like some innocent mischief at worst.
I found the pics and story interesting and very well written.
Looks like the nasty post from “DICK”, which I was referring to, was removed.
Also, thanks for the clarification regarding “trespassing”.
Yea, sorry about that, by the time I get round to moderating people who are only here to cause trouble others have already replied to them!
In England “Breaking & Entering” (What we did not do) and “Trespass” (What we did) are two different things, the first being a criminal activity, the second being civil one. Its important not to mix the two up.
Becareful here because Trepassing on the railway IS a criminal offence! Trepassing anywhere else is a civil offence .But if you tresspass on the railway youwill be charged with a criminal offence automatically .I not sure what the distinction is been an un-used railway and one that is operational.If a railway is mothballed and wouldnt take to much to get it up and running it is probably deemed in the eyes of the law to be operational.So therefore a criminal charge would apply!
Excellent photographs! I’m sure someone already mentioned this, but that fact that you took the risk, took the photographs, and even took the time to detail as much as possible - while leaving everything exactly as it was - shows that you have a huge appreciation for historical finds. Cheers to you all from the U.S.!!
Excellent post. Big thanks to all of you for such a cool adventure.
First off, learn how to spell dumbass, the second letter of welfare is with an E, not an A, and second, I think it was very cool what they did. You say leave history alone, well Einstein, how the hell do you think America came to be…EXPLORATION…that’s ALWAYS been the name of the game in our country (USA), even something as mapping routes for GPS systems.
VERY GOOD WORK
I wish I was there to explore the Mail Rail with you, but to see the pics was great. I hope you can find other legendary, mysterious, and above all, cool places to explore. With all the history that Mother Earth has to offer, I’m sure it won’t take long before you find something else to explore and the fire and passion in your heart is reignited.
Long live exploration….LONG LIVE THE CHASE!!!!!
Wow. Amazing photographs. Nicely explored. I am amazed that you got all of those tunnel lights turned on.
yahoo.com news has picked up on this post. That’s how go here. http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/London-Underground-Mail-Rail-Discovered/ss/events/wl/042211ldnmailrail
Todd, USA
This just ROCKS so cool!
Brilliant, just bloody brilliant. Gave the old lady quite the thrill today!
Don’t be jaded; I’m sure that there are plenty of tunnels left to find…
Great bit of work! Cheers to all of you. I would love to join in the adventure some time.
Warm Regards,
Nick
What a great read! Down a third of it I decided to start listening to the soundtrack of Resident Evil. Very fitting!
I’m actually not at all sure if I’d have had the guts to go through with something like that. But at least now I know that there are more photographic opportunities to be discovered than just those above ground level.
How cool….. Great adventure. I kept reading til the end wondering if you were going to fire up one of those locomotives. The picture where you were all on and over the train, too cool.
A ride down and up those tracks would have been awesome for you all.
Cheers to you all from an old adventurer * USA *
This made my week. Brilliant pics, brilliant story… just wish I could do something like this too. Really well done!
Were you not afraid of zombies???
Thankfully the large bulkheads you see in the pictures above were designed with the sole purpose of keeping zombies contained. As such the zombies that gained access during the 90′s simply starved to death, so posed no threat.
The large Bulkhead Doors you see in these photos were built in the days before the River Thames flood barrier was constructed.When an extreme high tide was forecast with a strong wind from the East behind it, there was a danger the River Thames could burst its banks. So these bulkhead doors were closed to stop the tunnel flooding.Some can still be seen on the London underground subway system today.Many thanks for an excllent article. I was transfixed!I worked as a Conductor/Guard on the main overhead railway in the 80s and 90s on Mail trains and passengers trains carrying mail into Liverpool street station.Although I had nothing to do with the Royal Mail underground rail system I always remember the post men (post women ) throwing the mail bags down the chute which droppped down in the underground mail railway sytem at Liverpool street.If I remember correctly it was on Platform 10 or was it 11? Anyhow on the longest right hand side platforms looking toward the Great Eastern hotel!
I seen the overhead lights on. Somebody at the Ministry Of Electric is in huge trouble. Or else this is a total fake gonzo exploration that was rather a VIP invite event hosted by Prince Harry.
This has to be where Churchill’s real bunker was.
I wondered about that (and forgot to mention it in my comment.) WHY is the power still on in all these tunnels? So the rats and other rodents don’t have to feel around in the dark?
Well; Anybody hear of GOV. underground bunkers? Why would any GOV. waste a good tunnel system? The reasons could go on forever. There’s a definite reason it’s left intact. Glad you found it though. Great PIC’s. I sure would like to have been there. It does make you wonder how many things like that there are underground that were not supposed to be known about!
Those who are suggesting alternative or secondary use of the MailRail tunnels
should look carefuly at some of the later tunnel photographs.The are some seriously
heavy duty cables hung from the tunnel roof.It isn’t easy to be certain what they are,
possibly telephone/signalling cable.One thing is certain though they are vastly in
excess of those needed for MailRail.It was common practice to hide cables like this
between the wars and during WW2.Almost invulnerable bomb damage,cables would
be very difficult to sabotage because of existing security arrangements.Also to install
more or new cables could be done without digging up the roads and out of site of the
public this was (and still is) done in the Underground.(I was at one time in the ’60s
and early’70s a Government tunnel rat)
Brilliant bit of work guys, well done for sharing this with us, really enjoyed the pics and reading the text .
Big thanks to all involved.shame it all just lies abandoned.
Thanks for taking me on this adventure, the photos are great and I appreciate your explorer’s attitude! I look forward to your next adventure!
Wow! Looks like something out of Submachine. Well done!
Conan
Baghdad, Iraq
Fascinating and superbly documented. Something many of us would also love to do.
It is a shame that there is a lot of short-sightedness in that treasures, practical ones, like these are no longer used in favour of the gas-guzzling road vehicles that are going to get held up in traffic jams.
Again, well done you lot ! and thanks.
Good to see that Balls still exist in our youth…. Growing up when I did, we would often explore and search things out… Today, kids are afraid to go outside and play.
So good to see that you still adventure in your blood and willing to “bend” the rules a bit for your passion in life.
The pictures were fantastic… And so many of them… Not just a couple random shots. I very much enjoyed reading your story and the pictures you presented to the world……
Keep the faith…
Adventure lives on…
Banana Republic
Fantastic pictures of a by-gone time. I can see these tunnels featured one day on The History Channel in the US. Some of the shots are eerie, yet seductive. Great work in recording them for posterity.
Amazing work. There were a ton of stories at my college (Norwich University in Vermont, USA) about old civil war tunnels underneath the campus that were clearly cemented shut. We all used to talk about what it must be like down there, but nobody was able to find their way in that I know of. A secret society called the Night Riders used to take poorly performing students down there and haze them incessantly until they would ultimately leave the school. One such student reportedly disappeared and wound up in Washington, D.C. where he killed three hookers in a hotel room and claimed insanity brought on by the hazing in the tunnels. Strange but true.
Thanks for sharing that adventure. Nice photography, not just snapshots. The subway tunnels under El Lay (Los Angeles) look much like that. In the locomotives light, much like creepy worm holes. Not really that crazy about being under ground. But the sense of it was well captured. Thoughtful of them to keep the lights working for you. My spell check does not seem to be working so, I’m sorry.
Great pictures! This is the kind of adventuring I’d like to be able to do myself. And like you did, take pictures for posterity, not vandalizing but creating a record. Congratulations on your discovery.
Was this where parts of Neil Gaiman’s 1996 BBC mini series “NeverWhere” was filmed?Watching the special interview with Gaiman he mentions that parts of the show were filmed in an abandoned train station used for mail{something about churchhill..?}and that it had its own postal code,many of the pictures bring to mind scenes from the show{i have never seen a real england train station so Im basing it off of that..}But is this it?
As far as I’m aware, that was either Aldwych or Down Street station.
Nice. Excellent work, and excellent photographs. Came here from a transportation website, and excellent work. Hats off!!!
Great pictures and great adventure. Thanks for bringing this to us.
Amazing pictures. You did not say how you all came out of exploration.
“Rathbone was unique in its design, its platform sat as an open plan island sandwiched between the east and westbound lines, the steel tunnel at this point replaced with flat concrete walls. It was reminiscent of a New York Subway, I don’t know if this was a good thing or not. Nevertheless the station was completely intact, trains, york carts, post belts, everything remained. This was the one station, with the exception of mount pleasant, I could see being re-used for its original purpose without any restoration work.”
I’m glad that you under stand that mail rail still has potential.
Looking for more tunnels? Beijing, China is a rabbit warren of tunnels large enough for armies to march. Created in Paranoid times.
As is Shanghai…
Lots of Nuclear bunkers (although lots got turned into bars or storage areas).
Tequila Mama’s mid 90′s anyone?
Quite a lot of the malls here have interesting bits where they’ve gone down deeper than you’d think, and have the big blast / flood doors on huge hinges.
Hell, the whole of XuJiaHui lu used to have a river, now there’s a thin park above where that flowed.
Most interesting for me was under the Garden in Ruijin park lots of tunnels, and it appeared to be full of plates last time I wandered down there back in the late 90′s
Sadly most of the cooler stuff has been razed to the ground and built over. The whole center of Shanghai disappeared for the most part 90-2000 for Xintiandi et al.. Interesting things could be seen during the excavation periods for that, and for yan an lu.
Mostly now its all concrete i suspect. Pudong has some interesting sewers I’d suspect, all built to large scale, but its all recent. Lots of forgotten overground stuff though once you leave the big cities.
Eg trains yard etc etc, especially when you get up north towards the russian ends of China.
Beijing used to do tours of the underground bit near the canal, but unfortunately I never got to go before they shut it down. Wierd opening hours and all that sadly.
Lawrence.
A really interesting experience. Now that it is in the open it will probably not be repeatable. I would suggest the people involved speak to National Geographic. See their latest episode about the re-use of an old freight line in Manhattan. They would do a professional job of documenting this site with official sanction before officialdom concretes it up for ever.
I noticed in one of the photos there were some file cabinets, and in others there appeared to be desks. Did you look in them to see what might be there?
Also, it appeared that in some places the ventilation ducting went down into the floor. That makes me wonder if there was another level under the one you explored.
Thank you so much for posting these photos-they’re simply amazing. Great work, and congratulations from Alaska!
Yes, I can confirm there IS another level - I visited it about 10 or so years ago - and it houses various equipment etc. It certainly would be a good tourist attraction. Having ridden on a train through the tunnels, it’s very much liek a rat-in-a-drainpipe in the smaller single-bore tunnels. However, under British rules, you’d never get it passed as a passenger railway, due to the control systems. Having visited on three occasions, I can confirm it’s a remarkable place and system.
Sure caught my eye. Thanks for sharing, with great depth too.
There are earthen tunnels under parts of Portland, Oregon used to capture drunks from bars to be shanghaid and sent to sea. I’ve been down in them and seen the trap doors that suddenly opened to drop drunken men to the tunnels below. There were cells, and they would take the men’s shoes (there are still piles of old shoes down there), and pave the tunnels with broken glass to prevent escape. The men were hauled down to secret tunnel endings at the Willamette River and hustled aboard outgoing ships. This went on for many years, only ending after WWII, as I recall. I saw all this about 12-15 years ago, and there was some interest in cleaning and opening them to tourists, but I haven’t seen anything since.
There are also tunnels and living quarters under Pendleton in Eastern Oregon, used by Chinese workers for many years. These are open to tours now, since the 1990′s. I lived in Pendleton for 5 years in the 70′s and never heard a word about them.
Great work, folks. And fantastic photos. Thanks for leaving it all intact, we have enough vandalism and theft in the world; it’s really nice to find some folks with integrity.
Hey, Pete — thanks for the info on the “shanghai tunnels” in Portland! I’d heard of the “lost world” in underground Seattle, up the coast from you (was featured in the old Night Stalker TV series), but didn’t know of anything like this in Portland. Man, that must’ve been some profitable business, “encouraging” people to serve in the maritime trades *chuckle!*, to have made it worthwhile to construct such an elaborate tunnel system!
I live not too far from Portland, they have opened some of the tunnels for tourists now and have a guided tour that you can take. It is fascinating and they even have one of the drops from the above restaurant/saloon working so you can see how they dropped people below. Unfortunately there is quite a large amount of the now legendary shanghai tunnels that have never yet been found as they were supposed to have a direct connection to the old docks on the Williamette. Some I am sure could be found if someone poked around carefully, but a lot of existing businesses use storage etc down below and we are even cautioned on the walking tour to be careful because they businesses have given grudging permission to do the tours and if anything happens they will shut them down. The amount of tunnels on the tour is very minimal compared to what I know from accounts must exist it doesn’t even come close to reaching the river. There is also some kind of weird tunnels over by the old city hall; they have some very old 1900′s looking entrances that are blocked off I have been told originally it was a old sort of subway tunnel, but have been unable to confirm that or not. The entrances do look like what I expect a subway entrance would look like from that time period and they are pretty ornate with incorporated (now non functional) water fountains. Here is some info on the tours: http://www.portlandwalkingtours.com/tours/underground_portland.php
This was the ONE sight in Portland I wanted to see, and I couldn’t find a thing on it anywhere, just the entrance with a “closed” sign and no hours of operation posted. I’d seen it on the Travel Channel.
Thanks for your confirmation, so I don’t look entirely crazy. There are also some tunnels on the east side of the river, but I haven’t seen any of them. Fascinatinating stuff, and thanks for the info about the tours.
I’m so glad to have stumbled onto this! I would have so loved to been there to see this. Fantastic story and pic, truly fantastic! Congrats for pulling it off and looking forward to your next adventure! Good hunting!
your newest USA fan!
An amazing trip! Thanks for sharing
Seems like every city has underground secrets.
… and Rail line better than sewers…
You’ve made an “old” man feel “young” again! (I’m pushing the half-century mark pretty hard) Reminds me of a couple of adventures of my own, in the ’70s and ’80s, one not-so-tricky but “in the spirit”, the other very much like your adventure with the RM-R.
The first was an on-going lark — I lived on a low hillock overlooking a very large cemetery in Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA, and a very good buddy of mine and I, who were both freaks on the history of WWII (I have the Marshall Cavendish Ltd. magazine version, all 96 parts. in the binders) would sneak into the cemetery at night with bicycles and blinkered flashlights as a “planned rendezvous”, imagining what it must’ve been like to be a resistance-fighter in the SWW.
The second was *exactly* in-character with your exploration of the RM-R: It was through the utility tunnels connecting the buildings at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, OK. Not really “encouraged”, and with the possibilty of coming-up into an “occupied” area where our presence would be frowned-upon, and with the additional complication of having many, many side-branches and having to navigate by “dead-reckoning”, since we had no map with us and compasses wouldn’t work down below-ground, probably due to all the metal in the steam-pipes. We “supplemented” our navigation by popping-up into grill-covered ventilator shafts in the middle of campus, never knowing when we might find some very suprised (and possibly constabulary) above-ground face staring back at us.
I salute your wonderful article on the RM-R — you have exactly the right spirit: Not to harm, nor to vandalize, but simply to explore something interesting, arcane, and esoteric (at least, nowadays) and bring back a wonderful view of a “lost world”
. In this oh-so-safe-and-over-regulated modern-world, it warms my heart to see that some of us still have the thirst (and the daring, against possible legal consequences) to explore “hidden realms”, in this case, one of our very own making 
(HM’s Government’s, that is).
Finally — I *could* take issue with much of your grammar and syntax *chuckle!*, but your photography, and most of all your *hearts*, are first-rate! I salute you, again, and wish you great success in similar quests in the future! To borrow the old mountain-climbers’ adage — “Take nothing but photographs; leave nothing but footprints, and memories”
.
Steve Dinges
Mesa, Arizona (by way of Tulsa, Oklahoma and Houston, Texas)
P.S. I keep thinking what a great “location-shoot” the RM-R would make for an episode of Doctor Who
. Then again, maybe you weren’t beneath London at all, but simply found your way into some back corridors of a certain Type 40 TARDIS 
) . . .
Thanks. Wish I was young enough (and thin enough) to try stuff like that. Really enjoyed the pictures.
I love a good adventure. Thank you for sharing it. The pictures that you took were awesome. Only wish i had friends like you to go aventuring with. Congradulations on the find.
Salute to you all. Very interesting. I started this in the A.M. and had things to do…and finished it @ 9:11 P.M.!
VERY Intriguing…
From the USA…Mississippi
Good job! Thanks for leaving undisturbed what you explored.
What a great story. I love it. The pictures were great.
Impressive!
This is such an amazing story. When I was young, about 14 or 15, which was awhile back, my Dad took us out into the Mojave Desert to some deserted copper mines. They are located between the Innerstates 15 and 40, and west of the Caverns located out in that area. We would spend hours and hours exploring these mines. There are miles and miles of tunnels. Wish I new the exact location but it has been years since I was there, about 1964/65.
Thanks for all the pictures, I have forwarded this link to some of my friends that love history.
i live in this area and have been all over the mines and the description you give sounds like Coolgardie. here is a link to a few paragraphs about it. http://mojavedesert.net/desert-fever/coolgardie.html
Thank you very much for sharing your pictures and the explanation the history. Not much of this sort of interesting stuff he in Los Angeles California. Bravo.
“Not much of this sort of interesting stuff he in Los Angeles”
Having explored the following before it was sealed, I beg to differ:
Pacific Electric Toluca Yard and Belmont Tunnel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRonX_WLxP4&feature=related
Pacific Electric Hollywood Subway
http://www.erha.org/pewhs.htm
The colorful saga of Los Angeles’ first subway tunnel
http://articles.latimes.com/2009/feb/08/local/me-then8
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Tunnel_Company
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Flood
Amazing and Epic!!! Thank you for the incredible chronicle of your adventure…
Great job, and glad you had the chance to do it. The only London tunnels I’ve been in (besides of course the Underground) are the passages in Churchill’s secret Cabinet War Rooms underneath Whitehall. A great tour, but you only go down a couple of levels. There is supposed to be at least one more below that, although it may be flooded. Anyway, have fun, be careful, and don’t get caught!
You guys rock!
Absolutely awesome! I too - in the days of my youth - was an explorer. Since I grew up in the Pacific Northwest (USA), I was able to explore many of the caves and lava tubes created by the volcanic activity in the region, the most famous being the Ape Caves up near Mount St. Helens. I was also able to explore many old and abandoned buildings of the old Kaiser Shipyards (from WWII) along with the surrounding buildings and tunnel works along the Columbia River in Vancouver, Washington, USA. Great stuff! However, we never had anything such as what you have there in London… I’m somewhat envious. Like another poster, I too went to the Seattle Underground but it’s more of a tour… there no real excitement like that found in going where nobody else does… into long abandoned territory. I would encourage you all to look up the underground tunnels in Chicago, IL, USA. There’s a rich history there, it was designed to transport goods between buildings in downtown Chicago along the lake. It was also shut down due to a lack of use and escalating costs to use the tunnels. Trucks and street traffic just became so cheap, the tunnel was largely abandoned. Like your Holy Grail, the Chicago tunnels were considered to be the pinnacle for city explorers for those living in that region. While the tunnels there were flooded at one time… the breach was sealed up and the waters drained. It would be quite a thing to get in them… to see what most never have. In New York City, there are also many tunnels that have been abandoned, once used in the mass transit system. While there are some very old transit employees that know about them all, accessing them is an entirely different matter. Oh… to be able to get in and seek out those dark, quiet places that haven’t seen the hands of man for decades… to experience those magnificent sights. To be able to breath in the aroma of the past… of history itself. It stirs the heart and the imagination. Thanks to all of you for sharing your journey. For allowing all of us to see some of what you all did, to be able to know of those places long buried and mostly forgotten. High praise for the effort… and for keeping where you were intact, unscathed and to a certain degree, sacred. Again, excellent work to all of you, especially that sporting lass who was there… there’s no woman like a woman with a serious sense of adveture! Peace & good vibes from the USA!!
I am always looking for stories about abandoned places especially if they are well documented, and love anything about England & London. This was a great read & the pictures awsome. It is such a shame that the Mail Rail couldn’t be used for something. What great fun you had doing this story and your documentation is undisputed. You should make a book of all your excursions. Look forward to the next one. Thanks
Weren’t you afraid of zombies?
or mimic?
Absolutely fascinating! Thanks so much for sharing, although in doing so, you have no doubt made it near impossible to return. Your sacrifice is greatly appreciated.
From the greater Los Angeles area, thanks once again
P.S. - we do have the Red Line Subway system in LA.
Even before sharing we discovered a return was impossible, the security team had cottoned on and sealed our only means of access.
Hi Otter:
Since there is no longer any means of access, would you mind posting a photo of the five story drainpipe? Is the drainpipe visible from the street? Was the drainpipe taken down?
I didn’t take any pictures of the drainpipe as I was filming Silent-Motion climbing it, said footage will likely be in the documentary were making.
Great story. It reminded me of Ayn Rand’s masterpiece, “Anthem.”
If you liked this story, you will LOVE this book. Even if you don’t like Ayn Rand!
Please check it out - you won’t be sorry. I used to read it aloud to my middle school English students at the end of every school year. You can read it all in one evening. And if you like abandonded subways…
I have some major disagreements with Ayn Rand, but this is my all-time favorite book. And I think the people who read through the London subway story are the PERFECT demographic.
What a adventure. You did not get caught and you did not vandalize anything.
Done the original underground in Glasgow yet?
I haven’t done the Glasgow underground and to the best of muy knowlege nobody
has tried or will try for a long time to come.Virtually all of the old tunnels were
incorporated into the new system.I don’t fancy being run down by a train,as there is
only clearance of 3 or 4 inches between tunnel and the train.I was living in Glasgow
when the system was expanded Adam (tunnel rat)
I was in the Met Police in the 60′s and we often had access to the line. I was based at the Tottenham Court Road Police Station (ET); it’s now a Marks and Spencers. For years I have mentioned this underground system to people only to be sneered at and told to ‘get real’; now I feel justified and wonder where those ‘doubting Thomas’s are now. Now back In Australia I can prove the facts. Thank you kindly.
Have enjoyed your pictures and your commentary. Not knowing that first thing about England or London, this article was very interesting. You made mention of perhaps looking for new places to explore—-allow me to maybe put a bug in your ear. I went to and graduated from Holmes High school in Covington, Kentucky. Before it was a public school, supposedly was at one time part of the underground railroad. I have no hard fact about the underground railroad part but while attending school there, we discovered some tunnels under the school. We never found the end of the tunnels{ there was no lighting} since the only light we had was by flashlight and had to be prepared for the possibility of the batteries giving out. Please understand—I graduated in 1956 and have no clue as to whether the tunnels are still there, have been closed off or the school may even deny their existence. Either way, thank you for your very interesting article. God bless you.
Hello Rev Turner,
I enjoyed your story. I went to Holmes High School in the seventies and always heard rumors of underground tunnels. Many of my classmates and I searched but never found an entrance. we heard that an entrance near the Junior High building had been sealed off in the late fifties but we never found it. I’m glad to finally hear that the tunnels did exist. Thanks.
Rev Turner, Thanks for your responce. It was strange that we ran accross one another on a UK web site. Maybe the fact that we both went to Holmes High ingrained a facination of tunnels? Did you ever hear the stories of the abandoned Cincinnati Subway? In case you’re interested, here’s a link to one of many web sites on the subject. http://queencitydiscovery.blogspot.com/2009/03/cincinnati-subway.html .
Thanks, and God Bless.
Check out the baker hotel in Mineral Wells, Texas. It’s said to have underground tunnels.
This was a great tour of the Mail Rail, I’d pay, pay a lot to be able to experience this first hand.
One thing though, I’d really like to know more about the photographic equipment and the lighting methods used to capture these most impressive pictures. The clarity and level of detail is astounding.
It is almost like the photos were taken professionally with a story line wrapped around them.
Without doubt, this could an awesome tourist attraction. Perhaps someday, eh?
Exactly where was the starting point for the five story, rusting drainpipe shimmy? Surely there others who would like to attempt this adventure. Perhaps using your description, they will be able to find the access point. Or a photo of the drainpipe, that ought to be obtainable at most any time I’d guess. You didn’t say, but did you leave some marker of being the first to conquer this underground Everest?
You know kind of like those ‘Climber’s Logs’ found atop high peaks around the globe. That would be really cool.
Regards,
Fred
absoluely facinating! We dont have anything so fun and historical here in america. History has been a constant topic of wonder for me. With all the documentation of the past one would think that we on this planet could learn to get things right by studying what went bad for us and simply retrace our steps and correct what started the problem in the first place. This underground system could be useful in many ways that were simply not even considered in the recent past as doable that could be done today! Dan in Washington state USA
To Dan in Washington.. check out the area around Whidbey Island, there were tunnels and underground facilities there during WW2 and previously, although mostly blocked off now. My brother and I got dirty down there one summer back in the 80′s.
Wonderful work documenting this underground adventure! I applaud your team for leaving no trace!
Kev in Oregon
have you never been to Seattle and in the underground city there?
not nearly as well done as the Mail Rail, but nonetheless fascinating
Far out. What a fantastic stealth exploration. I’m amazed that after 8 years, the lights are still working down there; and the ventilation too. I hope this doesn’t give terrorists ideas now. There should definitely be practical uses for these tunnels: Storage? Tours, at least for all the commentators? Testing? A new running-ducking marathon? Pneumatic freight carrying tubes? Something. …………
I’m so jealous!
Awesome! Totaly awesome! This is what dreams are made of! And to have it come true..WOW! Great work guy’s!
The photographs are so well made. Can you comment on your technical procedures? It seems in some areas you were fortunate to have still-electrified lighting to use, but along the tunnels it must have been totally dark. Did you tripod the camera, leave its shutter open and then walk through the dark tunnel and set off a quick flash from time-to-time with another device (portable flash or other camera) to create multiple exposures that might even have surprised you upon viewing them later? Advance thanks for comments you can make.
For the most part we only took pictures in the lit tunnels. We were pushed for time, so spending it lighting darkened sections when we could just walk to another part wasnt high up on the list. Those that we did light were done on 30- 60 second exposures. We used various light sources from torches to LED light panels placed statically around the tunnels or the subject, no flash guns were used. All the pictures were taken on a tripod. Hope that helps.
Thank you Otter. The whole event, your excellent and thrilling methods, and the documentation form a wonderful addition to the world’s body of performance art.
Amazing. Would have loved to be part of your team.
How exciting !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks for the trip !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Happy hunting.
Best Regards,
RS
THAT WAS SO SUPER COOL . I LOVED IT. I LOVE EXPLORING NEW THINGS. I FELT THE EXCITMENT OF THE HIKE.
nice story,very good pics.ever thought of all the tunnels in veitnam.i saw quite a few of these while on tour.we didnt take pics and i didnt have a light.only a kbar and a 9mm.and not much time to enjoy it.
what an adventurous tour. Nice write up and excellent photos.
Wordz escape me. Awsome Jurney .. Spent an Hour reading and drooling over the pix and imagining the whole expeirience… Time well spent, and would never want back.. Thank you for pushing to the end.
This would make a nice documentary.
Fascinating!!! Enjoyed the article and pictures very much, thank you for sharing your adventure.
Amazing story! Saw a link on the top headdlines on Yahoo! this morning. That’ll get your story told all over the world. Congrats on an incredible find, an amazing adventure, and a pat on the back for such a great write-up. Without the writeup and photos, the world would never know. I hope the nexttime I’m in your AMAZING city of London, we’ll be able to learn more about it. In the meantime, we’ve got some great spelunking in Kentucky, come and visit! Rock on!
Stunning treasures. Thank you. Wonder if the big fin’l loss was more labor, physical part replacement, or electricity? Wonder if economics could turn to make this viable again…. The details of the justification for the closure should be interesting.
I now of the Abandoned Stations Rosavelt Station (underneath Rosvelt Hotel Opening secret Door Brings you out to the kitchen of the hotel.
ALso the old 92 street station on the IRT broadway line..
But this is much more beautiful
Hi !!
Tommy J. from St Paul, Minnesota.
What an amazing adventure !! Great pic’s and great write-up !!
Terrific article & photo documentation! Being from Orange County, California, we don’t have such artifacts to explore. I only wish I was there to participate! Marvelous reporting on a fascinating topic. I suggest you assemble your various expeditions into a book format - describing your exploits in a topical or chronological fashion… What Balls!! FASCINATING EXPOSE!!
Can I Come I Think It Would Be Amazing to go down and explore!
Very nifty! Nicely composed photos and interesting commentary.
Fantastic reading chaps ! Having spent the years 1969 to 1989 in a mail related business in the West End where posting to the main railway stations could be a nightmare until ‘after hours’ I have thoroughly enjoyed reading this. Use of the tunnel would have saved me a lot of time I think ! Is it possible to get a small Fiat 600 or a Mini down there ?
New possible life for it as money maker; revive it by operating tour trains through the system or general transportation system. Rent it out for independent private train operation.
Urban Spelunking at it’s best, I wish I had been in the group! Thanks for sharing!
Dude, read the article. You are a total idiot!
does anyone really believe these stories? Sure, the information has a bit of truth, but the whole concept is in believing the spirit of the old line itself. They people in the pictures do not have air tanks, masks or filtering devices for breathing…therefore…air has access to these areas. Where there is air, there is also mold spores. I am talking living creatures! I see none of this in their whole excursion. Perhaps in the dark rail sections, but poor lighting. The abandoned rail cars would be caked with dust after 150 years of not being used. This has been a very interesting article and I would love to have been with these fine young people on their journey through time. Nice job people ! ! ! Maybe you guys could join me and accomplish such a run through Hitlers tunnels in Germany, if I could only find an entrance. Kevrichard1979@yahoo.com
Dude, they were built 150 years ago and shut down less than 10 years ago. The article says that. Epic Rage Post FAIL.
Thank you for enlightening me on the article factual evidence. The first line States: ” For as long as I can remember…” Either you have a short memory or you are very young. I see that my second choice is much more likely to be true. The initial system was designed in 1855 and not placed in active duty til after WW1. Yes, the new branch was started in 1954 and opened in August of 1965, however in late 2002, the whole system was figured to be costing more money daily to operate than the trucks above ground. By 2002 it was ruled uneconomical. It closed in March of 2003. This is the way I read the facts from your article. Save your pictures and if you took video, it will be worth a lot of money to the country or the city as you turn 100 years old. Hold on to the video for as long as you can. Your grandchildren will benefit from it much more the longer you wait to release the information. Good Luck !
think before you write…
150 years? They only closed 8 years ago!
i love it
Having done a little urban exploring myself (nothing like this) I think I understand some of what you feel. A great read and I thank you for it. Definitly a story about the Holy Grail.
Fantastic pictures, very well documented given the circumstances. I really enjoyed reading this. A great piece of history today …
WOW great viewing, thanks for posting.
Fantastic stuff
So, now the Oxford underground railway?
Does anyone know of it even?
Been there done that, but had an escort so no pics
Keep posting stuff like this i really like it
This is fascinating. It’s such a shame that there isn’t some alternate purpose that the Mail Rail lines could be put to use for. More waste…
OMG that is so amazing. Thank you so much for this. I read it devotionally and soaked up every picture. A Dream!
It’s nice to see these photos, I worked at whitechapel po
For ten years and often took the work down to the station.
Great job guys.
Very impressive. These photo’s will record this hidden gum for history.
Awesome! I wish I had the guts to explore these.
Congratulations!
Excellent! I saw the railway in operation during a visit to Mount Pleasant in the 1980s and had pretty much forgotten about it until I read this and had no idea that it continued to operate until 2002. Perhaps, one day, when the oil has run out….
I read it all including the comments. I would have loved to do this when I was younger. I probably won’t encourage my grandchildren to see it or it will give them more ideas for risky exploration! Thanks for posting!
wow…. just- wow….
Great read & great timing, i think you were the first and will be the last possibly. with the royal wedding coming up and terrorism paranoia, i bet they are going to want to lock the place down proper. on the other hand how they can do that… oh how i miss a world where our freedom is not thwarted by other people’s fear!
When they accosted us outside 3 days later they dropped a big warning about the royal wedding, told us not to fuck around and to not come back.
Utterly brilliant.
Great work guys, you’re documenting history
Superb article - nice one
Nice, I remember a picture in a old train book of this railway also! Can anyone say if there is any truth in the rumour that there is another secret underground line connecting the MOD, Downing St. and Northolt? Has anyone been round the secret bunker in Box Hill tunnel near Bath?
I live above the route of the line, near one of the sorting offices still in use. Every night at 0.45 we hear what sounds like a train come through. It’s definitely not a tube line. From your pics the tracks look clean and complete even if the stations aren’t. Are they still running trains nightly just to keep it ticking over somehow? But you were there at that time and didn’t meet a train. So perhaps not.
I dont think trains have been run along the line in a long time. In each section between the stations air ventilators have been bolted to the tracks, there would be no way for a train to pass. The sections further away from Mount Pleasant probably havent been accessed by anyone in years, the calcium icicle deposits mostly blocked the way as we walked.
Stunning.
Best read in weeks, months. Thank you.
Screw Jeremy Kyle! Awesome pictures and great text with atmosphere of excitement. Thanks!
Any chance of getting the full-rez photography up anywhere? Even if it’s just the ones without any personel in… would be so awesome.
Maybe in the future. At the moment with the high traffic my hosting server is barely coping with bandwidth demand from low res images, so anything bigger isnt really an option.
Don’t have to be on your bandwidth tab… Flickr etc. Hell, even a torrent.
Awesome! I live not too far from Whitechapel and Liverpool Street and have always wondered what it’s like down there. I remember when the line closed down a few years back ir seemed like such as waste.
What an amazing city London is. History all around us and beneath us. Great job.
Next stop the Wapping Pump Station?
S.
Nice work. I had the great fortune to be invited to an open night on the Mail Rail back in the 80s, to see the network during its maintenance period. It’s good to see it again in such detail, but a shame it’s so run-down.
At last its been documented by an explorer. Those pics of the rave were a good spot.
Wow! How badly do I want to go there!?
It looks like a god damn particle accelerator!
Great work guys, a very thorough and enjoyable account of a wonderful adventure
Wow! Someone has finally managed to get in there!
Amazed that everything is still intact and mostly still in good nick, and frozen in time - looks like when RM closed it in 2003 they just left everything as it was, locking the door behind them.
Agree with the comments that this would make a great unusual tourist attraction. From reading the narrative, probably the best place for a museum and running line on which to carry passengers would be the New Oxford Street site, which would be handily placed at one end of London’s busiest shopping street, pretty close to the Tube (Holborn) with a piece of London’s Tramway history also close by (the entrance to the Kingsway Tram subway). It also wouldn’t bother Royal Mail as its not near any of their operational sorting offices.
Sadly, I’ve heard that when construction of Crossrail starts in earnest parts of the PO Railway tunnels are likely to be breached so this might be the last look at the complete system.
So there are no plans to convert this for tourist use?
Not with the UK’s current health and saftey policies, i hear its hard enough/near impossible for Royal Mail staff to even get access. The cost that would be required to bring the tunnels up to an acceptable standard would be astronomical, as such not financially viable.
Wow, you guys are MAD!!! Great photos. Amazing.
I’m taking these photos to bed with a latex glove a bottle of baby oil. Amazing as always!
Really interesting
I understand there was a plan by LUL to buy the system and use it as the site for their tunnel cooling system
Wow! What a great expedition and brilliant photo’s!
Fantastic performance, a really great report to read with state of the art pictures!
My hat off to you all!!
I worked on the closure of the Mail Rail in 2002-3 and had the good pleasure of spending quite some time down there, mostly at MP. You were right not to go too much further at MP, as that time of night it would’ve been very busy and youw ere not far from actual staff. I have fond memories of there. Is most odd to see somewhere I used to work regarded as a Holy Grail for UrbEx. Well done. Brave fools!
Интересные посты - читаются на одном дыхании. Пишите больше. От души респектую.
Fantastic pics, I’m so jealous! Is there any way you might consider releasing some of the full-size photos under a free license for the Wikipedia article on this (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Post_Office_Railway)? The photos on there right now are pretty average while some of your shots are fantastic - really well composed with great lighting!
This might possibly be the best fucking explore/report I’ve ever read. Sick work.
Having seen Alastair’s shots I wondered when a report would surface. Wonderful shots, excellent write up, quite rightly this can be called epic. Hats off to you all.
Fuck yeah, fantastic shots there and a top explore.
Cheers for confirming that we did in fact do this and it wasn’t just the lead up to yet another sticky mess on the sheets. The culmination of a seriously mental last few weeks, although I disagree with the idea that we’ve sucked London dry just yet
Fantastic, absolutely fantastic!
Well done lads looks wicked you did the community proud !!!!!!!!
What community?
I’m guessing an exploration one
Its funny, cos my heart says noob but my brain says pro.
Well done, son. I shall call Yaz tonight and see if we can get you a membership card for the pro-league.
When I was about 6, I had a book on trains and tunnels and things from around the world, including the Mail Rail, and it fascinated me as a little boy.
19 years on, this blog reconnected with that 6 year old boy. Great, great stuff.
Did you consider using a cart for some of the way back?
Simply brilliant! There are barely any other words for it!
This is the coolest explore I have ever EVER EVER SEEN. What I have just seen and read is beyond words. Magnificent is a SHEER understatement.
11/10
utter aceness. pics are amazing, the tunnels are a bit alien-esque.
Cracking read - cracking work!
Unreal, cutting edge urban adventure in a place that deserved to be seen - but only by the best!
what can i say? WOW, i had never heard of the mail rail before but your writeup and pictures had me gripped till the end, fantastic work thank you for sharing the experience
That’s incredible - amazing photographs and what a record of something most Londoners know absolutely nothing about!
Great work by all involved, one of the best things I have check out on the net for ages, great story to go with some wicked pics, well done all and great to see inside, beats the subbrit visits any day
I;m in awe. Not just that you got in, or that you explored everything, but that you chronicled it so thoroughly. This is gold-dust for anyone with even a passing interest in London’s subterrainia. Best of luck finding new and greater challenges-they’re out there.
Respect to all you guys who pulled this off. Your hard work and dedication yet again paid off.
Brilliant write up and photos.
The true marathon was this write up! Fantastic work Otter, you guys have inscribed one for the history books here, another Holy Grail, brought into the light by London’s finest explorers.
I’ve never had such an exciting journey - I was scared throughout. Fantastic stuff. The photography/lighting is as brilliant as ever - I might have to choose one, demand a larger pixel count and have it blown up 4 feet wide and framed.