London's secret Mail Rail

"London's secret Mail Rail is turned into a first-class tourist attraction"
No secret on here , but may be of interest.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/travel/news/a ... d=11976660" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

There was an open day about the time the service closed - 20 years ago - and I visited one of the stations and saw trains moving. It's a great pity they can't find a new use for this asset. But with the rise of e-mail there are fewer letters. I suppose the tourist trip will be something to keep it in being - or at least the small part they will use. People do propose new uses but none of them seem likely to happen.

Another reason for its demise is that the privatised postal business has changed its method of sending letters. It now uses roads more and some air travel. The Mail Rail connects with the railways which have largely ended their role in the postal system.

I always find it amusing how headline writers like to include words like "secret". Of course it was not secret: although not well known by the general public, it was well known to anyone interested in either rail or postal matters, as well as London experts.

It reminds me a bit of a headline in a reputable railway magazine a few years back. A non-railfan tourist wandering around Dar es Salaam came across steam loco no 2927 and suddenly there were stories appearing about how a steam loco had been "discovered" in Tanzania. In fact it was well known within the East African railway community how 2927 had been restored, who had restored her, the trips she had run, where she was located, her current condition, etc, and the whole story was already easily accessible online, but the fact that a member of the general public had suddenly become aware of it now meant a "discovery". I was one of many who wrote to that railway magazine pointing out their error, to which I received a rather lame reply that they relied on their informants and couldn't be expected to check everything! "Checking" on Google took me just a few seconds and turned up a whole page of links to stories about the restoration of 2927 going back several years.

A mate of mine who is a historian and London walking guide has been to the mail rail museum, although he didn't ride the train. The train only goes round the old turning loop, not into the main tunnels. He tells me that the old maintenance area has been turned into the visitor centre, which is a shame as it would have been interesting to preserve that in its original form. It's fully booked months in advance, although he tells me you might get a spare seat if you turn up very early in the morning. Apparently the cafe is very good.

johnthefireman wrote:I always find it amusing how headline writers like to include words like "secret". Of course it was not secret: although not well known by the general public, it was well known to anyone interested in either rail or postal matters, as well as London experts.

It reminds me a bit of a headline in a reputable railway magazine a few years back. A non-railfan tourist wandering around Dar es Salaam came across steam loco no 2927 and suddenly there were stories appearing about how a steam loco had been "discovered" in Tanzania. In fact it was well known within the East African railway community how 2927 had been restored, who had restored her, the trips she had run, where she was located, her current condition, etc, and the whole story was already easily accessible online, but the fact that a member of the general public had suddenly become aware of it now meant a "discovery". I was one of many who wrote to that railway magazine pointing out their error, to which I received a rather lame reply that they relied on their informants and couldn't be expected to check everything! "Checking" on Google took me just a few seconds and turned up a whole page of links to stories about the restoration of 2927 going back several years.

In 1964 there was still plenty of steam in use. I am pretty sure that I travelled behind steam from Mombasa to Kampala in October of that year. I also remember seeing steam at that time on the branch from Kisumu to Butere - a tank locomotive. I remember travelling from Eldoret to Kampala by steam - I can remember talking to the European driver at Eldoret station - who was probably soon to be terminated. I am not sure when the steamers were all replaced by diesels. I assume the diesels would have used less oil per mile, though of course of a higher quality. The steamers used very heavy oil, presumably cheaper to buy.

Yes, there was still plenty of steam around in East Africa in the '60s and '70s. By the '90s it was completely dieselised. Then in the 2000s three Kenyan steam locos (5918, 3020 and 2409) and one Tanzanian (2927) were brought back to life by volunteers.

johnthefireman wrote:Yes, there was still plenty of steam around in East Africa in the '60s and '70s. By the '90s it was completely dieselised. Then in the 2000s three Kenyan steam locos (5918, 3020 and 2409) and one Tanzanian (2927) were brought back to life by volunteers.

Will there be anywhere to use them now that the gauge has changed?

Well, so far the gauge hasn't changed, in the sense that the metre gauge lines still exist. Kenya Railways has invested quite a lot in the metre gauge commuter network around Nairobi in recent years, and as far as I know there are no plans to replace that with standard gauge. Also the Magadi soda company (now owned by Tata) has invested significantly in metre gauge, running it's own self-contained railway from Magadi to Konza and then hauling its own trains onwards from Konza to Mombasa. A government minister has recently said that they will refurbish the metre gauge to act as a second, alternative route to the standard gauge, but that goes against previous policy so let's see. We hope that there will still be at least short stretches of metre gauge remaining.

I need to split the Kenyan info off from London mail, But not sure what to head it . Can one of you do a post with a suitable heading and intro , and I will split the lot off this thread. Thanks .

"Future of metre gauge steam in East Africa"?

johnthefireman wrote:A mate of mine who is a historian and London walking guide has been to the mail rail museum, although he didn't ride the train. The train only goes round the old turning loop, not into the main tunnels. He tells me that the old maintenance area has been turned into the visitor centre, which is a shame as it would have been interesting to preserve that in its original form. It's fully booked months in advance, although he tells me you might get a spare seat if you turn up very early in the morning. Apparently the cafe is very good.

I haven't seen anything about new uses for the mailrail system. I assume that no discussion is going on. As the Post Office has been privatised I suppose that government has given up any interest. As a result it is purely of historical interest.

Maybe interesting:
Munich, Germany: Had a post tunnel (narrow gauge) train. Tracks are gone, tunnel still exists.
Zurich, Switzerland: Had a mail rail, not much info known.
Chicago freight tunnels: Known, I think
Paris had a money tunnel (narrow gauge) that connected to a loading platform in the Metro system.
Best wishes, Andrew