Hidden London Hangouts S3E11 - Mail Rail

[@lawriedavidson6351]

When it was still operating and I worked in the London Transport Schedules office at 55 Broadway, we organised at visit to Mount Pleasant. We were shown round the station and observed the trains operating. And I was chosen to start one of the trains in the cabin by pulling a lever. I've never been more excited in my life, talk about being a child again !!

[@alexgrundon2346]

Fab place indeed!

[@edgware9]

Excellent & different show .Thanks also to Chis Taft knowledgeable and succinct .

[@kevinreed9232]

OF course many thanks to Chris Taft.

[@JamesThePlonker]

Chris has so much knowledge in his brain the word Nixipedia came to mind

[@mapala78]

During my time working in (PHQ) Postal Headquarters, one of my bosses arranged a visit to Mount Pleasant for the Post Office Railway to which I was invited to. This was when it was still a working system. We saw the the control cabin, car depot and had a walk into one of the tunnels. Also I was allowed to press the start button on the platform to inform control cabin was ready to leave.

[@themistocleszammit]

I remember seeing a piece about this on Blue Peter in the 1960s.

[@longbranchmike7846]

Thanks for the shoutout of my comment!

[@isashax]

Funny enough, 6 years ago today I was on the Mail Rail. That was certainly a fab experience and loved every minute. Had no idea that this existed till the tickets started to be on sale!

[@carey42]

Reaaly interesting session this evening, thanks to you all. I visited MailRail a few weeks before the first lockdown. Looking forward to the end of this madness and more real Hidden London trips!!

[@dottietalksalot5033]

I did a ghost hunt at Aldwych a few years back and picked up the presence of an actress called Mary Anne who had worked at the demolished theatre. I never knew the stories though prior to watching this episode! Aldwych has got a really magical atmosphere I think and well worth a visit if you can. And I got to sit in the drivers can of a stationary train too!

[@martxw]

Looking forward to this. I've ridden the train and taken the walk. Amberley Museum down in Sussex have a good example of a Mail Rail train, and an interesting video accompaniment.

[@alexgrundon2346]

Very much like the A La Carte Kitchen, it’s like the real world but petite...

[@edgware9]

Apostrophe Police were unhappy seeing "St Pauls (Post Office)" in the early part of the show. Correctly, It is "St Paul's Cathedral" . As for Barons Court. it is named after The Baronscourt estate in Co Tyrone, Northern Ireland, where Sir William Palliser, who built much of the area had connections. Unlike Earl's Court station, Barons Court is written without an apostrophe .The decor at Barons Court is Art Nouveau not as mentioned Art-Deco.

[@liamkenny6747]

This was a fascinating episode. Thanks for pulling it all together...

[@huskysquirrel]

Great episode! Had no idea about the Postal Museum so a visit there is now on the post-lockdown list.

[@unittaskforce]

A really great episode. I love the Mail Rail and the museum is well worth a visit. And you have to admire the innovation that created it. Thanks to you all.😀👍

[@skyrules2007]

Another interesting episode and another thing to add to our ever growing list of things to visit when we (hopefully) get to London in September 2022. Thanks for the mention in notes and comments too. Still keenly following the hangouts from "down below" 😀 🇦🇺🇦🇺

[@swiper1818]

Superb information and extremely interesting 👍

[@ulazygit]

I know you guys did a metroland video not so long ago, but could you consider a ‘beyond Amersham’ and the tram line? Also cover off any stations that have shifted/been replaced and naturally, those now closed?

[@alexgrundon2346]

All ideas gratefully received!

[@johnreynolds3428]

How have I missed this? Great content, cool people and really interesting! Nice work guys. Regards John

[@markellis6413]

Did this recently. Fascinating trip. Remember the postal rail system being on Jim'll Fix It back in the late 70's/early 80's. Think it was also on Nationwide back in the day too..

[@johndavidbaldwin3075]

The post Office Railway was shown at the Festival of Britain (1951) looking down on it from above

[@marcomlucchetti6126]

Wow! What I could say more? I really loved this episode. I didn’t know it was still in existance. Thank you very much, guys!

[@twiggyclarklondon]

I am surprised to hear that Siddy & Alex both say they never knew of this Royal Mail underground train system 😂 . I am a Londoner aged 42 and I have always been aware that this was in existence. Thanks for the video.

[@Robslondon]

Wonderful video, I’ve always been fascinated by the Mail Rail. Would highly recommend a visit to the Post Office Museum; it’s great fun!

[@srfurley]

When it was still operating it had some closed stations, didn’t it. Staff were forbidden to ride on trains, but there was a people carrying vehicle for maintenance purposes. It was hardly secret, it was well known and there were pictures of it operating readily available and until the last few years visits were organised. I went on one, I cannot remember the date but it was the opening day of Thameslink and I used that line from Herne Hill to Farringdon to get there. When I went they were even still doing their own motor rewinds, though I believe that this was later contracted out.

[@alirez6756]

I'm looking forward to seeing what pattern of Moquette they use on the mail rail seats, i hope it is letter shaped!

[@stigroo9058]

With tiny postal stamps😂

[@alexgrundon2346]

Love that comment

[@MrSteveFurness-Lappin]

Late to the party on this one 😂, but I visited Mailrail on my honeymoon, I have to say it was fantastic, the museum was very nice and informative but the highlight was definitely the trip in the tunnel, my inner engineer was loving every second, the stops and projections were really interesting too.. I hope one day they can reopen the rest of the line, that would be really cool. Question if I may? Where does this tube sit in relation to the London Underground? Is it higher or lower or does it pass between any lines?

[@kevinreed9232]

Hi, thank you very much for another very interesting episode.is it correct that people who work for the government use a door that connects to one of the platforms at Westminster underground station?.keep safe all of you wonderful people.

[@alexgrundon2346]

Hi Kev - having used that entrance I can confirm there is one which leads - via all the usual security and ticket checks and more besides - to private property. Not so much a secret door; more one the public would just have no reason to use. But it’s there.

[@longbranchmike7846]

Vote from me for Barons Court Art Deco station episode!

[@mapala78]

How weird at 48.11 it looks a piece of white paper flashing across the screen, just like when you were doing the WW2 set up. (I can't remember episode it was).

[@alexgrundon2346]

Have we got a ghost again? The last thing we need right now is the willies

[@laurahilton3210]

Oooh we need to check this out Alex!

[@JP_TaVeryMuch]

Chris Taft was turning over his A4 sheet notes and the other one was one of the Deep Shelter visits, Stockwell I think. That one was a reflection, if memory serves. Sorry to burst the balloon.

[@panderjitsinghvv8199]

Good series on the Hyperloop over on some other channel... "Thunderf00t".

[@JP_TaVeryMuch]

25:10 Now try saying that again. Along the lines of "I'm not a pheasant plucker, I'm a pheasant plucker's mate"

[@geoffreymartin2764]

Happy to say I was the 333th like on this episode 'S3E11 - Mail Rail' Greetings from Sydney. 🏳‍🌈

[@thomascook578]

That old lady in the picture is thinking....is that the FA Cup or are you just pleased to see me

[@ianbuchanan2461]

It is my recollection, from long ago working round the LUL system, that there is somewhere in a LUL tunnel where you can see the Post Office Railway, is this correct and if so where?

[@marknewman8383]

Once again a fantastic episode and really keeping us going to the bitter end of all this palaver. Found this link and thought it may whet the appetite of yourself and the many other HLH fans. kzbin.info/www/bejne/aKTalX-ri8xgr9k It’s from an episode of Magpie (Thames television) in 1979, and tells us how letters were handled in those days. We enjoyed it and hope you do too.

[@JP_TaVeryMuch]

Thank you for that extra trip down Chancery, err, memory lane. Dreams of manhandling the BRUTEs into the Goods lifts at BTM GPO Sorting Office back when I was a schoolboy Christmas Casual. Loadsa fun, loadsa skiving and the only time I ever grassed someone up ~ when he saw a parcel made from Christmas wrapping paper obviously by a Granny, another temp smashed it against the metal parcel chute. Couldn't let that pass. He got the sack (unintentional ho ho ho!) and I got the rest of my shift off, fully paid.

[@johnvincent2792]

Been and got the t shirt. Fabulous museum but needs more publicity as many do not know it exists! Didn’t know about the tunnel walkabout so that’s on the bucket list. In my visit I noted the fabulous stone columns outside which I subsequently modelled for my latest O gauge project. Can be seen on my queenstreet24 Instagram Mr Alex 🙏❤️😎

[@alexgrundon2346]

Saw the pic of your column and loved it. It’s so tough being a museum right now. Part of the reason we highlighted Mail Rail was to raise awareness of the place. It’s lovely. Almost as good at the London Transport Museum!

[@johnvincent2792]

@@alexgrundon2346 Yes it has been tough but rest assured some of us will support you when we can get back through the doors. After where would be today without history and the fact that the underground as well as railways generally changed the face of this country. Can’t wait to get back on the tours. Just missed out on Euston when all the tours were cancelled. Underground tour bucket list is huge and certainly I’m up for scheduling more to catch up, atb Alex 😎🙏