#despatch

Robert Robertson Mechamen DISPATCH GAME Fan art

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Lost London: The London Pneumatic Despatch Company

What was London’s first “tube” railway? Many would name the City and South London Railway, constructed inside a metal tube underground and opened in 1890 (and later incorporated into the Northern Line). Others, more pedantically, would say the honour of the first tube goes to the Tower Subway, which opened in 1870 and had a carriage that was cable-hauled along narrow-gauge rails. And then some may mention the London Pneumatic Despatch Company…

In the mid-19th Century, the Post Office was interested in a pneumatic tube-based system to speed up delivery times between locations in London. Engineers Thomas Rammell and Josiah Clark proposed a pneumatic railway, and formed the London Pneumatic Despatch Company to test the idea. They first set up a length of tube in Battersea Park; the tube was cast with 2 ft narrow-gauge track, and was just over 450 yards in length. Using a steam engine to drive a large fan, air was blown down the tube, pushing a small capsule through it. The capsules were fitted with rubber flaps to help create an airtight seal, enabling capsules of up to 3 tonnes in weight to achieve speeds of up to 40 miles per hour. Though intended for freight, during the experiments some people were allowed to sit (or more likely lie) in the capsules to experience the sensation of the pneumatic railway.

With the testing a success, Rammell and Clark moved on to construct a permanent line between Euston station and the North West District Post Office, which was approximately a third of a mile away. The line was tested from 15th January 1863, with operation starting on 20th February. The journey time for a capsule between the two terminals was approximately one minute (so, a speed of around 20 miles per hour), and initially thirteen journeys were made per day, with the Post Office being charged a nominal fee by the London Pneumatic Despatch Company to use the service.

In the subsequent years, the pneumatic tube system was extended eastwards, first to Holborn, and then on to the Post Office headquarters on St. Martin's le Grand. For those who could afford it, they could ride the length of the system – they were provided with a candle to light up their journey beneath the streets, reportedly coming so close to the road surface at points that they could hear the clatter of horse’s hooves on the cobble stones.

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