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London Post Office Railway

1927 establishments in England2003 disestablishments in England2 ft gauge railways in EnglandElectric railways in the United KingdomHistory of rail transport in London
Industrial railways in EnglandLondon Post Office RailwayPostal history of the United KingdomPostal infrastructure in the United KingdomRailway lines closed in 2003Railway lines opened in 1927Subterranean LondonTunnels completed in 1927Tunnels in LondonUnderground railways in the United Kingdom
Mail Rail trains (13267574833)
Mail Rail trains (13267574833)

The Post Office Railway, is a 2 ft (610 mm) narrow gauge, driverless underground railway in London that was built by the Post Office with assistance from the Underground Electric Railways Company of London, to transport mail between sorting offices. Inspired by the Chicago Tunnel Company, it opened in 1927 and operated for 76 years until it closed in 2003. A museum within the former railway was opened in September 2017.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article London Post Office Railway (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

London Post Office Railway
Calthorpe Street, London Clerkenwell (London Borough of Islington)

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Wikipedia: London Post Office RailwayContinue reading on Wikipedia

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 51.524 ° E -0.1126 °
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Address

London Central Mail Centre (Mount Pleasant Mail Centre)

Calthorpe Street
WC1X 9HX London, Clerkenwell (London Borough of Islington)
England, United Kingdom
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Mail Rail trains (13267574833)
Mail Rail trains (13267574833)
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Coldbath Fields riot
Coldbath Fields riot

The Coldbath Fields riot took place in Clerkenwell, London, on 13 May 1833. It began as a meeting organised by the National Union of the Working Classes (NUWC), a political organisation associated with the Southwark-based Rotunda radicals. The NUWC called for the extension of the electoral franchise beyond that granted in the Reform Act of 1832 and opposed the Metropolitan Police, which had been established in 1829, as an infringement of civil liberties. The Whig government of Lord Grey opposed the meeting and Home Secretary Lord Melbourne declared it illegal. The police infiltrated the NUWC in the run-up to the meeting and planned to disperse it. There are varying figures for the number present at the meeting of between 70 and 600 police officers and 300 to 6,000 members of the public. Both Commissioners of Police of the Metropolis, Sir Charles Rowan and Sir Richard Mayne, were present and two British Army officers stood by to summon military reinforcements if needed. It is disputed which side started the violence but Rowan led a number of baton charges that dispersed the crowd and arrested the NUWC leaders. The crowd were pursued into side streets and a portion were trapped in Calthorpe Street. Three police officers were stabbed and one, Constable Robert Culley, was killed. There were few serious injuries inflicted on members of the public. A coroner's jury ruled Culley's death was justifiable homicide as the police had failed to read the Riot Act and been heavy handed in their dispersal of the crowd. This verdict was overturned by a government appeal to the High Court of Justice, but no man was brought to trial for Culley's murder. George Fursey was charged with the wounding of the other two officers but was acquitted by a jury at the Old Bailey. The coroner's jury, who had been feted by the Radicals, complained to the House of Commons. A select committee investigated the riot and largely exonerated the police, noting that Melbourne's declaration of the meeting as illegal was invalid as it had not been signed.