Subterranean London's Forgotten Pneumatic Dispatch Railway

image credit: Alfred Beach

In 1855, inventor and social reformer Sir Roland Hill commissioned a feasibility study on the construction of a pneumatic tube-based system between the General Post Office and the West District Central Post Office in London, UK.

Developed by the London Pneumatic Dispatch Company, the tube system was meant to transport mail, parcels and light freight between several key locations. But despite favourable reports, the scheme was considered too expensive.