“The Press” In 1866

Press, Volume CV, Issue 30971, 29 January 1966, Page 14

“The Press” In 1866

January 30 LONDON MAIL TUBE.—On Tuesday, a ceremony of much scientific and public interest took place at the offices of the Pneumatic Despatch Company, Holborn. This consisted in the opening publicly of the first portion of the tube which is soon to connect the General Post-office with the terminus of the London and North-west Railway, and which, if the promoters succeed to the full extent of their expectations, is eventually to open up a new system of communication throughout the metropolis . . . With a moderate amount of pressure the pneumatic train is propelled at a speed of twenty-five miles an hour ... At last a telegraphic tinkling indicated that the greater portion of the journey had been accomplished. A second and third

signal followed at no great intervals, and almost immediately [the doors of the tube flew open in the gallery below Holborn] and in rolled solemnly four dwarfish iron waggons, weighing with their contents some ten tons in the aggregate .. . After the train had made some successful passages to and fro, several of the party expressed a strong desire to pass through the tube themselves . . . Tarpaulin coverings were obtained for one or two of the carriages, but the greater number of the excursionists had to fit themselves in as best they could among the bags of shingle, taking care to keep their heads well below the edges of the carriages, lest, as an American gentleman present was credited with saying, “they might get their hair brushed by machinery.”