Railways have been used for the carriage of mail since soon after the Liverpool & Manchester Railway opened in 1830, the development of the first travelling post offices following, enabling the Post Office to achieve maximum efficiencies in mail transportation. As the rail network grew the mail network grew with it, reaching a peak with the dedicated mail trains that ran between London and Aberdeen. The Post Office also turned to railways when it sought a solution to the London traffic that hindered its operations in the Capital, obtaining powers to build its own narrow gauge, automatic underground railway under the streets to connect railway stations and sorting offices. Although construction and completion were delayed by the First World War, the Post Office (London) Railway was eventually brought into use and was an essential part of Post Office operations for many years. Changing circumstances brought an end to both the travelling post offices and the underground railway but mail is still carried, in bulk, by train and a part of the railway has found a new life as the Mail Rail tourist attraction. Author Peter Johnson has delved into the archives and old newspapers to uncover the inside story of the Post Office and its use of railways to carry the mail for nearly 200 years.

Considers legislation to authorize U.S. membership in the Organization for Trade Cooperation, an international organization for GATT administration.

The true story of Owney, a dog who traveled all over the U.S.A. on mail trains from 1888 to 1896.

Beneath our feet is a secret world – and you can visit it. The 50 underground adventures featured in this book are not just for intrepid potholers and other daredevils. Hidden beneath Britain are plenty of attractions open to everyone. This is the definitive guide to the best days out underground. From caves to nuclear bunkers, sewers to secret railways, as well as abandoned mines, ancient crypts and labyrinthine tunnels, these unique tourist attractions are a journey through Britain's hidden history going back thousands of years. Travel writer Peter Naldrett explores each location with evocative, light-hearted text that reveals the fascinating history of why it came to be constructed, or how it was first discovered. As well as information about facilities and accessibility, Peter also includes essential advice about how to get there and when to go. There are atmospheric full colour photographs throughout, and boxes that highlight precisely why you should visit, as well as things to look out for when you do. Days Out Underground has something to excite everyone, especially families – here's how you entertain the kids on those wet-weather weekends!

This unique London guidebook opens the doors to sixty of the capital's most intriguing places, all visitable but not widely known. From museums of the unusual, places of worship, palaces of entertainment to some of the most historic and ornate shops, houses and hostelries in the city, take a trip through the capital's hidden treasure and discover a picture of a London which is strange, gaudy, grand and inventive. Describing the history and the character of each place, the book uncovers a wealth of stories about an endlessly fascinating world city with its own unique character. Introduction Cleopatra's Needle St Pancras Renaissance Hotel Isabella Plantation Historical Homes Syon House Charles Dickens Museum Apsley House, Number One London Eltham Palace Leighton House Museum Strawberry Hill House Two Temple Place Kew Palace and The Royal Botanical Gardens Food and Drink Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese Bibendum L. Manze Berry Bros. & Rudd Pickering Place The Ivy Smithfield Meat Market The Black Friar Palaces of Entertainment The Rivoli Ballroom Wilton's Music Hall The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club Regent's Street Cinema Gate Cinema Notting Hill The National Theatre Normansfield Theatre Wigmore Hall Gala Bingo Hall Tooting Places of Worship Westminster Cathedral Welsh Baptist Chapel Peace Pagoda Battersea Park Masonic Temple at Andaz Liverpool Street Hotel St Bartholomew the Great Bevis Marks Synagogue St Mary le Bow Shri Sanatan Hindu Mandir, Wembley Remarkable Shops LassCo Salvage L. Cornelissen & Son Truefitt and Hill Steinway & Sons James Smith & Sons John Lobb Ltd The Roof Gardens in Kensington Science and Education Kempton Steam Museum Markfield Beam Engine Museum Alexander Fleming Laboratory Museum Charterhouse Old Operating Theatre Museum and Herb Garret The Ragged School Museum London Museum of Water and Steam Royal Institution of Great Britain Inns of Court The Honourable Society of Lincoln’s Inn The Honourable Society of Gray’s Inn The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple The Temple Church Unusual Museums The Royal Airforce Museum Horniman Museum Churchill Museum and Cabinet War Rooms Geffrye Museum of the Home HMS Belfast Massey Shaw The Monument Musical Museum The Wimbledon Windmill Praise for Peter Dazeley and Mark Daly's previous book Unseen London: 'A thrilling tour behind the closed doors of the capital city's buildings.' —Daily Telegraph 'Dazeley captures the atmosphere of each building to perfection.' —Daily Express 'Fascinating.' —Fabric magazine 'A joy.' —Evening Standard