Family activity: Mail Rail models

Inspiration

Yorks were wheeled containers loaded onto Mail Rail trains. They carried parcels, letters and important messages from all over the UK and around the world as they travelled across London on Mail Rail. Some of them were even used by Mail Rail engineers to store their tools and equipment.

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Instructions

• Download and print the template below, then colour in and decorate your York.
• Cut and fold along the guidelines shown, then stick the York together using glue or tape.
• Leave the top flap unglued so that you can use it as a box to put things in! What will you keep in your York?

Inspiration

Separate from the London Underground network, Mail Rail (originally the London Post Office Railway) opened in 1927 and ran for more than 75 years, closing on 31st May 2003. Built specifically to carry mail, it was a driverless electric narrow gauge railway running for 6 ½ miles from Paddington to Whitechapel, connecting some of London’s main sorting offices with the main line railway stations at Paddington and Liverpool Street.

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Instructions

• Download and print the template below, then colour in and decorate your 1920s Mail Rail train.
• Cut and fold along the guidelines shown, then stick the train together using glue or tape.
• Cut out and stick on circles for the wheels of the train.

We’d love to see what you’ve created! Share with us on Facebook and Instagram.

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