It was a hard fourth dimension to travel live inwards 1848 London , as well as worse withal to travel dead. Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 cholera epidemic had simply swept through the urban substance killing nearly fifteen ,000 of its inhabitants , as well as bodies were literally pilling upward likewise churches waiting to travel buried. But at that topographic point was i problem: at that topographic point was no infinite to bury.
The population of London was soaring. In 1801 , the urban substance had less than a meg people living. In 1851 , that figure had to a greater extent than than doubled to almost ii as well as a one-half million. But the 300 acres allotted for burial infinite rest unchanged , requiring old graves , as well as unopen to relatively fresh ones , to travel regularly exhumed to brand room for novel burials. The old corpses were crumpled as well as scattered contaminating the soil as well as H2O render resulting inwards fresh bouts of epidemics. Cholera , smallpox , measles , typhoid were pervasive inwards Victorian London.
A 3rd cast coffin ticket issued to passengers of the London Necropolis Railway. Photo credit: qi.com
Eventually , a determination was taken —there were to travel no to a greater extent than burials inwards London’s graveyards. Instead , a serial of novel cemeteries were to travel established far exterior the city. One such cemetery , inwards Brookwood , 37 km away from London , became the largest inwards the United Kingdom. Covering 1 ,500 acres , the site was designed to final , yesteryear a conservative gauge , over 350 years to produce total simply a unmarried layer. In society to ferry the dead as well as their household unit of measurement of mourners the long distance , a dedicated railroad was built , named the London Necropolis Railway.
Everyday , starting Nov 1854 , a unmarried educate carrying coffins as well as the household unit of measurement of the dead left London for Brookwood from a dedicated station inwards Waterloo. The 37-km journeying had no stops as well as took forty minutes to cover. Mourners would accomplish Brookwood presently after mid-day , bury their dead , receive got a funeral political party at i of the cemetery’s ii educate stations , as well as and thus receive got the same educate dorsum , returning to London yesteryear 3:30 PM.
Like regular rider trains , the Necropolis educate had classes. Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 commencement cast ticket allowed the household unit of measurement to select where they wanted to inter the dead inside the cemetery. They could also erect a permanent memorial over the grave. Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 2nd cast ticket gave unopen to command over the pick of the grave site , but erecting permanent memorials terms extra. The 3rd cast was for pauper funerals. Compartments , both for living as well as for dead passengers , were also partitioned yesteryear religion —as was the custom at the time— to forbid people from dissimilar social backgrounds from mixing.
A map showing the place of diverse cemeteries planned exterior London to tackle the burial crises. The ruby draw of piece of occupation indicates the route of the London Necropolis Railway from London to the Brookwood Cemetery. Image credit: iridescent/Wikimedia
Proposed solutions to the burial crisis , 1852. Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 band of novel cemeteries had opened or were nether evolution exterior the built-up expanse of London , but were alone a temporary solution. Edwin Chadwick planned ii large novel cemeteries simply exterior the boundaries of the Metropolitan Burial District , spell the promoters of the Necropolis system planned a unmarried large cemetery far plenty from the metropolis thus equally never to travel affected yesteryear urban increase , to travel reached yesteryear railway.
The necropolis railway never took off inwards the agency the London Necropolis Company had hoped. At its peak , from 1894 to 1903 , the educate carried alone nigh 2 ,300 bodies a yr , far less than the l ,000 the promoters hoped it would carry. In 1902 , the daily educate service was ended because of lack of passengers , running alone on demand. By the 1930s it was odd for the trains to piece of occupation to a greater extent than than twice a week.
The railway’s expiry knell came on the nighttime of Apr 16-17 , 1941 , inwards i of the worst air raids on London , when bombs ripped through the London Necropolis Railway Station as well as made much of the tracks unusable. After the state of war , the fellowship decided that reopening the Necropolis Railway was non financially worthwhile , as well as closed the line. By as well as thus , the trains had run for 87 years transporting slightly over 200 ,000 dead bodies.
Only a few reminders of this morbid railway service rest today. The ii stations inwards the cemetery were demolished during the 1960s as well as the ruins subsequently caught fire. The tracks were long since lifted away to travel melted or reused elsewhere. In London , the entrance edifice to the mortal station at 121 Westminster Bridge Road remains largely intact , but the advert LONDON NECROPOLIS RAILWAY that was i time inscribed inwards the awning’s rock is no longer there.
Although odd , the London Necropolis Railway wasn’t the alone railway inwards the footing dedicated to dead passengers. From 1867 until 1948 , the Rookwood Cemetery nigh Sydney was serviced yesteryear a similar railway draw of piece of occupation called the Rookwood Cemetery Line. Likewise , inwards Melbourne , transfer to the Springvale Necropolis was carried out through the dedicated Spring Vale Cemetery railway. In Berlin , the Friedhofsbahn (Cemetery Line) operated from 1913 until 1952. There was a similar railway inwards Finland.
North Station was i of the ii cemetery stations where passengers could relax as well as refresh themselves after the ceremony (Credit: Private collection of John Clarke)
The Westminster Bridge Road entrance to the commencement London Necropolis Railway station , built inwards 1854. It was demolished after the novel station was built inwards 1902.
The necropolis railway educate , shown hither inwards 1907 , approaches North Station at Brookwood Cemetery. Photo credit: John Clarke
Aftermath of the bombing of the London Necropolis Railway's buildings inwards London , nighttime of Apr 16–17 , 1941. Photo credit: John Clarke
The entrance to the ‘new’ station shown inwards 1902 , left , as well as today , correct
The department of rails exterior the acquaint Brookwood Station that commemorates the Brookwood Cemetery Railway run yesteryear the London Necropolis Company. Photo credit: Nedueb/Wikimedia
The overgrown ruins of Brookwood North station. Photo credit: iridescent/Wikimedia
Brookwood Station , opened inwards 1864 , withal serves educate passengers today. Photo credit: Paul Smith/Wikimedia
South (cemetery-side) entrance to Brookwood railway station , Surrey. The raised embankment which formerly carried the Necropolis Railway rises behind the tall fighting to bring together the head London–Salisbury line. Photo credit: iridescent/Wikimedia
Sources: Wikipedia / BBC / www.transporttrust.com