The London Necropolis & National Mausoleum Company was set up in 1850 to deal with the increasing lack of burial space within the capitol, which it decided to tackle by creating a massive cemetery in Brookwood, Surrey.
In order to handle the logistics, special trains were laid on at the custom built London Necropolis railway station, adjacent to Waterloo station, to transport the deceased and the funeral parties directly to what, by 1854, was the world's biggest graveyard.
Demand never met supply, however, and the twice daily service soon diminished to a bespoke 'by request' system. The railway continued to operate sporadically up until 1941, however, when it was badly damaged in a German bombing raid. All that's left today is the facade, which is pictured above
Lovely to see this picture. I first became aware of this line via Andrew Martin's murder mystery The Necropolis Railway. Worth a read to all aspiring hauntologists.
ReplyDelete