WEBVTT - Why Did London Once Have a Train for the Dead?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff from How Stuff Works, Hey, brain Stuff,

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<v Speaker 1>Lauren bog Obam. Here, would you ride a train with

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<v Speaker 1>undead passengers? Or if not, what about a train with

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<v Speaker 1>actually dead passengers? From eighteen fifty four to nineteen forty one,

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<v Speaker 1>the London Necropolis Railway took a forty minute journey across

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<v Speaker 1>twenty three miles that's thirty seven kilometers, carrying both the

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<v Speaker 1>deceased and the living who mourned them to a cemetery.

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<v Speaker 1>After departing a special station near Waterloo built specifically for

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<v Speaker 1>the line and its passengers, the train rocked its way

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<v Speaker 1>across the serene countryside on a route selected for its

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<v Speaker 1>comforting views. Once arriving at the Brookwood Cemetery in Surrey,

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<v Speaker 1>at the time the world's largest cemetery and built in

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<v Speaker 1>partnership with the railroad, funeral goers would lay there dearly

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<v Speaker 1>departed to rest, and then have drinks and snacks at

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<v Speaker 1>one of the cemetery's two train stations. So we spoke

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<v Speaker 1>with John Clark, author of the two thousand six book

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<v Speaker 1>The Brookwood Necropolis Railway. He said both cemetery stations had

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<v Speaker 1>refreshment rooms, usually run by the wives of the station staff.

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<v Speaker 1>The cakes and sandwich has served would probably have been homemade,

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<v Speaker 1>and it would have been customary to eat this lunch

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<v Speaker 1>with a cup of tea at the station before returning

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<v Speaker 1>to London. The refreshment rooms were fully licensed, so guests

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<v Speaker 1>could have alcoholic drinks as an alternative to tea or coffee.

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<v Speaker 1>After this brief repast, the guests then boarded the train

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<v Speaker 1>and returned to London, the trains passenger list a bit

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<v Speaker 1>lighter than before. The idea may seem odd today, when

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<v Speaker 1>many of us keep the dead as far from daily

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<v Speaker 1>life as possible, but at the time it was a

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<v Speaker 1>popular one. During its peak, London's Necropolis Railway transported more

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<v Speaker 1>than two thousand dead bodies a year. The number of

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<v Speaker 1>live mourners that carried reached into the tens of thousands.

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<v Speaker 1>Even so, riding in the same train as corpses took

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<v Speaker 1>some getting used to. Londoners initially wondered whether loading up

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<v Speaker 1>the mourners and the deceased and transporting them on the

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<v Speaker 1>same train was a bit too practical. The Bishop of London,

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<v Speaker 1>when appearing before the Houses of Parliament a full twelve

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<v Speaker 1>years before the Necropolis Railway opened, considered it improper. Clark

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<v Speaker 1>says that the bishop stated he would consider the hurry

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<v Speaker 1>and bustle connected with it as inconsistent with the solemnity

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<v Speaker 1>of a Christian funeral. Plus, there were they corporeal elements

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<v Speaker 1>with which to contend, such as the odors and potential

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<v Speaker 1>disease transmission of the bodies. Social morays were tested to

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<v Speaker 1>could the rich really ride side by side with the

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<v Speaker 1>poor to bury their dead? And the concern wasn't limited

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<v Speaker 1>only two people of different social classes. There could be

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<v Speaker 1>different religions aboard, each requiring its own traditions. The solution,

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<v Speaker 1>at least aboard the Necropolis railway was elegant in its simplicity.

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<v Speaker 1>Separate cars were designated by class, but all were allowed

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<v Speaker 1>to ride, regardless of their station in life. The cemetery, meanwhile,

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<v Speaker 1>allowed the rich and poor to be buried side by side,

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<v Speaker 1>but sectioned separate areas for various religions. It was a

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<v Speaker 1>workable solution for the time, and one driven by a necessity,

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<v Speaker 1>if you could argue. London's in town cemeteries were already

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<v Speaker 1>chock full. By the middle of the nineteenth century, Londoners

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<v Speaker 1>were being buried at a rate of about fifty thousand

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<v Speaker 1>a year. Previously buried bodies were sometimes removed and cremated

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<v Speaker 1>to make room for new ones, until Parliament began closing

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<v Speaker 1>admission at city cemeteries and shipping bodies to greener pastures

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<v Speaker 1>like the out of town Brookwood Cemetery, which encompassed about

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<v Speaker 1>one thousand, five hundred acres. By the nineteen twenties, motorized

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<v Speaker 1>horses were the vehicle of choice for moving the dead,

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<v Speaker 1>and many Londoners had access to either automobiles or one

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<v Speaker 1>of the trains of the living that also made a

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<v Speaker 1>stop at Brookwood Station, and in April ninety one, during

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<v Speaker 1>World War Two, the London terminus of the funeral train

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<v Speaker 1>was damaged in a German V two rocket bombing. Brookwood

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<v Speaker 1>no longer serves exclusively as a departure spot for the

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<v Speaker 1>dead and their mourners, but remnants of these stations are

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<v Speaker 1>still visible if you know where to look. How's that

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<v Speaker 1>for living history? Today's episode was written by laure L

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<v Speaker 1>Dove and produced by Tyler Playing. For more on this

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<v Speaker 1>and lots of other Lively topics, visit our home planet,

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<v Speaker 1>how Stuff Works dot Com.