A Train for the Dead: the London Necropolis Railway

As a city’s population grows, the desire for space to build homes, businesses, schools, and houses of worship becomes more important. City expansion is normal, as history has demonstrated, but one thing often gets overlooked.

What is a city to do with its deceased residents? If space is limited and there are more bodies than space to bury them, where do the corpses go?

This was a struggle London faced in the 19th century, as well as becoming a major health crisis. Two men proposed a unique idea: develop a railway for the dead and bury them outside the city.

This strange idea grew into the London Necropolis Railway. And it operated a service for the dead for 87 years.