Pneumatic Tubes: Past
Who invented the pneumatic tube system?
The Scottish engineer William Murdoch was the inventor of pneumatic tube transport for postage. Later, he developed systems for the company London Pneumatic Dispatch. The Danish engineer George Medhurst is mentioned as inventor, as well, because it is said that he began to use differences in pressure for transport from 1810. The first patent was registered by Josiah Latimer Clark in 1854 for the transport of mailings and parcels via pneumatic tubes. He also installed the above mentioned first urban pneumatic post in London.
Historic use of pneumatic tube systems
The earliest pneumatic tube systems reported were mainly used as postal service system. It connected post offices, stock exchanges, banks and ministries. Respectively, letters, telegrams, parcels, documents and cash were sent through the tubes.
The first urban pneumatic post run in London from 1853. It was only 200 meters long. From the second half of the 19th century pneumatic mail networks spread further in big cities worldwide. The networks got bigger and bigger until some had a length of up to 100 km.
New York City:
1897 until 1953 Pneumatic Mail System between 23 post offices
Pneumatic Tubes: Present
Post Offices To Hospitals
Pneumatic Tubes: Garbage
Pneumatic Tubes: Future
Snapshot
Grand Central Station Post Office NYC
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