The parcel
How it works
What arrives, when it arrives, how to join and how to stop.
What arrives
Every month, one story from the railways, told by the people who were there, and the pieces that go with it: an A5 story booklet, a route chart printed both sides, a signal box diagram drawn from the Ordnance Survey, a crossword, two collectable cards from a set of forty, and a postcard, wrapped in kraft, tied, wax sealed and labelled. It goes in a plain C4 envelope as a large letter, so it fits through a standard letterbox.
Every issue stands on its own: another year, another line, another night each month. The history is real; the people who tell it are ours, and the back page of every booklet says which is which. Nothing carries a real company’s crest or lettering.
See the six pieces in Issue One, photographed.
When
Parcels go on the 10th of each month. Your first parcel is that month’s issue: if the 10th is still to come it goes with everyone else’s; if it has passed, it is posted to you within three working days of joining. If a parcel goes missing, tell us and we’ll send another.
How to join, or try one
One membership, £7.99 a month including UK postage, paid by card when you join and then on the 1st of each month for that month’s parcel; or pay once for three or twelve months. If you would rather see one first, any issue still in stock can be bought on its own for £8.99, UK postage included, from the issues page.
When you pay, and when it arrives
If you join today
- When you join£7.99 for your first parcel.
- Within 3 working daysYour first parcel, Issue One: Kinnaber, is posted within three working days.
- From 1 DecThen £7.99 on the 1st of each month, starting on 1 December 2026, for that month’s parcel, posted on 10 December and the 10th of each month after.
You pay once today, and nothing again until 1 December 2026, after your first parcel has been posted. We take payment on the 1st, nine days before the parcels go, so there is time to sort out a card problem before anything goes in the post. The dates above are worked out for today.
£7.99 a month, or £23.97 for three months or £87.89 for twelve, paid once; or one parcel on its own for £8.99. Free UK delivery: every price includes postage. Payment is by card through Stripe. Cancel a monthly membership from your account at any time.
How to stop, pause or change
Sign in to your account. You can pause for up to three months a year, change your address, or cancel, all online, all from your account page, without emailing anyone. Cancelling stops the next payment and the next parcel; you keep everything you’ve received. You can also cancel within 14 days of your first parcel arriving and have that month refunded, by posting the parcel and its contents back to us at your own cost. The cancellation page sets out how.