A similar principle was applied to this railway, where a carriage fitted with a large collar of bristles was sucked along an airtight tunnel that measured 10 by 9 feet (3.0 by 2.7 metres).

[2] It operated for just over two months, and may have been a demonstration line for a more substantial atmospheric railway planned between Waterloo and Whitehall, construction of which was started under the Thames but never completed.

[5] The carriage at the upper terminus was allowed to enter the tunnel under its own weight, when "a pair of iron doors, hinged like lock gates" was closed behind it.

[6] As the vehicle approached the lower terminus it was slowed by a short, uphill section of track and the release of the propelling air pressure as it passed a grating open to the atmosphere; the only intervention required from the operator was the application of the brake.

The tunnel ran for 600 yards (550 metres) between the Sydenham and Penge entrances to the park, and had to negotiate a difficult bend along the line.