Underground Stock

10012, 012256, 12048 & 11012 Rickmansworth 14 September 2008

The highlight of the London Transport Museum's Heritage Day on 14 September 2008 was the use of the immaculately restored 1938 tube train set (10012, 012256, 12048 & 11012). It is seen here approaching Rickmansworth with the 11:30 Amersham to Watford special. Although there were plenty of photographers about, not all the trains were full, no doubt due to the rather high £25 fare for a very short journey.

10012, 012256, 12048 & 11012 Chorleywood 14 September 2008

The beautifully restored 1938 tube train set (10012, 012256, 12048 & 11012) attracts a great deal of attention as it passes through Chorleywood station on 14 September 2008 with the 12:58 Amersham to Harrow special train. This was one of number of special trains using heritage traction during the London Transport Museum's Heritage Day. Luckily after weeks of bad weather, the sun decided to make an appearance, and despite clouds building up during the day, for once they kept away at the critical moment!

483002 Ryde St John's Road 28 May 2013

Out of use for nearly a decade, 483002 Raptor is pictured outside Ryde St John's Road depot on a very rainy 28 May 2013. Devoid of all numbers, this former London Transport unit is now surplus to requirements of the Isle of Wight, and although it was repainted into LT livery, along with the rest of the fleet, years of standing out in the open means it is now gathering a coating of green mold, especially on the windows.

483004 Ryde St John's Road 28 May 2013

483004 stands outside Ryde St John's Road depot on 28 May 2013. Ten of these former London Transport underground units were moved to the Isle of Wight in 1989, with exactly half of the fleet still in active service. Two units were cut up in 2001, followed by another two in 2006. Considering these units are now 75 years old, it is now slightly ironic that the oldest rolling stock on the network also turns out to be the most reliable! In fairness, the totally self contained Island network and short route, also play a part in this.

483006 Ryde St John's Road 28 May 2013

483006 approaches Ryde St John's Road on a very damp 28 May 2013 with the 2D47 17:07 Ryde Pier to Shanklin service. The line here runs alongside Monktonmead Brook, with concrete strengthening on the edge of the line. In the background Ryde St John's Road fixed distant signal can be seen.

483006 Ryde St John's Road 29 May 2013

483006 rounds the curve past Ryde bus depot in superb early morning light on 29 May 2013 with the 2U12 07:38 Shanklin to Ryde Pier Head service. It has just pulled away from Ryde St John's Road station, which is situated just beyond the bridge in the background. Note the rusting remains of the Southern Vectis National Bus Company sign on the asbestos clad building.

483006 Brading 29 May 2013

483006 approaches Brading on 29 May 2013 with the 2U20 09:38 Shanklin to Ryde Pier Head service. These former London Transport units were built in 1938 by Metro Cammell, and had already seen half a century of intensive use in the capital, before being sent to the seaside for a second career. They have been on the Isle of Wight since 1989, when they replaced even older LT trains.

483006 Smallbrook Junction 31 May 2013

483006 approaches Smallbrook Junction on 31 May 2013 with the 2D17 09:49 Ryde Pier Head to Shanklin service. A little further on the train will be passing the junction with the Isle of Wight Steam Railway, but as this is before the first steam train of the day, it will not be stopping.

483006 Ryde St John's Road 31 May 2013

483006 approaches Ryde St John's Road in slightly hazy light on 31 May 2013 with the 2D29 12:49 Ryde Pier Head to Shanklin service. The extremely rusty siding on the right, although connected to the 630V supply, has obviously not seen a train in a long while!

483006 Brading Marshes 31 May 2013

You can't get a former London Transport tube train in a less urban situation than this! 483006 passes through the lush rural Isle of Wight scenery near Brading Marshes with the 2D33 13:49 Ryde Pier Head to Shanklin service on 31 May 2013. The footpath crossing just behind the unit leads from Vicarage Lane, Brading, onto the RSPB nature reserve, which is an area of low lying land, rich in bird and plant life, that was reclaimed from the sea in Victorian times.

483007 Ryde St John's Road 28 May 2013

With the rain cascading off the station canopies, 483007 arrives at Ryde St John's Road on 28 May 2013 with the 2D37 14:49 Ryde Pier Head to Shanklin service. Note the Isle of Wight Railway Company cast iron platform awning brackets. Always looking on the bright side (so to speak!), I decided to make the most of the terrible weather conditions by taking the picture from underneath the canopy, which would normally be in dense shade if the sun was out. Keeping dry was of course another consideration!

483007 Ryde St John's Road 29 May 2013

483007 arrives at Ryde St John's Road station on 29 May 2013 with the 2U10 07:18 Shanklin to Ryde Pier Head service, in some unexpected morning sunshine. The Met Office had predicted a generally cloudy day (admittedly an improvement over the previous day's rain!). However, the day dawned with plenty of blue sky, which required a much earlier than anticipated exit from the B&B.

483007 Ryde Pier Head 30 May 2013

With a panoramic view of Ryde's seafront buildings in the background, 483007 approaches Ryde Pier Head station on 30 May 2013 with the 2U38 14:18 Shanklin to Ryde Pier Head service. Note the long disused rusty track on the left.

483007 Ryde Pier Head 30 May 2013

Having just arrived at Ryde Pier Head station on 30 May 2013 with the 2U38 14:18 service from Shanklin, 483007 waits underneath the station canopy, prior to forming the 2D37 14:49 service back to Shanklin. It looks like the unit's roof could do with repainting!

483007 Ryde Esplanade 30 May 2013

483007 climbs the steep gradient out of the tunnel on the approach to Ryde Esplanade station on 30 May 2013. It is working the 2D49 18:18 Shanklin to Ryde Pier Head service. The rusty track on the left indicates that from here to the end of the line only one track is in use.

483007 Ryde Pier Head 30 May 2013

Soft evening light at Ryde Pier Head station on 30 May 2013, as 483007 leaves the station with the 2D53 18:49 departure to Shanklin. The sad remains of the Ryde Pier Tramway (which closed in 1969) is in the foreground.

483007 Ryde Pier Head 30 May 2013

483007 leaves Ryde Pier Head station in a brief patch of late evening sunshine on 30 May 2013. It is working the 2D57 19:49 service to Shanklin. In the background the Ryde to Portsmouth catamaran can be seen heading towards the mainland, whilst on the horizon, the distinctive Portsmouth Spinnaker Tower can just be seen. This dramatic lighting only lasted a few minutes.

483009 Ryde Esplanade 30 May 2013

483009 trundles across Ryde Pier, and approaches Ryde Esplanade station on 30 May 2013 with the 2D19 10:07 Ryde Pier Head to Shanklin service. The tide is out, and this view gives a good clear view of the pier with its second disused track. A brief burst of weak sunshine was also a surprise bonus!

483009 Shanklin 30 May 2013

483009 stands at Shanklin station on the Isle of Wight on 30 May 2013. It had just arrived with the 2D19 10:07 service from Ryde Pier Head, and would shortly be leaving with the 2U24 10:38 return trip. Note the impressive Victorian station building, and the long abandoned second platform.

483009 Ryde Pier Head 30 May 2013

With the remains of the Ryde Pier Tramway in the foreground, and the city of Portsmouth in the far distance, across the water, 483009 leaves Ryde Pier Head station on 30 May 2013 with the 2D35 14:07 service to Shanklin.

483009 Sandown 30 May 2013

Some unexpected weak sunshine, after a heavy downpour at Sandown on 30 May 2013. 483009 arrives at the station with the 2D47 17:07 Ryde Pier Head to Shanklin service. The station still retains a passing loop, but in former times it was also the junction for the line to Newport, via Merstone. On the left is a disused non electrified siding.

483009 Ryde Esplanade 30 May 2013

Dramatic lighting at Ryde on 30 May 2013, as 483009 arrives at Esplanade station with the 2U52 17:38 Shanklin to Ryde Pier Head service. The unit has just emerged from the tunnel that takes the line underneath Monkton Street, East Street, the Strand, and the Esplanade. With rain threatening, the Superbowl in the background would be our next port of call!

483009 Ryde Esplanade 30 May 2013

483009 leaves Ryde Esplanade station on the evening of 30 May 2013 with the 2U52 17:38 Shanklin to Ryde Pier Head service. The rusting remains of the 1864 Ryde Tramway pier can be seen in the foreground, whilst in the background, dark clouds gather over the seafront houses.

483009 Ryde Pier Head 30 May 2013

483009 crosses Ryde Pier on 30 May 2013 with the 2U60 19:38 Shanklin to Ryde Pier Head service. I was very lucky to get this in such superb evening light, as virtually the whole sky was covered with dark clouds, with just a tiny narrowing gap letting through the sun. Just a minute or so after this passed the gap closed up and the lights went out.

483009 Brading Marshes 31 May 2013

Passing a field of buttercups at Brading Marshes, on the Isle of Wight, 483009 works the 2D35 14:07 Ryde Pier Head to Shanklin service on 31 May 2013. These former London Underground units originally used LT's fourth rail system, but were converted to the Southern Region standard third rail format during refurbishment, prior to moving to the island in 1989.

483009 Ryde Esplanade 31 May 2013

483009 arrives at Ryde Esplanade station on 31 May 2013 with the 2D39 15:07 Ryde Pier Head to Shanklin service. The mainland of Britain can be seen in the distance, just over two miles away. Ryde Esplanade now has a single platform, and although the second platform still exists, the often flooded subway would make access difficult.

483009 Ryde Esplanade 31 May 2013

483009 climbs out of Ryde Tunnel and approaches Ryde Esplanade station on 31 May 2013, as it nears journey's end with the 2U44 15:38 Shanklin to Ryde Pier Head service. The impressive Esplanade Pavilion dominates the background.

1531 Blake Hall 22 July 1993

London Underground pastoral. Central Line 1962 unit 1531 passes the former Blake Hall station on 22 July 1993, as it heads away from the camera with the 08:07 Ongar to Epping service. Although the loss making line had won a temporary reprieve, the inevitable happened and it closed the following year. Blake Hall station had closed in 1981, hardly surprising, as apparently it only handled six passengers per day!

1531 North Weald 22 July 1993

Central Line 1962 unit 1531 arrives at North Weald station on 22 July 1993 with 08:29 Epping to Ongar service, during the line's penultimate year of LUL operations. The line is now operated by the Epping Ongar railway as a heritage line. Opened by the Great Eastern Railway in 1865, it was electrified in 1957, and now it is back to a steam operated line!

1531 North Weald 22 July 1993

Central Line 1962 unit 1531 leaves North Weald station on 22 July 1993 with 08:50 Ongar to Woodford service. Rosebay Willowherb plants are already invading the disused up platform. The other platform wasn't particularly busy, with just a single passenger using this train!

1532 Epping 22 July 1993

A train of Central Line 1962 tube stock with 1532 leading waits at Epping on 22 July 1993, while the crew enjoy the sunshine on the platform bench. The train would shortly be working to West Ruislip. These aluminium bodied units lasted on the Central Line until 1999. At this time the line carried on past Epping to the remote London Transport outpost of Ongar, deep in the Essex countryside. However, virtually all services except in the morning and evening peaks terminated at Epping, which as can be seen from this view hardly has the look of a typical busy London Transport tube station.

5059 Chorleywood 14 September 2008

A train of Metropolitan Line A60 stock with 5059 leading calls at Chorleywood station with an Amersham to Baker Street service on 14 September 2008. Chorleywood station is very picturesque, with its vintage awning and gentle curved approach. It is one of the very few photographic locations on what is a very overgrown and restricted line. The overbridges are either spoilt by dense vegetation or safety mesh erected to deter vandals.

5136 Amersham 14 September 2008

5136 leads a train of Metropolitan Line A60 stock away from Amersham station with a Baker Street service on 14 September 2008. Another similar unit can be seen in the station, but barely visible behind the fence on the left track is the restored 1938 tube stock set working a special in connection with the London Transport Museum's Heritage Day.

5211 Amersham 14 September 2008

A train of Metropolitan Line A60 stock with 5211 leading emerges from the shadows, into the light, as it approaches Amersham on 14 September 2008 with a train from Baker Street. Note the gap in both the third and fourth rail on both lines.

5215 Rickmansworth 14 September 2008

A train of Metropolitan Line A60 stock with 5215 leading approaches Rickmansworth on 14 September 2008 with an Amersham to Baker Street train. In the background 20189 can just be seen as it brings up the rear of the 11:11 Harrow to Amersham special train, one of a number of services using heritage traction during the London Transport Museum's Heritage Day. Although this location looks hopelessly overgrown, this is actually one of the better photographic spots on the line!

1973 Tube Stock Hillingdon 26 March 2017

The 09:05 Uxbridge to Cockfosters Piccadilly Line service leaves Hillingdon station on 26 March 2017. The diminutive size of this 1973 tube stock is especially noticeable when compared with the sub-service Metropolitan Line train that preceded it a few minutes earlier.

1973 Stock Hillingdon 26 March 2017

The driver takes a bite from his apple, as his train of 1973 tube stock rounds the curve on the approach to Hillingdon station on 26 March 2017. Despite the fact that not a single building can be seen in this view, this is in fact on the edge of the outer London suburbs of Ickenham and Hillingdon.

21113 Hillingdon 26 March 2017

Metropolitan Line S Stock 21113 leaves Hillingdon station on 26 March 2017 with the 09:01 Uxbridge to Aldgate service. The train is crossing over the A40 dual carriageway, which on a Sunday morning is not very busy, a mostly devoid of the large lorries seen on a weekday.

21057 Hillingdon 26 March 2017

Metropolitan Line S Stock 21057 approaches Hillingdon on 26 March 2017 with the 08:21 Aldgate to Uxbridge service. This line was opened by the Harrow & Uxbridge Railway in 1904, although Hillingdon station did not open until 1923.