London Underground railway depot on the District Line
Ealing Common depot
Three Driving Motor (DM) cars of D78 Stock stand at the west end of Ealing Common Depot; (from left to right) 7526, 7032 and 7018. 7032-7007 were used on 7 May 2017 for the D Stock "Farewell" tour (photograph taken just after Train 755 had been stabled).
Ealing Common Depot is a London Underground railway depot on the District line, located between Acton Town and Ealing Common stations in west London, England. It is one of the oldest main depots on the Underground, having been built in 1905, when the District Railway was upgraded for electric traction. All depot facilities were moved there from Lillie Bridge Depot, and it was known as Mill Hill Park Works. It subsequently became Ealing Common Works, and its status was reduced to that of a depot in 1922, when Acton Works was opened, and took over responsibility for all major overhauls. Most of the functions of Acton Works were devolved back to the depots, including Ealing Common, in 1985.
Extensive remodelling of the tracks around the depot took place in the 1930s, when the route from Acton Town to Northfields was quadrupled, and the local eastbound track from South Ealing station tunnels under some of the sidings in the depot. In 1990, a heavy repair shop was built at the southern end of the depot, but this function was transferred back to Acton Works, and the building is now used for storage of artefacts for the London Transport Museum. Access to the depot by rail can be gained from both tracks at Ealing Common station, where the junction is to the south of the platforms. At the southern end of the depot, a steep incline leads down to the two eastbound platforms at Acton Town station. Road access is from the A4020 Uxbridge Road at the north end, and a service road from the A4000 Gunnersbury Lane leads to the museum depot.
One of the first uses of the depot in 1905 was the storage of redundant steam locomotives, displaced by the new electric multiple units, pending disposal, and a regular steam service between Lillie Bridge and the depot operated for many years, for the transfer of stores. From 1932 a small number of Piccadilly line trains were also stored at the depot, and a small number of District line trains were stored at Northfields Depot, but this practice ended in 1964. The depot is now used for the storage of trains for the District line, and the number of trains required has steadily increased. It also carries out engineering work, and the final commissioning of the D78 Stock took place at the depot from 1979.
Motive power on the District was initially by steam locomotive, but in 1905, the tracks were electrified, and the steam locomotives were replaced by electric multiple units.[5] At the same time, the depot facilities were moved from Lillie Bridge to a new facility at Mill Hill Park. It was called Mill Hill Park Works, and later became Ealing Common Works, a title which it retained until 1922, when Acton Works opened and took over responsibility for major overhauls. It then became Ealing Common Depot,[6] and is the oldest of the nine main depots on the underground, pre-dating Hammersmith by a year and Golders Green by two years.[7] Mill Hill Park was also the name of Acton Town station, prior to a reorganisation of the tracks near the depot in 1910, which created a flying junction so that there was no conflict between westbound trains moving from Acton Town towards Ealing Broadway and movements on the line to South Ealing and Northfields. The new formation was completed on 20 February 1910, and the station was renamed on 1 March.[8]
The depot is accessible from both ends, and lies in a north-west to south-east orientation, on the north-east side of the tracks between Ealing Common and Acton Town stations. The basic layout has remained much the same since its opening, with nine stabling sidings next to the running lines, and a car shed with another 11 tracks beyond those. Access to the depot is available from both tracks to the south of Ealing Common station, while trains leaving the depot at the south-eastern end can gain direct access to the Central London-bound tracks of the District and Piccadilly lines at Acton Town. To reach the west-bound tracks, trains must use one of the reversing sidings to the east of the station.[9][10]
The first electric trains to use the depot were a fleet of 420 cars of B Stock, ordered in 1903, of which 280 were built in France and 140 in England. All cars were to be delivered by 1905, but both manufacturers were late completing their orders. They were all delivered to Mill Hill Park Works, where the Sprague-Thomson-Houston electro-magnetic control equipment was fitted, and enough vehicles were ready for the first electric service to start on 13 June 1905, running between South Acton and Hounslow, while electric trains ran from Whitechapel to Ealing Broadway for the first time on 1 July.[11] One of the cars was scrapped in 1909 after it left the depot and ran empty to Ealing Broadway. On reaching the terminal station, there was insufficient air to apply the brakes, and it hit the buffer stops, killing one of the crew. The incident led to the fitting of a control governor to all trains on the Underground, which prevented forward motion unless there was sufficient air to apply the brakes.[12]
Major reorganisation of the tracks around the edge of the depot occurred in the 1930s. The Piccadilly line was extended from Hammersmith to South Harrow on 4 July 1932, duplicating the District line service, and reached Uxbridge in late 1933. Piccadilly line trains also ran to Northfields from 9 January 1933, and onwards to Hounslow West from 13 March, again duplicating District line services.[13] The westbound District line track from Acton Town towards Ealing Common had been organised as a flying junction since 1910, so that trains did not conflict with movements on the line to Northfields.[14] Quadrupling of the tracks between Acton Town and Northfields was completed on 18 December 1932,[13] and the additional eastbound track passed under the lines to Ealing Common and under several of the sidings in the depot, to reach Acton Town station.[9] A new depot for Piccadilly line trains was constructed beyond Northfields station, and a few District line trains were stabled there, to operate the service to Hounslow West. In addition, some Piccadilly line trains were stabled at Ealing Common. This arrangement continued until 1964, after which Ealing Common was only used for District line stock and Northfields for Piccadilly line stock.[7]
Acton Works continued to be the centre for major overhauls on stock from all lines on the Underground until 1985, when increased intervals between overhauls, better reliability of train equipment, and the age of some of the equipment at Acton resulted in maintenance functions being devolved back to the depots on each line. A new heavy repair shop was constructed at Ealing Common and opened at the end of 1990. It was located at the Acton Town end of the depot, on the high level sidings, and was officially the Depot Engineering Support Unit (DESU), but it was short-lived, as its function was soon moved back to Acton Works. The building has since been used to store vehicles belonging to the London Transport Museum collection.[15] In 2009 it held over 370,000 items, and included 65,000 square feet (6,000m2) of environmentally controlled storage, where items are catalogued and conserved. It is not normally open to the public, but does so for occasional special events.[16]
D Stock trains were transferred to the museum yard via Ealing Common Depot, and were then loaded onto low-loader trucks to be taken away for refurbishment. The trains were also returned to LUL this way.[17]
In 2019, tracks to the car sheds were re-organised to facilitate the stabling of S7 Stock at the depot. Shed roads 6 and 7 were removed, and pointwork on the entry and exit tracks to the sheds was revamped.[18]
Rolling stock
When the depot first opened, the fleet of steam locomotives were moved there, and stored awaiting scrapping.[19] Although passenger trains had been electrically powered since 1905, the District retained a small number of steam locomotives for shunting duties, and in 1931 bought two new 0-6-0 tank locomotives from the Hunslet Engine Company. The pair were numbered L30 and L31, and were stabled at Lillie Bridge Depot, where they were used for shunting, but also ran stores trains from there to Ealing Common regularly.[20] A weed-killing train was stabled at the depot from 1935 until 1950. Initially, this was made up from a driving motor car and a control trailer car of B Stock, dating from 1905, which had been modified by fitting tanks and nozzles to spray the weedkiller onto the tracks. The unit was underpowered, and the trailer was replaced by a second motor car. They were used regularly until the onset of the Second World War, when killing weeds was not a priority, and were scrapped in 1950.[21]
When some of the rolling stock on the District line was being replaced in the early 1970s, four motor cars of Q Stock were retained to act as pilot motor cars, for moving withdrawn stock to Ruislip depot for scrapping. One of the pilot motor cars, L127, ran down the slope from the depot towards Acton Town station on 10 October 1972, with nobody in it. Fortunately, there is a sand drag at the bottom of the slope, which stopped the car and prevented a serious incident. The vehicle and L126 remained in service as engineering stock until at least 1986.[22]
Rolling stock on the District was replaced with D78 Stock from 1979. This was delivered to Ruislip depot, in a state where it was nearly ready for service, but final commissioning occurred at Ealing Common, and the vehicles could not be driven under their own power until this was done. Several displaced motor cars of CO/CP Stock were used as pilot motor cars, transferring a new train from Ruislip to Ealing Common, or a train for scrapping in the opposite direction. The pilot motor cars were used in pairs, one at each end of the train being transferred, and carried large stencils to indicate that they were not for scrapping. When these duties were completed, most of the pilot motor cars were also scrapped, but one motor car and an associated trailer car were moved from Ruislip depot[23] to Quainton Road for preservation at the Buckinghamshire Railway Centre.[24]
In recent years, the number of trains stored at the depot in order to provide the timetabled levels of service has increased. In 1978, there were normally 24 trains, although this was increased to 26, when the Earl's Court to Kensington (Olympia) exhibition service was required.[25] By 1993, this number had increased to 29,[26] and had increased again to 31 by 2002.[27]
Geography
The depot is accessed by road through a gate at the end of Granville Gardens, which joins the main A4020 Uxbridge Road just to the east of Ealing Common station. Access to the London Transport Museum Depot and its associated yard, which is located at the south-eastern corner of the main depot, is provided by a service road called Museum Way, which turns off the A4000 Gunnersbury Lane opposite Acton Town station.[28] The museum building and yard are linked to the main depot by rail, but access is through a locked gate, for both rail vehicles and people.[29]
The District line is a London Underground line running from Upminster in the east and Edgware Road in the west to Earl's Court in west London, where it splits into multiple branches. One branch runs to Wimbledon in south-west London and a short branch, with a limited service, only runs for one stop to Kensington (Olympia). The main route continues west from Earl's Court to Turnham Green after which it divides again into two western branches, to Richmond and Ealing Broadway.
The Piccadilly line is a deep-level London Underground line running from the north to the west of London. It has two branches, which split at Acton Town, and serves 53 stations. The line serves Heathrow Airport, and some of its stations are near tourist attractions such as Piccadilly Circus and Buckingham Palace. The District and Metropolitan lines share some sections of track with the Piccadilly line. Printed in dark blue on the Tube map, it is the sixth-busiest line on the Underground network, with nearly 218 million passenger journeys in 2019.
Acton Town is a London Underground station in the south-west corner of Acton, West London, in the London Borough of Ealing, close to the border with the London Borough of Hounslow. The station is served by the District and Piccadilly lines and is in Travelcard Zone 3. On the District line, it is between Chiswick Park and Ealing Common stations, and on the Piccadilly line it is between Hammersmith and Ealing Common on the Uxbridge branch & South Ealing on the Heathrow branch. Acton Town station was opened as Mill Hill Park on 1 July 1879 by the District Railway. It remained as a terminus until on 1 May 1883 and 23 June 1903 the DR opened two branches from Acton Town to Hounslow Town and Park Royal & Twyford Abbey respectively. On 4 July 1932 the Piccadilly line was extended to Acton Town. District line services to both the Hounslow and Uxbridge branches were withdrawn completely on 9 and 10 October 1964 after which operations were provided by the Piccadilly line alone.
South Harrow is a London Underground station in South Harrow, north-west London. It is on the Uxbridge branch of the Piccadilly line between Rayners Lane and Sudbury Hill stations. It is located on Northolt Road (A312). The station is in Travelcard Zone 5. There are several bus stands outside the station as well as overnight train stabling sidings.
Ealing Common is a London Underground station on the Uxbridge branch of the Piccadilly line and on the Ealing Broadway branch of the District line. Eastbound, the next station is Acton Town; westbound, the next station is North Ealing on the Piccadilly line and Ealing Broadway on the District line. Here, the District and Piccadilly lines share the same pair of tracks through the station – the only other example where a deep level line and a sub surface line share the same pair of tracks is further up the Uxbridge branch, where the Piccadilly line shares tracks with the Metropolitan line from Rayners Lane to Uxbridge. It is the only station west of Acton Town to be served by both the Piccadilly and District lines.
Boston Manor is a London Underground station at the boundary of the boroughs of Hounslow and Ealing. The station is situated on the Heathrow branch of the Piccadilly line, between Osterley and Northfields stations, in Travelcard Zone 4.
Northfields is a London Underground station in Northfields, in the London Borough of Ealing. The station is on the Heathrow branch of the Piccadilly line, between Boston Manor and South Ealing stations. It is located on Northfield Avenue (B452) and in Travelcard Zone 3.
The Standard Stock title was applied to a variety of Tube stock built between 1923 and 1934, all of which shared the same basic characteristics, but with some detailed differences. This design is sometimes referred to as 1923 Tube Stock, 1923 Stock, or Pre 1938 Stock. Most of the Standard Stock was built to replace the first generation of "Gate Stock" Tube trains or to provide additional trains for extensions built in the 1920s and early 1930s. Standard Stock cars consisted of motor cars, with a driver's cab, behind which was a "switch compartment" occupying approximately one-third of the length of the car, plus trailer cars and "control trailers", with a driving cab but no motor. All were equipped with air operated sliding doors. The guard's door on the earlier trains was a manually operated, inward-opening hinged door.
The Metropolitan District Railway, also known as the District Railway, was a passenger railway that served London, England, from 1868 to 1933. Established in 1864 to complete an "inner circle" of lines connecting railway termini in London, the first part of the line opened using gas-lit wooden carriages hauled by steam locomotives. The Metropolitan Railway operated all services until the District Railway introduced its own trains in 1871. The railway was soon extended westwards through Earl's Court to Fulham, Richmond, Ealing and Hounslow. After completing the inner circle and reaching Whitechapel in 1884, it was extended to Upminster in Essex in 1902.
Diesel locomotives have seen limited use on the London Underground, largely because exhaust gases cannot be discharged when the vehicles are working in tunnels. A prototype diesel engine numbered DEL120 was built in 1939 from two 1915 stock motor cars, which was expected to be part of a batch of ten, but experience with battery locomotives showed that these were a better alternative. Three 0-6-0 diesels (DL81-DL83) were obtained in 1971, to replace the last steam engines, but were too short to operate the signalling system, and too heavy for some of the bridges. In 1996, fourteen diesels were supplied by Schöma of Germany, which were used during the construction of the Jubilee line tunnels. They were fitted with exhaust scrubbers, to enable them to work in the tunnels. To speed up track renewals on the subsurface lines, Class 66 locomotives have been hired in since 2006 to handle permanent way trains, but again suffer from being too heavy for some of the bridges. Because they are not fitted with tripcock safety devices, and pull trains much longer than the signalling system is designed for, they are restricted to slow speed running.
The London Underground C69 and C77 Stock, commonly referred to as the C Stock, was a type of sub-surface rolling stock used on the Circle, District and Hammersmith & City lines of the London Underground between 1970 and 2014. They were replaced by the S7 Stock.
London Underground battery-electric locomotives are battery locomotives used for hauling engineers' trains on the London Underground network where they can operate when the electric traction current is switched off. The first two locomotives were built in 1905 for the construction of the Great Northern, Piccadilly and Brompton Railway, and their success prompted the District Railway to buy two more in 1909, which were the only ones built to the loading gauge of the subsurface lines. Following this, a number of battery vehicles were built by converting redundant motor cars, with the batteries placed in the unused passenger compartment. One exception to this was made by the City and South London Railway, who used a trailer car to hold the batteries, and wired them to a separate locomotive.
The London Underground 1935 Stock was an experimental train design by Metropolitan Cammell in London. Twelve two-car units, marshalled into four six-car trains, were built. They served as the prototypes for the later 1938 Stock.
The London Underground 1956 Stock consisted of three prototype units built before mass production of the 1959 tube stock. These units were tested on the Piccadilly line and remained in service after production trains were introduced. Later they were transferred to the Northern line, but in 1995 they were replaced as non-standard by 1962 Stock cascaded from the Central line.
The history of the District line started in 1864 when the Metropolitan District Railway was created to create an underground 'inner circle' connecting London's railway termini. The first part of the line opened using Metropolitan Railway gas-lit wooden carriages hauled by steam locomotives. The District introduced its own trains in 1871 and was soon extended westwards through Earl's Court to Fulham, Richmond, Ealing and Hounslow. After completing the 'inner circle' and reaching Whitechapel in 1884, it was extended to Upminster in East London in 1902. To finance electrification at the beginning of the 20th century, American financier Charles Yerkes took it over and made it part of his Underground Electric Railways Company of London (UERL) group. Electric propulsion was introduced in 1905, and by the end of the year electric multiple units operated all of the services.
Departmental locomotives on the London Underground consist of vehicles of a number of types which are used for engineering purposes. These include battery locomotives, diesel locomotives, electric locomotives, sleet locomotives, pilot motor cars and ballast motor cars. Details of the first four types are covered elsewhere. Pilot motor cars and ballast motor cars are generally vehicles which have been withdrawn from passenger service, but continue to be used by the engineering department. Pilot motor cars are used to move other vehicles around the system, while ballast motor cars are used to haul ballast trains and engineering trains.
Ruislip depot is a London Underground traction maintenance depot on the Central line, and is situated between the stations of Ruislip Gardens and West Ruislip in the London Borough of Hillingdon. The depot is accessible from both ends, and was built for the Central Line extensions under the 1935-1940 New Works Programme. It was nearly completed by 1939, when the outbreak of the Second World War prevented further work. It was used as a factory for anti-aircraft guns during the war, and was finally opened in 1948. The main car shed has 16 tracks, and there is also a three-track car cleaning shed.
Lillie Bridge Depot is a historic English traction maintenance depot on the London Underground Piccadilly and District lines, situated between West Brompton and West Kensington stations in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. It is accessed from the District line tracks between Earl's Court and West Kensington or between Earl's Court and Kensington (Olympia).
Acton Works is a London Underground maintenance facility in West London, England. It is accessed from the District line and Piccadilly line tracks to the east of Acton Town station, and was opened in 1922. It was responsible for the overhaul of rolling stock, and gradually took on this role for more lines, until the formation of the London Passenger Transport Board in 1933, when all major overhauls of underground vehicles were carried out at the works. By 1985, when rolling stock had become more reliable and maintenance intervals had increased, this function was devolved to depots on each line. Subsequently, Acton continued to overhaul major items after they had been removed from trains at the depots, and tendered for work, which included the conversion of the A60 Stock to One Person Operation. It is likely to be reorganised and expanded to house the departments displaced from Lillie Bridge Depot which is being demolished as part of the redevelopment of Earls Court Exhibition Centre.
Morden Depot is a British rolling stock depot on the London Underground Northern line, and is located to the south of Morden Underground station. It was opened in 1926, when the City and South London Railway (C&SLR) was extended from Clapham Common to Morden.
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