The first Metropolitan Railway steam locomotives were ordered in 1864 for the Metropolitan Railway, to replace the Great Western Railway locomotive that had opened their first line the previous year. A total of 116 locomotives were built, of which two survive in preservation.
Concern about smoke and steam in the tunnels led to new designs of steam locomotive. Before the line opened in 1861 trials were made with the experimental "hot brick" locomotive nicknamed Fowler's Ghost. This was unsuccessful and the first public trains were hauled by broad gauge GWR Metropolitan Class condensing 2-4-0 tank locomotives designed by Daniel Gooch. They were followed by standard gauge GNR locomotives [1] until the Met received its own 4-4-0 tank locomotives. The locomotives were built by Beyer Peacock of Manchester. Their design is frequently attributed to the Met's Engineer John Fowler, but the locomotive was a development of one Beyers had built for the Spanish Tudela to Bilbao Railway, Fowler only specifying the driving wheel diameter, axle weight and the ability to navigate sharp curves. [2] Eighteen were ordered in 1864, initially carrying names, [3] and by 1870 a total of forty had been built. To reduce smoke underground, at first coke was burnt, changed in 1869 to smokeless Welsh coal. [4]
From 1879, more locomotives were needed, and the design was updated and a total of twenty-four of these later locomotives were delivered between 1879 and 1885. [5] Originally the locomotives were painted bright olive green lined in black and yellow, chimneys were copper capped with the locomotive number in brass figures at the front and domes were polished brass. In 1885, the colour changed to a dark red known as Midcared, and this was to remain the standard colour and taken up as the colour for the Metropolitan line by London Transport in 1933. [6] When in 1925 the Met classified its locomotives by letters of the alphabet, these were assigned A Class and B Class. [7] When the M&SJWR was being built, it was considered that the Class A and B tanks would struggle on the gradients and five Worcester Engine 0-6-0 tank locomotives were delivered in 1868. However, it was soon found that the Class A and B locomotives could manage trains without difficulty and the 0-6-0Ts were sold to the Taff Vale Railway in 1873 and 1875. [8]
From 1891, more locomotives were needed for work on the extension line from Baker Street into the country. Four C Class (0-4-4) locomotives, a development of South Eastern Railway's 'Q' Class, were received in 1891. [9] [8] In 1894, two D Class locomotives were bought to run between Aylesbury and Verney Junction. These were not fitted with the condensing equipment needed to work south of Finchley Road. [10] Four more were delivered in 1895 with condensing equipment, although these were prohibited working south of Finchley Road. [11] In 1896, two E Class (0-4-4) locomotives were built by the Met at Neasden works, followed by one in 1898 to replace the original Class A No. 1, damaged in an accident. Four more were built by Hawthorn Leslie & Co in 1900 and 1901. [12] To cope with the growing freight traffic on the extension line, the Met received four F Class (0-6-2) locomotives in 1901, similar to the E Class except for the wheel formula and without steam heat. [13] In 1897 and 1899, the Met received two 0-6-0 saddle tank locomotives to a standard Peckett design. Unclassified by the Met, these were generally used for shunting at Neasden and Harrow. [14]
Many locomotives were made redundant by the electrification of the inner London lines in 1905–06. By 1907, forty of the older class A and B had been sold or scrapped and by 1914 only thirteen locomotives of these classes had been retained [15] for shunting, departmental work and working trains over the Brill Tramway. [16] The need for more powerful locomotives for both passenger and freight services meant that, in 1915, four G Class (0-6-4) locomotives arrived from Yorkshire Engine Co. [17] Eight 75 mph (121 km/h) capable H Class (4-4-4) locomotives were built in 1920 and 1921 and used mainly on express passenger services. [18] To run longer, faster and less frequent freight services in 1925 six freight K Class (2-6-4) locomotives arrived, rebuilt from 2-6-0 locomotives manufactured at Woolwich Arsenal after World War I. These were not permitted south of Finchley Road. [19]
In 1933 the Metropolitan Railway was absorbed into the newly created London Passenger Transport Board and on 1 November 1937 the later G, H and K Class steam locomotives were transferred to the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) who took over all freight workings and became responsible for hauling passenger trains with steam locomotives north of Rickmansworth. From the early 1940s these were replaced by ex Great Central Railway locomotives, now classified LNER Class A5. These were replaced by LNER L1s after 1948 and ten years later in 1958 when the joint line was transferred to British Railway's London Midland Region former LMS locomotives replaced the L1s. [20] Steam working ended on passenger trains after the introduction of the A Stock in 1961. [21]
LT kept nine ex-Metropolitan steam locomotives for use on departmental work - one of the A Class, four of the E Class, and four of the F Class. From 1956 these were replaced by ex-GWR 5700 Class pannier tanks, which in turn were replaced by Sentinel diesel-hydraulic shunters in 1971. [22]
Two locomotives survive, one A Class No. 23 (LT L45) at the London Transport Museum, [23] and E Class No. 1 (LT L44) is preserved at the Buckinghamshire Railway Centre. [24]
 |
| Numbers | Built | Builder | Type | Works Nos. | Class | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1–9 | 1864 | BP&C | 4-4-0T | 412–419 | A | all services |
| 10–18 | 1864 | BP&C | 4-4-0T | 421–429 | A | all services |
| 19–23 | 1866 | BP&C | 4-4-0T | 706–710 | A | all services; 23 to LT L45 |
| 24–28 | 1868 | BP&C | 4-4-0T | 770–774 | A | all services |
| 29–33 | 1869 | BP&C | 4-4-0T | 853–857 | A | all services; possibly works numbers 775-779 |
| 34–38 | 1868 | WEC | 0-6-0T | – | St. John’s Wood Extension line | |
| 34–38 | 1879 | BP&C | 4-4-0T | 1878–1882 | B | all services |
| 39–44 | 1869 | BP&C | 4-4-0T | 863–868 | A | all services |
| 45–49 | 1870 | BP&C | 4-4-0T | 893–897 | A | all services |
| 50–53 | 1880 | BP&C | 4-4-0T | 1937–1940 | B | all services |
| 54–56 | 1880 | BP&C | 4-4-0T | 1944–1946 | B | all services |
| 57–59 | 1880 | BP&C | 4-4-0T | 1941–1943 | B | all services |
| 60–64 | 1884 | BP&C | 4-4-0T | 2579–2583 | B | all services |
| 65–66 | 1885 | BP&C | 4-4-0T | 2674–2675 | B | all services |
| 67–70 | 1891 | N&C | 0-4-4T | 4352–4355 | C | all services |
| 71–72 | 1895 | SS&C | 2-4-0T | 4055–4056 | D | Aylesbury/Verney Junction |
| 73–76 | 1895 | SS&C | 2-4-0T | 4075–4078 | D | Aylesbury/Verney Junction |
| 77–78 | 1896 | MR | 0-4-4T | E | Aylesbury line; 77 to LT L46 | |
| 79 | 1897 | MR | 0-4-4T | E | renumbered 1 | |
| 79–80 | 1900 | RWHL | 0-4-4T | 2474–2475 | E | Aylesbury line; 80 to LT L47 |
| 81–82 | 1901 | RWHL | 0-4-4T | 2476–2477 | E | Aylesbury line; 81 to LT L48 |
| 90–93 | 1901 | YEC | 0-6-2T | 624–627 | F | heavy work; to LT L49-L52 |
| 94–95 | 1915 | YEC | 0-6-4T | G | express passenger | |
| 96–97 | 1916 | YEC | 0-6-4T | G | express passenger | |
| 100 | 1886 | HC&C | 0-4-0ST | S | shunter; 1884? | |
| 101 | 1897 | P&C | 0-6-0ST | 664 | S | Finchley Road shunting; to LT L53 |
| 102 | 1899 | P&C | 0-6-0ST | 823 | S | Finchley Road shunting; to LT L54 |
| 103–106 | 1920 | KS&C | 4-4-4T | 4088–4091 | H | express passenger; to LNER H2 6415-6418, 1935 |
| 107–110 | 1921 | KS&C | 4-4-4T | 4092–4095 | H | express passenger; to LNER H2 6419-6422, 1935 |
| 111–116 | 1924 | AW&C | 2-6-4T | K | goods; to LNER L2 6158-6163, 1935; similar to the SECR K Class and designed by Richard Maunsell | |
The Metropolitan line, colloquially known as the Met, is a London Underground line between Aldgate in the City of London and Amersham and Chesham in Buckinghamshire, with branches to Watford in Hertfordshire and Uxbridge in Hillingdon. Printed in magenta on the tube map, the line is 41.4 miles (66.7 km) in length and serves 34 stations. Between Aldgate and Finchley Road, the track is mostly in shallow "cut and cover" tunnels, apart from short sections at Barbican and Farringdon stations. The rest of the line is above ground, with a loading gauge of a similar size to those on main lines. Just under 67 million passenger journeys were made on the line in 2011/12.
The Great Central Railway in England was formed when the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway changed its name in 1897, anticipating the opening in 1899 of its London Extension. On 1 January 1923, the company was grouped into the London and North Eastern Railway.
The London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) was the second largest of the "Big Four" railway companies created by the Railways Act 1921 in Britain. It operated from 1 January 1923 until nationalisation on 1 January 1948. At that time, it was divided into the new British Railways' Eastern Region, North Eastern Region, and partially the Scottish Region.
The Metropolitan Railway was a passenger and goods railway that served London from 1863 to 1933, its main line heading north-west from the capital's financial heart in the City to what were to become the Middlesex suburbs. Its first line connected the main-line railway termini at Paddington, Euston, and King's Cross to the City. The first section was built beneath the New Road using cut-and-cover between Paddington and King's Cross and in tunnel and cuttings beside Farringdon Road from King's Cross to near Smithfield, near the City. It opened to the public on 10 January 1863 with gas-lit wooden carriages hauled by steam locomotives, the world's first passenger-carrying designated underground railway.
The steam locomotives of British Railways were used by British Railways over the period 1948–1968. The vast majority of these were inherited from its four constituent companies, the "Big Four".
London Underground rolling stock includes the electric multiple-unit trains used on the London Underground. These come in two sizes, smaller deep-level tube trains and larger sub-surface trains of a similar size to those on British main lines. New trains are designed for the maximum number of standing passengers and for speed of access to the cars.
The London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) produced several classes of locomotive, mostly to the designs of Nigel Gresley, characterised by a three-cylinder layout with a parallel boiler and round-topped firebox. It produced the most famous locomotive of its day, 4468 'Mallard', the holder of the world steam locomotive speed record. It also built the world-famous 4472 'Flying Scotsman'. However, its locomotive inheritance was much greater than just the 'A4 Class', it also produced highly successful mixed-traffic and freight designs.
The London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) Class V2 2-6-2 steam locomotives were designed by Sir Nigel Gresley for express mixed traffic work, and built at the LNER shops at Doncaster and Darlington between 1936 and 1944. The best known is the first of the class, 4771 Green Arrow, which is the sole survivor of the class.
The Metropolitan Railway E Class is a class of 0-4-4T steam locomotives. A total of seven locomotives were built between 1896 and 1901 for the Metropolitan Railway: three by the railway at their Neasden Works and four by Hawthorn Leslie and Company in Newcastle upon Tyne.
The Great Central Railway (GCR) Class 9F was a class of 0-6-2T steam locomotive built between 1891 and 1901. From 1923 the locomotives were redesignated Class N5.
The Metropolitan Railway H Class consisted of eight 4-4-4T steam locomotives, numbered 103 to 110. They were built by Kerr, Stuart & Co of Stoke on Trent in 1920 at a cost of £11,575 each. A "notable addition" to the Metropolitan Railway, these locomotives were purchased for the express passenger trains on the mainline between Harrow —the change point from electric locomotives—and Aylesbury or Verney Junction.
The Metropolitan Railway K Class consisted of six 2-6-4T steam locomotives, numbered 111 to 116.
The Metropolitan Railway A Class and B Class were 4-4-0T condensing steam locomotives built for the Metropolitan Railway by Beyer Peacock, first used in 1864. A total of 40 A Class and 26 of the slightly different B Class were delivered by 1885. Used underground, the locomotives condensed their steam, and coke or smokeless coal was burnt to reduce the smoke.
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 0-8-4 represents the wheel arrangement of no leading wheels, eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles, and four trailing wheels on two axles.
The Great Northern Railway (GNR) Class N2 is an 0-6-2T side tank steam locomotive designed by Nigel Gresley and introduced in 1920. Further batches were built by the London and North Eastern Railway from 1925. They had superheaters and piston valves driven by Stephenson valve gear.
The Metropolitan Railway C class was a group of four 0-4-4T steam tank locomotives built in 1891 by Neilson and Company. They were to a design by James Stirling, originally the Q class of the South Eastern Railway, and were fitted with condensing apparatus for working in tunnels.
District Railway steam locomotives were used on London's Metropolitan District Railway. When in 1871 the railway needed its own locomotives, they ordered twenty four condensing steam locomotives from Beyer Peacock similar to the A Class locomotives the Metropolitan Railway was using on the route. As they were intended for an underground railway, the locomotives did not have cabs, but had a weatherboard with a bent-back top and the back plate of the bunker was raised to provide protection when running bunker first.
London's Metropolitan Railway (MR) amalgamated with other underground railways, tramway companies and bus operators on 1 July 1933, to form the London Passenger Transport Board (LPTB); the MR became the Board's Metropolitan line.
The SER Q class was a class of 0-4-4T steam locomotives of the South Eastern Railway. The class was designed by James Stirling and introduced in 1881.
The London Underground opened in 1863 with gas-lit wooden carriages hauled by steam locomotives. The Metropolitan and District railways both used carriages exclusively until they electrified in the early 20th century. The District railway replaced all its carriages for electric multiple units, whereas the Metropolitan still used carriages on the outer suburban routes where an electric locomotive at the Baker Street end was exchanged for a steam locomotive en route.