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 No 1 at Amersham, 1990 | |||||||||||||
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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.
One locomotive became Metropolitan Railway No.1 and was a replacement for A Class (4-4-0T) No.1 which had been scrapped after an accident. [1] The other locomotives were numbered 77 to 82. Number 77 is known to have been fitted with condensing apparatus. [2] It is likely that condensing apparatus was originally fitted to the whole class, but later removed.
The E Class were displaced from the main passenger trains by the 4-4-4T H Class in 1920, moving to lesser jobs such as trains on the Chesham branch, goods trains and engineering duties. Following the Second World War, one E Class locomotive was regularly stationed at Rickmansworth station to cover a failure of LNER locomotives working Metropolitan Line trains north of this point.
The first locomotive was scrapped in 1935 before it could be given a new London Transport number, something that only four locomotives would receive. No.1 became L44, while numbers. 77, 80 and 81 became L46–L48.
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L44 (No. 1) had the honour of working the last steam-hauled LT passenger train in 1961, and survived in use until 1965; it is now preserved at the Buckinghamshire Railway Centre.
L44 was saved from being broken up for scrap by the endeavours of a 19 years old London Transport Mechanical Engineering Apprentice (Jim Stringer),[ citation needed ] who started the Met Tank Appeal Fund in 1962. The objective was originally to save the only remaining 0-6-2T 'F' Class locomotive numbered L52 in the London Transport fleet. LT offered this locomotive to him for £500. The Met Tank Appeal Fund raised just over £1,000, but when Jim went to hand over the cheque he was advised that an inspection had revealed a cracked mainframe, and the locomotive could no longer be 'steamed' and was therefore no longer suitable for preservation. However he was offered L44 in its place for the sum of £450.
Jim was helped by committee members of the London Railway Preservation Society, and a locomotive fitter named Gerald Fitzgerald.[ citation needed ] The LRPS had storage for the Locomotive at Bishops Stortford, and also at Luton where it was subsequently moved to, but the Quainton Railway Society offered a secure and permanent base for it at their newly established museum in Buckinghamshire, and L44 (now correctly referred to as Met Loco No. 1) moved there in the mid-1960s. No. 1 was maintained in main-line condition and made occasional forays onto its old home lines during the "Steam on the Met" events which took place between 1989 and 2000. It received a full overhaul in 2001.
In 2007, No. 1 made its first visit away from Buckinghamshire Railway Centre since the 2001 Heavy Overhaul, arriving at the Bluebell Railway on 24 July in order to take part in the "Bluebell 125" celebrations. While there it was paired with four original Metropolitan Railway carriages which have been restored by the Bluebell. During August 2008 it visited Barrow Hill and in October 2008 Llangollen, to participate in their heritage events.
In 2010, an appeal was launched to fund the restoration of Number 1, and to fund its continued upkeep for the following ten years [3] to enable it to participate at many more heritage events
In 2013, for the 150th Anniversary of London Underground, No. 1 was loaned to the LT museum for several trips between Olympia and Moorgate via Edgware Road on successive weekends in January of that year [4] to honour the actual anniversary of the first Underground journey from Paddington (Bishop's Road) to Farringdon on 9 January 1863. [5] The train was made up of Metropolitan Locomotive Number 1, Metropolitan Railway Milk Van number 4 and the Metropolitan Railway Jubilee Carriage 353 (the oldest surviving operational tube carriage dating from 1892), both the property of the London Transport Museum. Coupled to these were the set of four 'Ashbury' Coaches of 1898 (ex Chesham Shuttle coaches 387, 412, 394 and 368, on loan from the Bluebell Railway) and Metropolitan Electric Railway Locomotive Number 12 Sarah Siddons, owned by London Underground Limited. Several preservation bodies were involved in providing or restoring the rolling stock for the event [6] and the operation was given added impetus by the enthusiastic support of the London Mayor Boris Johnson [7] and his commissioner of Transport for London, Sir Peter Hendy CBE, [8] himself a Transport enthusiast. The following year No. 1 pulled a similar combination of carriages along with Sarah Siddons along the route of the Hammersmith and City Line on successive weekends in August to mark the 150th Anniversary of the opening of the Hammersmith and City Railway. [9]
On 22–23 June 2019, No 1 steamed along a stretch of the District Line as part of a season of celebrations to mark the 150th anniversary of the opening of the District Railway in 1868. Rolling stock used included former Metropolitan District Railway coach No. 100. [10] This event was billed as being probably the last time a heritage steam train would be seen in central London on the Underground due to the impending installation of a new signalling system on the network. [11]
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 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.
Chesham is a London Underground station in Chesham, Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom. The station opened on the 8 July 1889 by the Metropolitan Railway (MR). It is the terminus station of the Chesham branch of the Metropolitan line, which runs from Chalfont & Latimer. The station, a Grade II listed building, is in London fare Zone 9.
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 Metropolitan District Railway, also known as the District Railway, was a passenger railway that served London 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.
Rickmansworth is an interchange railway station in Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire, northwest of central London, served by the London Underground Metropolitan line and by Chiltern Railways. It is one of the few London Underground stations beyond Greater London and as a consequence is in Travelcard Zone 7. The station is a good location to alight from to explore the Chess Valley.
The London Underground coaching stock is the coaching stock of the London Underground in London, United Kingdom.
The London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR) A1 Class is a class of British 0-6-0T steam locomotive. Designed by William Stroudley, 50 members of the class were built in 1872 and between 1874 and 1880, all at Brighton Works. The class has received several nicknames, initially being known as "Rooters" by their south London crews. However, the engines were more famously known as "Terriers" on account of the distinctive 'bark' of the exhaust beat. Later in their careers, some engines were known as "Hayling Billy" on account of their work on the Hayling Island branch line. A pub of this name on the island was briefly home to the engine which is now No. W8 Freshwater.
The London Underground A60 and A62 Stock, commonly referred to as A Stock, was a type of sub-surface rolling stock which operated on the Metropolitan line of the London Underground from 12 June 1961 to 26 September 2012, and on the East London line from 1977 until 22 December 2007, when it closed to be converted into London Overground.
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.
Electric locomotives were first used on the London Underground when the first deep-level tube line, the City and South London Railway (C&SLR), was opened in 1890. The first underground railways in London, the Metropolitan Railway (MR) and the District Railway (DR), used specially built steam locomotives to haul their trains through shallow tunnels which had many ventilation openings to allow steam and smoke to clear from the tunnels. It was impractical to use steam locomotives in the small unvented tubular tunnels of the deep-level lines, and the only options were rope haulage or electric locomotives.
Neasden Depot is a London Underground depot located in Neasden in the London Borough of Brent, between Neasden and Wembley Park stations on the Metropolitan line. It is the largest depot on the London Underground, and is currently responsible for maintenance and overhaul of the 191 S Stock trains used on the Circle, District, Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan lines.
The Brill Tramway, also known as the Quainton Tramway, Wotton Tramway, Oxford & Aylesbury Tramroad and Metropolitan Railway Brill Branch, was a six-mile (10 km) rail line in the Aylesbury Vale, Buckinghamshire, England. It was privately built in 1871 by the 3rd Duke of Buckingham as a horse tram line to transport goods between his lands around Wotton House and the national railway network. Lobbying from residents of the nearby town of Brill led to the line's extension to Brill and conversion to passenger use in early 1872. Two locomotives were bought for the line, but as it had been designed and built with horses in mind, services were very slow; trains travelled at an average speed of only 4 miles per hour (6.4 km/h).
The Chesham branch is a single-track railway branch line in Buckinghamshire, England, owned and operated by the London Underground. It runs from a junction at Chalfont & Latimer station on the Metropolitan line for 3.89 miles (6.26 km) northwest to Chesham. The line was built as part of Edward Watkin's scheme to turn his Metropolitan Railway (MR) into a direct rail route between London and Manchester, and it was envisaged initially that a station outside Chesham would be an intermediate stop on a through route running north to connect with the London and North Western Railway (LNWR). Deteriorating relations between the MR and LNWR led to the MR instead expanding to the northwest via Aylesbury, and the scheme to connect with the LNWR was abandoned. By this time much of the land needed for the section of line as far as Chesham had been bought. As Chesham was at the time the only significant town near the MR's new route, it was decided to build the route only as far as Chesham, and to complete the connection with the LNWR at a future date if it proved desirable. Local residents were unhappy at the proposed station site outside Chesham, and a public subscription raised the necessary additional funds to extend the railway into the centre of the town. The Chesham branch opened in 1889.
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.
Metropolitan Railway electric locomotives were used on London's Metropolitan Railway with conventional carriage stock. On the outer suburban routes an electric locomotive was used at the Baker Street end that was exchanged for a steam locomotive en route.
Metropolitan Railway electric multiple units were used on London's Metropolitan Railway after the lines were electrified in the early 20th century.
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.
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.
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.
