London Underground electric locomotives
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Electric traction was always the best option for the tube lines in London. Locomotives were used before the equipment was available for multiple unit control, then later locomotives were used to haul through trains from non-electrified lines. Finally a number of old passenger vehicles have been modified for departmental work and depot shunting.
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[edit] Overview
The first underground railways in london, now the Metropolitan line and the Hammersmith & City Line, used specially built steam locomotives to haul their trains through shallow tunnels which had many ventilation openings. To provide ventilation for steam locomotives in the deep level lines (the 'Tube' lines) was not practical and the only options were rope haulage (as on the Glasgow Underground) or electric locomotives.
The City & South London Railway was opened just a few year after the very first use of electricity to drive rail vehicles (trains or trams) and the locomotives reflected this. Over the next 15 years, motors became smaller and (size for size) far more powerful; gear drives and motor suspension were developed and reliable multiple unit control became available. Electric multiple unit trains became the standard, but electric locomotives were still being built.
Both the Metropolitan Railway and the District line bought electric locomotives to haul normal coaches over the electrified lines which were then taken on by steam locomotives to more distant destinations. The extension of the electrified lines (part of the long delayed '1935 New Works plan') and the reduction of destinations served saw the removal of the last electric locomotives from passenger trains in 1961.
When not hauling passenger trains, the electric locomotives were used for shunting and for hauling departmental trains. Some locomotives, as on the MetR, were kept on just for these duties. Rather than buy additional locomotive for this work, as was required with the battery-electric locomotives, makeshift locomotives were created from withdrawn passenger vehicles, of at least three types, were modified to haul trains over any part of the system or shunt rolling stock at Acton Works.
[edit] City & South London Railway
In 1889, two prototype locomotives were built for the City & South London Railway (CSLR) to test their suitability. No. 1 used motors mounted directly mounted on the drive axles, while No. 2 had motors driven through gears. The geared motors were found to be too noisy in the tunnels and the direct-drive design was selected. A further dozen locomotives were built for the opening of the line (Nos. 3-14) and were of a design slightly modified from No. 1's. All fourteen locomotives were built by Mather & Platt, with bodies by Beyer-Peacock.
The locomotives were small and short, running on just four wheels (all driven) and specially designed to run in the small tunnels (10 ft 2 in/3.099 m diameter). The cab was built along the centre line of the locomotive with a door at each end and the controls and equipment mounted down the sides. There was a single driving position at one end of the locomotive with the power controller on one side and the brakes (air-brake valve and hand-brake column) on the other. The controls worked directly so no form of multiple-unit control was ever possible.
Each locomotive could haul three coaches at up to 25 mph on good track, but fully loaded trains on an uphill gradient sometimes presented problems. At the end of a run, the arriving locomotive was trapped in the platform by its carriages. A replacement locomotive hauled the train away on the next trip and the released locomotive was then available to head the next incoming train (this is called "slip working").
The train air-braking system, controlled by the driver, was fed from an air reservoir on the locomotive and, as the original locomotives were unable to generate their own compressed air, the reservoirs were recharged at Stockwell Station. Later, locomotives were fitted with compressors.
With locomotive No. 2 confined to duties at Stockwell and No. 1 believed also to have been rarely in service, there was a need for an additional two locomotives to operate the service. Nos. 15 & 16 were built by Siemens with a modified design of motor, which attempted to overcome the problem of burnt-out armatures that had plagued the line since its opening.
In 1895, the railway company itself built locomotive No. 17 at Stockwell depot and ordered three more locomotives from different manufacturers with a more efficent control system, viz. series-parallel switching of the motors. Another two locomotives (Nos. 21 & 22) included further refinements and were the prototypes for the final batches of locomotives. Nos. 23 to 52 were built by Crompton to an improved design but still bore a strong external resemblance to the original locomotives. Locomotives Nos. 3-12 were eventually rebuilt with new electrical equipment to improve their performance.
Following the introduction of new locomotives and the abandonment of the restrictive King William Street terminus in 1900, the company was able to run trains with four carriages. Five-carriage trains were introduced from 1907 and six-carriage trains from October 1923.
The locomotive-hauled trains lasted in service until November 1923, when the last part of the line was closed for reconstruction and tunnel enlargement. This allowed them to be replaced by 'Standard' Stock electrical multiple units. 44 locomotives were in use just before the closure and some remained in service until 1925 hauling works trains while the tunnels were being enlarged.
One locomotive survives in preservation. It was originally displayed as No.1, but investigations over a number of years finally identified it as either No. 13 or 14, and suggested that it was more likely to be No. 13 (the number which it now carries). After being displayed in the Science Museum, it is now (2006) in the Acton store of the London Transport Museum. A motor and axle from No. 36 are held by the Science Museum and are also currently in store.
[edit] Central London Railway
Opened in 1900, the Central London Railway initially used 44-ton Bo-Bo electric locomotives to haul its trains. These long low locomotives had deep plate frames, a central cab and equipment compartments on front and rear. The cabs had four doors, one on each side and one on each end (for safe access/exit when in the tunnels). The direct-working controls did not allow the locomotives to work in multiple.
A serious design fault in these locomotives was their very high unsprung weight (33 tons). This resulted in serious problems with noise and vibration. Complaints from local residents started immediately after the service commenced and were such that the Board of Trade imposed a speed limit until modifications could be made.
By 1903 new multiple unit trains had been delivered and the locomotives were withdrawn from day to day service.
[edit] Metropolitan Railway
[edit] Early Locomotives
In 1902, the Metropolitan Railway started to electrify its routes. To this end, in 1904, twenty locomotives were ordered from two different companies, each constructing ten. The first were delivered by British Westinghouse in 1905 and were numbered 1-10. These bogie locomotives featured a central cab, weighed 50 tons, and had four 200 hp traction motors. The second type were built by British Thompson Houston to a box car design, and were numbered 11-20.
These locomotives worked the outer suburban routes, hauling conventional carriage stock. Other routes were worked by 1902- and 1904-built electrical multiple units. The locomotives lasted in service until 1922/23, when they were replaced by new locomotives built by Metropolitan Vickers.
[edit] Metropolitan Vickers Locomotives
In the early 1920s, the Metropolitan Railway placed an order with Metropolitan Vickers of Barrow-in-Furness for rebuilding the twenty surviving electric locomotives. When work started on the first locomotive, it was found to be impractical and uneconomical and the order was changed to building completely new locomotives using some equipment recovered from the originals. The new locomotives were built in 1922-23 and were numbered 1-20. They were all named after famous London residents and had a top speed on 65 mph.
They replaced the earlier electric locomotives on outer suburban work. In 1925, the line was electrified to Rickmansworth. The Vickers locomotives hauled trains from Baker Street to Rickmansworth, from where a steam locomotive replaced the electric locomotives for onwards haulage to Amersham and Aylesbury. This practice continued until 1960 when the line was electrified as far as Amersham (and the Chesham Branch), and Metropolitan Line services beyond were discontinued. The electric locomotives were used through to Chesham for a short while but never worked to Amersham as they could not run round their trains at this station.
The remaining locomotives were all withdrawn from passernger work in 1961, following deliveries of A60/A62 Stock. However, four locomotives, nos. 1, 3, 5 and 12, were transferred to departmental duties:-
No.1 'John Lyon'. Based at Neasden for shunting, it lasted until it needed major repairs in the mid 1960s. After standing out of use, it was eventually dismantled for spares and the remains scrapped in 1974.
No.3 'Sir Ralph Verney'. Based at Ruislip between 1961 and 1965 mainly for shunting the new A60/A62 stock as it was delivered. It was scrapped once deliveries were complete.
No.5 'John Hampden'. Sent to Acton Works to act as a shunter, it did not see much use. In 1971 it was refurbished for use on special trains run in connection with open days to mark the withdrawal of the last Ex GWR steam locomotives. No.5 was moved to the London Transport Collection at Syon Park in 1973 (a move that involved removing it from its bogies) and then to the London Transport Museum at Covent Garden in 1979 where it remains.
No.12 'Sarah Siddons'. Based at Ealing Common as a shunter, it was converted to test new types of brake block. With No.5, it was refurbished for the special trains in 1971 but returned to brake-block testing and while still a departmental locomotive, it was exhibited at Shildon in 1975. Finally withdrawn in 1982, No.12 has been retained in working order and has run a number of special passenger workings up until 2003. It has been modified to allow it to run on the 'Main Line' third rail electrification and so is no longer limited to running on the Underground network's four-rail system.
| Number | Name | Withdrawn | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | John Lyon | 1962 | Scrapped in 1974 |
| 2 | Oliver Cromwell/Thomas Lord | 1962 | Scrapped in 1966 |
| 3 | Sir Ralph Verney | 1962 | Scrapped in 1965 |
| 4 | Lord Byron | 1962 | |
| 5 | John Hampden | 1962 | Preserved in the London Transport Museum |
| 6 | William Penn | 1962 | |
| 7 | Edmund Burke | 1962 | Scrapped in 1966 |
| 8 | Sherlock Holmes | 1962 | |
| 9 | John Milton | 1962 | |
| 10 | W. E. Gladstone | 1962 | |
| 11 | George Romney | 1962 | |
| 12 | Sarah Siddons | 1962 | Preserved in working order |
| 13 | Dick Whittington | 1962 | |
| 14 | Benjamin Disraeli | 1962 | |
| 15 | Wembley 1924 | 1951 | Scrapped following an accident |
| 16 | Oliver Goldsmith | 1962 | Scrapped in 1966 |
| 17 | Florence Nightingale | 1943 | Scrapped following an accident |
| 18 | Michael Faraday | 1962 | Scrapped in 1966 |
| 19 | John Wycliffe | 1948 | |
| 20 | Sir Christopher Wren | 1954 | Scrapped in 1954 following an accident |
[edit] District Railway locomotives
As part of the electrification of the District Line line in 1905, the Metropolitan District Railway bought ten bogie box cab locomotives. These were generally similar to the original District Line multiple units.
The locomotives were used to haul passenger trains that were run to and from the London and North Western Railway while they were on the electrified lines. By 1909 these services had been withdrawn and the locomotives were used to haul additional District Line trains, but this situation did not last for long. Trains from the LTSR were extended over the District line.
In 1911 three locomotives had been withdrawn and scrapped. Their electrical equipment was reused on new multiple unit trains that were being introduced. The remaining locomotives became L1 to L7.
The locomotives were regarded as underpowered and as there were equipped for working in multiple, were often used in pairs.
All the remaining locomotives were eventually scrapped.
[edit] Acton Works Shunters
For moving rolling stock around the main workshops at Acton, four electric locomotives were created out of withdrawn passenger vehicles.
- L10 - Rebuilt from two Hampstead Gate Stock driving motors. This Bo-Bo locomotive survived until 1978.
- L11 - Built in 1962 from two 1931 built Standard Stock vehicles (nos. 3080 and 3109) that had their passenger compartments cut off and the two cabs and control sections joined together back to back. The resulting locomotive was a single vehicle Bo-Bo. It saw use until the early 1990s and has since been preserved.
- L13A/B - Created in 1974 this was two 1938 Stock Driving Motor cars coupled back to back. The only major modification was the addition of high level air pipes to allow coupling to other Departmental vehicles.
- L14A/B - Rebuilt from two of the flat fronted 1935 stock prototype cars. These cars, No's 10011 and 11011, had been displaced from the Epping - Ongar shuttle in 1966. They were transferred to Acton Works for articulation experiments, thought being given at the time to the articulation of trains on the Nothern Line. The two car articulated 'set' started trials in 1970, and after a year, was transferred to Acton Works as a shunting locomotive. The experimental lightweight aluminium motor bogies were removed in 1975, and fitted to 1972 MkII car No3363, thus ending the life of LT's only articulated locomotive. It was scrapped at Acton the same year.
[edit] References
- Institution of Civil Engineers Published Proceedings, Electrical Railways: The City & South London Railway, Edward Hopkinson - 1893
- Institution of Electrical Engineers Published Proceedings, Electrical Locomotives in Practice, P V McMahon - 1899 & The City & South London Railway, P V McMahon - 1904
- Metropolitan Electric Locomotives, K.R.Benest - 1985
- London Transport Railways and PTE Systems, J.Glover & C.J.Marsden - 1985
- The London Underground Tube Stock, J.G.Bruce - 1988
- The Amazing Electric Tube, Printz P Holman - 1990
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