London Underground electric locomotives
London Underground electric locomotives | |
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Stock type | Deep-level tube |
Notes/references | |
London transport portal |
Electric locomotives were first used on the
The C&SLR was opened just a few years after the very first use of electricity to drive rail vehicles (trains or trams) and the primitive locomotives reflected this. Over the next 15 years, motors became smaller, 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.
From 1903, the MR and the DR began to electrify the central parts of their lines for use by electric multiple units (EMUs). On both railways carriages were hauled by electric locomotives that were exchanged for a steam engine to run over un-electrified distant sections. The last steam-hauled passenger trains were replaced in 1961.
When not hauling passenger trains, the electric locomotives were used for shunting and for hauling
City and South London Railway
Central & South London Railway locomotives | |
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standard gauge | |
Electric system/s | 500 V DC |
Current pickup(s) | Third rail |
MU working | No |
Performance figures | |
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Maximum speed | 25 mph (40 km/h) |
Career | |
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Operators | City and South London Railway |
Numbers | 1-52 |
Retired | 1923 |
Preserved | 1 |
When the
The locomotives were small and short to fit within the small diameter tunnels, which were 10 feet 2 inches (3.10 m) at the northern end of the railway, and 10 feet 6 inches (3.20 m) on the straighter southern section, to allow higher speeds.[3] The cab was built along the centre line of the locomotive with a door at each end and the controls and equipment mounted on the sides. There was a single driving position at one end of the locomotive with the power controller on one side and the Westinghouse 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 miles per hour (40 km/h) on good track, providing a service speed of around 11.5 mph (18.5 km/h). 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").[2]
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 from an air line maintained at 80 psi (5.5 bar).[2] Later, locomotives were fitted with compressors.
The railway was opened on 4 November 1890 by the Prince of Wales (later King
In 1895, the C&SLR itself built locomotive No. 17 at Stockwell depot, and carried out a series of tests on locomotives 12, 15 and 17, as more locomotives would soon be needed for the extensions being made. They ordered three more locomotives from different manufacturers in 1898, which were equipped with four-pole motors, a more efficient control system using series-parallel switching of the motors, and on-board compressors. The motors were still mounted on the axles. Another two locomotives (Nos. 21 and 22), which were built at Stockwell Depot, 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, including nose-suspended motors connected to the axles by a single reduction gear, but still bore a strong external resemblance to the original locomotives. Between 1904 and 1907, locomotives Nos. 3 to 12 were rebuilt with new electrical equipment to improve their performance.[5]
Following the introduction of new locomotives and the abandonment of the restrictive King William Street terminus in 1900, the C&SLR was able to run trains with four cars.[6] Five-car trains were introduced from 1907.[7] Six-carriage trains were briefly operated in 1914/15 and from October 1923[8] before the last part of the line was closed for reconstruction and tunnel enlargement in November 1923.[9]
The enlarged tunnels allowed the locomotive hauled trains to be replaced by 'Standard' Stock electric 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.[7]
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
Central London Railway
Central London Railway locomotives | |
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standard gauge | |
Loco weight | 44 tonnes (43 long tons; 49 short tons) |
Electric system/s | 500 V DC |
Current pickup(s) | Third rail |
MU working | No |
Performance figures | |
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Maximum speed | 25 mph (40 km/h) |
Power output | 468 hp (349 kW) |
Career | |
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Operators | Central London Railway |
Numbers | 1-28 |
Retired | 1903 |
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). Each axle carried a 117 hp (87 kW) GE56A motor directly mounted on it. When starting, pairs of motors were connected in parallel, and the two pairs were connected in series. The controller had nine series notches, after which the motors were open-circuited, reconnected in full parallel, and the controller had another seven parallel notches. The direct-working controls did not allow the locomotives to work in multiple.[10] 32 Sets were scrapped in 1942 A serious design fault in these locomotives was their very high
Six and seven car trains were run, and as on the City and South London Railway, locomotives were stepped back at the termini. A seven-car train required a crew of eight. Two men rode in the locomotive, there was a front and rear guard, and four additional men operated the gates on the passenger cars. 28 locomotives were built, although 32 were ordered, the remaining four intended for when the extension from
The three geared locomotives were retained, to be used for shunting at Wood Lane Depot, while the rest were offered for sale. The
Metropolitan Railway
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.[14]
The first ten had a central cab and were known as camel-backs, and these entered service in 1906. A year later another ten units with a box design and a driving position both ends arrived.[14] These were replaced by more powerful units in the early 1920s.[15]
One locomotive is preserved as a static display at London Transport Museum[16] and another, No. 12 "Sarah Siddons", has been used for heritage events, most recently in 2019.[17]
District Railway
In 1905, the District Railway bought ten bogie boxcab locomotives that looked similar to their multiple units, but were only 25 feet (7.6 m) long. They were manufactured by the Metropolitan Amalgamated Carriage and Wagon Company, and most of them had a single cab at one end. Consequently, they were worked in pairs, coupled back to back with the cabs at the outer end.[18]
The locomotives were used to haul London and North Western Railway passenger trains on the electrified section of the Outer Circle route between Earl's Court and Mansion House. In December 1908, these services terminated at Earl's Court[19] and the locomotives were used to haul District line trains, one coupled to each end of a rake of four trailer cars.[20] From 1910, trains from the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway (LT&SR) were extended over the District line, the steam locomotives being exchanged for electric ones at Barking.[21] Two rakes of carriages were provided by the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway, and were hauled over the District tracks by the locomotives working in pairs. Not needed, three locomotives were scrapped, leaving three pairs and one spare. Originally numbered 1A to 10A, those that were not scrapped became L1 to L7 after 1910.[18]
Their electrical equipment was reused on new multiple unit trains that were being introduced.[citation needed]
The locomotives were equipped for working in multiple. Each locomotive had four GE69 motors,[20] rated at 200 horsepower (150 kW) totaling 800 hp.[22] In 1922 the motors were replaced with GE260 surplus from the F Stock.[20] L2 and L7 were scrapped in 1938, and the remaining locomotives were scrapped in 1939,[23] after the LT&SR service was withdrawn. Their electrical equipment was re-used in F-stock cars which were being converted to air-door operation.[18]
Acton Works shunters
For moving rolling stock around the main workshops at Acton, four electric locomotives were created out of withdrawn passenger vehicles.
- L10 - This Bo-Bo locomotive was built from two Hampstead Gate Stock driving motors. It was constructed at Acton Works in 1930 from cars 1 and 3, originally built in 1907 by the American Car and Foundry Company. The motor ends of both cars were joined back-to-back, and this design was the first of several similar vehicles constructed from old stock. The vehicle was fitted with adjustable couplers at each end, which could be raised or lowered to cope with tube stock or sub-surface stock. Because of the layout of Acton Works, only the couplings on the southern end, known as the "Acton" end (as opposed to the "Ealing" end), were used, and those at the Ealing end were gradually cannibalised for spares for the Acton end. It was subsequently rebuilt, with flat panels on the sides, rather than the louvred ones of the Hampstead stock, and lost its distinctive clerestory roof. The GE69 motors were replaced with the superior GE212 motors, which included interpoles and roller bearings.[24] It survived until 1978, when it was cut up on site by Cashmores.[25]
- L11 - Built in 1964 from two 1931 Epping Tube Station[27]
- L13A/B - Created in 1974, this locomotive consisted of two 1938 Stock Driving Motor cars coupled back to back. Modifications included the addition of high level air pipes to allow coupling to other Departmental vehicles, reciprocating compressors, and the addition of power lines between the two cars. These gave the locomotive a very long shoegear span, since all four bogies were fitted with shoe beams, enabling it to cross gaps in the current rail at very low speeds. The locomotive was built so that L14A/B, which had proved the usefulness of a long shunting locomotive, could be scrapped.[28]
- L14A/B - Two of the flat fronted 1935 stock prototype cars were rebuilt to create this locomotive. The donor cars, numbers 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 Northern line.[28] The trailing ends of the two motor cars were cut back so there was only one window behind the rear double doors,[29] and both were mounted on a single steel bogie. The outer bogies were replaced with new lightweight ones, constructed of aluminium, and the unit was ready for testing to begin in August 1970. After a year of trials, engineers had collected sufficient data, and as it was never intended for the vehicle to enter passenger service, it was transferred to Acton Works as a shunting locomotive, where it was particularly useful, as the shoes spanned 64 feet (20 m). The experimental lightweight aluminium motor bogies were removed in 1975, and fitted to 1972 MkII car No. 3363, so that long-term testing of the design could be carried out. This ended the life of LT's only articulated locomotive, which was scrapped at Acton later that year.[28]
References
- ^ Bruce 1988, pp. 9–10
- ^ a b c Bruce 1988, p. 11
- ^ Bruce 1988, p. 7
- ^ Bruce 1988, p. 12
- ^ Bruce 1988, pp. 12–13
- ^ Bruce 1988, p. 15
- ^ a b c d Bruce 1988, p. 16
- ^ Croome & Jackson 1993, p. 30.
- ^ Day & Reed 2010, pp. 90–91.
- ^ Bruce 1988, p. 25
- ^ Bruce 1988, pp. 25–26
- ^ Bruce 1988, pp. 27–29
- ^ Bruce 1987, p. 18
- ^ a b Green 1987, p. 26.
- ^ Bruce 1983, p. 58.
- ^ "Metropolitan Railway electric locomotive No. 5, "John Hampden", 1922". ltmcollection.org. Retrieved 27 February 2012.
- ^ "Past Events — Metro-land Heritage Vehicle Outing" (Press release). London Transport Museum. 11 September 2011. Retrieved 27 February 2012.
- ^ a b c Bruce 1987, p. 19.
- ^ Horne 2006, p. 44.
- ^ a b c Bruce 1983, p. 41.
- ^ Bruce 1983, p. 47.
- ^ "District Electric Trains" (PDF). Underground News. October 2010. p. 567.
- ^ Bruce 1987, p. 89.
- ^ a b Bruce 1987, pp. 20–21
- ^ Bruce 1987, p. 90
- ^ "L11 - A Unique Electric Locomotive". Cravens Heritage Trains. 6 July 2006. Archived from the original on 17 August 2018. Retrieved 4 May 2012.
- ^ L11 at Epping
- ^ a b c Bruce 1987, p. 25
- ^ Connor 1989, p. 89
Bibliography
- Croome, D.; Jackson, A (1993). Rails Through The Clay — A History Of London's Tube Railways (2nd ed.). Capital Transport. ISBN 1-85414-151-1.
- Bruce, J Graeme (1983) [1970]. Steam to Silver: A history of London Transport Surface Rolling Stock. Harrow Weald: Capital Transport. ISBN 0-904711-45-5.
- Bruce, J Graeme (1987). Workhorses of the London Underground. Harrow Weald: Capital Transport. ISBN 0-904711-87-0.
- Bruce, J Graeme (1988). The London Underground Tube Stock. Shepperton: Ian Allan and London Transport Museum. ISBN 0-7110-1707-7.
- Connor, Piers (1989). The 1938 Tube Stock. Harrow Weald: Capital Transport. ISBN 1-85414-115-5.
- Day, John R; Reed, John (2010) [1963]. The Story of London's Underground (11th ed.). Capital Transport. ISBN 978-1-85414-341-9.
- Green, Oliver (1987). The London Underground — An illustrated history. ISBN 0-7110-1720-4.
- Horne, Mike (2006). The District Line. Capital Transport. ISBN 1-85414-292-5.
- Holman, Printz P. (1990). Amazing Electric Tube. London Transport Museum. ISBN 978-1-871829-01-3.
- 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
External links
City & South London Railway
- Dr Edward Hopkinson, designer of the C&SLR's first locomotives, 1870-1900
- Interior of locomotive No. 1, circa 1890-1900
- Locomotive No. 6, circa 1906-10
- Locomotive No. 36, 1925
- Locomotive No. 1, 1923
Central London Railway
Metropolitan Railway
- 1905 locomotive No. 1, circa 1920
- 1921 locomotive No. 2, circa 1921-7
- 1921 locomotive No. 15 with side panels removed, 1924
- 1921 locomotive No. 12, "Sarah Siddons", 1973
District Railway
Acton Works