Northern City Stock Transfers

Can't help you with a definitive answer; but the timings of 1121 (1115 in the final WTT) off the Klondyke and 1400 off Drayton Park would tend to fit in with a Neasden-based crew - unless there was a lot of mileage on the cushions.

Neasden had the duty after the Northern Heights line was condemned in 1970. Went via the main southbound from Finsbury Park, onto the widened lines, then northbound on the Met.

Neasden fluffy link crews done those in the brief time I was there.

The stock ran Met from Neasden to Farringdon, cross over to the widened lines, then via Kings Cross and the ECML to Finsbury Park. A Kings Cross driver and guard conducted the movement from Farringdon to Finsbury Park then back down to Drayton Park.

I saw the movement a couple of times when I was secondman at Kings Cross, but never got to work it.

Never having found out what the fluffy link was, I suspect they knew the Met, circle and Bakerloo, as well as battery locos.

Being fascinated about the subject I was gobsmacked years ago...early 1980s?..to see a film taken of stock transfer trips shown at a LURS meeting. The photographer capatured an Up train north of what I think were Copenhagen tunnels en route to York Road Platform and then again at Farringdon. The train crossed from the Up CWL to the Inner Circle at Farringdon and thus reversed in the platform. or just before it. I can't recall which. I assume that in reverse train ran Outer Circle, then over a crossover to Inner Circle, thence to Up CWL, and reverse over a crossover to the Down CWL.

Logically they ran on battery power as far as the Inner Circle and then switched to fourth rail after that...does it take any time to do so? Would they have stopped at Kings X?

I used to look at this site all the time:
overground.doeth.net/heights/

Scroll down to 'S01' and click on the link for a BR timetable from 1968-69

I am no doubt mis-remembering, but seem to recall that stock went to Neasden for attention, or to Acton Works if required. I assume that before Neasden took over, stock went to Highgate Depot, when there was the link at Drayton Park? Transfers to Acton would I assume be from the Depots in either case?

The 1938 Stock on the Northern 'main' had the Northern City at the top of the usual line maps in cars...I only used the line once, and cannot recall if the trains had a simple line map or whether they used the Northern ones.

I don't remember a crossover at Barbican CWL platforms! But then I suppose there must have been as they used it to run round the last steam on the Met special!

The stop at York Way on the way back would be to set the trip cock on the leading loco if required as there was a trip cock tester half way along the platform.

IIRC the chage over from juice to battery was a simple matter. Not being trained on battery locos, I can't comment. Bigal is ex Lillie Bridge, maybe he could answer that one.

Sorry roythebus. Can't remember anything about Northern City stock transfers. ( I was a mere teaboy then) What I can say though is the all Northern Line stock line diagrams, the long ones over the car cards, had a full list of the Northern City stations included. As the 'City' was technically part of the Northern Division, offices at Leicester Square, that made a lot of sense. I would think that annual overhauls would have taken place at Neasdon as they were already equipped to deal with '38 stock. 3 Yearly would, as usual, be at Acton. Presumably blocking, weekly, monthly and 3 monthlies would be done at Drayton Pk.

Changing from track to battery was easily done from within the loco. A key operated master switch in the body of the loco. What also had to be done though was shoe lifting. The negs from inside, positives from outside - and don't forget that there was 4 of those.

The Bakerloo's fleet was indeed 3- and 4-car units. However, the Northern City fleet from Neasden was all three-car units, enabling trains to be formed 2x3.

The NC fleet from Neasden from 5/10/70 comprised the following, all of which were given Northern Line route maps:

There were 6x6-car trains allocated with a nominal transfer date of 5/10/70.

10105-012161-11105
10109-012151-11109
10111-012162-11111
10113-012517-11113
10115-012167-11115
10151-012309-11151
10155-012247-11155
10157-012245-11157
10169-012256-11169
10175-012263-11175
10187-012273-11187
10287-012380-11287

10117-012416-11117 replaced unit 10155 4/72 which went for EHO.
10147-012181-11147 replaced unit 10157 6/74 which was withdrawn.
10043-012404-11043 replaced unit 10175 3/75 (Moorgate collision).

Going back in time to when 1938 Tube Stock took over the NC in October 1966, trains were either 3- or 4-car units operating on their own (care had to be taken to make sure the 3-car had two compressors). They were transferred by battery loco between Highgate Wood sidings and Drayton Park, one train of 1938 Stock specifically stabling there between the peaks Mon-Fri for that purpose.

The arrangements changed when the Victoria Line opened and all trains on the NC became 2x3-cars, the changeover still being based from Highgate Wood sidings. The stock was still not 'dedicated' and with 6-car trains there was no longer a need to worry about 3-car units having two compressors as a 6-car would have at least two.

On another matter, concerning stock transfers from and to Neasden, I can confirm that the crews were definitely "not" Neasden Fluffy Link. This was a decicated 12-person roster over and above the normal Met Long Link roster and the crews on this were additionally trained for Neasden Yard, the route to and from Acton Works (for heavy overhauls, damaged stock, etc) and the 1938 Tube Stock.

I am still not sure whether the Drayton Park moves 1970-75 were done by test crews or Neasden Loco - the latter I would suspect.

Neasden Loco was the former "steam" (non passenger workings) and was totally separate (in work and office location) from crews that worked passenger stock. It had its own Loco Inspectors.

The Fluffy Link at Neasden was part of the "electric running" (as it was then known). The reason for the "Fluffy Link" name seems to be obscure. I have seen several suggestions as to why it was called that but nothing ever really definitive - probably lost in the mists of time! The "electric running" had Station Masters.

When I worked at Neasden in the 1971-73 period in the "electric running" (in what is now Klondyke House), there were 89 Met motormen and 87 Met Guards on the "Long Link" and 12 motormen and guards on the "Fluffy Link". There were also the Bakerloo crews - about 50+ if I remember correctly.

I have just looked at the book "Northern Wastes: Scandal of the Uncompleted Northern Line" by Jim Blake and Jonathan James. There was still transfers to and from Highgate via the Northern Heights until September 1970. These were towed across by battery locos

Did these come from a Met, Bakerloo, Northern, or Circle/H&C (then known as Met section 1) WTT?