question about the a stock

From my memories of the 70s, a ride on an A Stock into Baker Street at times felt very fast. Rattling through Neasden at speed was quite bumpy. I was quite young at the time, so the ride to a young small person would feel different to my rather larger person today! I think the top speed of a A Stock would have been higher in the 1970s, I don't think the reduction to 50mph had happened. Another difference was off peak often the A stock ran as 4 cars.

if it helps judge times compared to today, I have a number of extracts from time tables on my site at www.metroland.org.uk/amersham/metro/timetables.htm and one is from the 1970s

Thanks knap, based on your 1977 timetable for the 0638 from Amersham, it looks like we're comparing a 31 min ride to Baker St then to a 46/47 min ride now (quick check on the TfL Journey Planner rather than official timetable). Quite an increase!

1924 Metroland publicity material claims fastest Amersham "to or from" Baker St as 38 minutes. It doesn't say how many trains were booked to do that, how many intermediate stops nor of course how reliably it was achieved. It certainly seems pretty amazing if they were changing between steam and electric loco at Rickmansworth during the 38 minutes as they must have - I don't think there was steam working to Baker St by then.
It must have missed out a few stops because the fastest claimed for Chalfont is 43 minutes and Chorley Wood & Chenies (sic) 37 minutes.
Pinner 22 minutes sounds quite smart. Or Uxbridge 31 minutes (42 - 43 today, All Stations). Of course there were less stations on the Uxbridge branch in 1924! And I bet they weren't running 6tph on each branch either and no TETS protection at Baker St.
Still, we aren't getting quicker, are we! I wonder what journey times the new signalling system will actually deliver. Someone on here should be able to give us some typical timings....

Yes sorry, just been rechecking. All the stations on the Uxbridge branch existed (some as 'halts') in 1924, Watford branch opened 1925 along with electric to Ricky and only Northwood Hills was added later.
I reckon the Amersham timing is only believable if the only stop was the loco change and there can't have been many such journeys because they'd be catching too many other trains since there was so little four-track then.

The July 1922 Bradshaw shows the 9.12 am departure from Amersham giving an arrival at Baker Street at 9.49. This is actually a Marylebone train (cross-checking with the Great Central line timetable, it's the 5.20 from Nottingham Victoria). arriving at Marylebone at 9.48; it calls at Harrow-on-the-Hill, so the Baker Street timing is for a connection there.

It's not the fastest Amersham - Marylebone timing; that's the 6.39 pm from Amersham (5.45 from Brackley Central), calling at Rickmansworth and Harrow, arriving at 7.13.

Ah, you'd never get away with that today would you! If it's the same in 1924, Met Rly claims 38 minutes which is actually a 37 minute Great Central train then a one minute dash on foot to Baker Street!