Scrapping of D stock

I'd prefer to see them still running on the mainline on heritage days!

I'd imagine that the heritage A stock will be retained, its just the RAT that will go. If it becomes a second heritage unit (sans 5th car) or it goes on to get stripped of parts and sent for further "processing" at Rotherham will be interesting to see.

Just as an aside, what will happen to Heritage train days when the remainder of the underground network is converted to ATO? Is it just some of the lines that they'll be unable to run on or will it be more extensive?


Sent from my iPad

The old SSL signalling contract for cityflo 650 included fitting the necessary signalling interfaces to some of the heritage stock (which was taken to mean the 38TS, Sarah Siddons and whatever else the museum has that is track worthy) and the departmental stock (RATs and Battery locos) so that they could be driven on the SSL manually (protected manual). I think the new tender includes similar scope, so in summary, tours on the SSL, and quite possibly Piccadilly if common sense prevails and the new signalling system is rolled out there as well. If the demand for a northern line tour is sufficient, they might even fit some seltrac stuff (possibly at the expense of some passenger space) but slotting a railtour onto the northern or jubilee wos be quite difficult with the improved timetables. It would certainly need to be scheduled for when there aren't many trains out, but then again, if seltrac win the SSL contract...

Hi all

Now that the C stock has disappeared into the scrap yard. We all should all start taking photos D stock trains because they will go the same way as the C stock trains. I do not mean rush out and get them but every time you are down London take few photos of them while they are still running around on the district line before the S stock starts taking over the workings.

If all the C Stock is now gone, what are they going to do with the S7's currently being manufactured if they are not using them to replace D Stock?

There are 30 weeks remaining this year. That's a lot of S7's to have hanging around waiting for the D stock to start being removed.

I think that s7s have been on test runs outside of traffic hours to upminster. As for the s7s being built, I suspect that they are being stored at old dalby or at various locations around the SSL network (and bits of the Piccadilly line) so that when the D stock withdrawal starts, s7s can just be substituted onto diagrams as and when.

Since time immoral (well, the mid-1970s) Wimbledon line passengers have been able to tell Edgware Road trains from City trains at a glance - I'm not sure when CO/CP stock stopped operating on the District main line but once it was confined to the Edgware Road line (where 7car R stock trains couldn't go), the different colours was a giveaway even though in other resepcts they looked very similar.

The CO/CP stock was replaced by C stock: still easy to tell apart from the R stock.

A year or so later and the R stock went, replaced by D stock: recognisably different from C stock to the layman - especially in their original colours as the D stock had red cab fronts and the C stock didn't, but the more subtle differences were still enough for a layman to recognise after refurbishment.

Now we have D stock and S stock - easy to tell apart.

But soon passengers on that line will have to start getting used to checking the destination displays, as both routes will be operated by S stock.

The easiest way to tell the difference was that C stock had pairs of doors and D stock single doors.

Certainly since the refurbishments that was the best way, to the extent that I would tell people get the Green train or get the Yellow train, but before the refurbishments, handrails wasn't an option. Although I suppose you could say - "get the blue train" or "get the orange train". You could also rely on length, particularly at stations where entry is at the end of a platform, for example going northbound, Wimbledon, Southfields, Putney Bridge, Earls Court (warwick road) &c.

As far as I know the Edgware Rd to Wimbledon (Putney) line had different stock for years before. I believe from the 1940s H stock usually worked this service supplemented by Q stock on occasion and when the H stock was withdrawn Q stock ran the service most of the time. I think the Q stock operated the service until about 1970 after which CO/CP stock ran the service till about 1979. I'm sure there were exceptions to this and some date slippages but this is how I understand it. Of course someone may have first hand memories of it! Due to the platform lengths I have always felt the Putney service received the older stock in service much like the ELL. My query is when the CP stock started to run on the District in about 1964 in 6 car formations did it run often on the Putney line?

Anyway back on topic.....

Punters will have to pay a lot more attention to the sides of the train which is pretty well detailed compared with previous stocks.

I think it'll be interesting to see how many pages we get up to for the D stock's demise. The A stock managed 148, the poor unloved C stock had just under 100 pages less.

What's that? Get it wrong, end up in the wrong place and have to double-back?

I always thought it was a waste to replace satisfactory D stock, whilst money could have been better spent on replacing the crumbling 1972 Bakerloo Trains instead!