1972 Tube Stock Aldwych Unit

Well, the Holborn redevelopment itself is paused indefinitely relying on a government grant which is probably not going to manifest itself before the next general election. I hope they do find a commercial use for the unit given that it had quite the career in Film/TV production from BBC's Sherlock and the ABC Murders to Fast and Furious. I have to say at the moment, there's little official capacity to preserve another unit in operational condition for purely historical value.

Future use on the Bakerloo?

Nice idea, but no. Apart from the fact that it would require refurbishment, conversion to OPO and a whole batch of modifications, there’s also the issue that there’s nothing to work with it. There aren’t any spare three-car units now, so your only way to make up such a unit is to steal the UNDM from unit 3299, or use the derelict UNDM 3411 which I believe is still at Hainault; the former would need replacing (I forget if there’s any suitable ex Victoria Line cars remaining), the latter would need massive work to make it serviceable again, then two further cars would be required.

There were some tentative plans a few years to make up two extra Bakerloo trains, both these UNDM solutions were proposed in order to make two complete trains, but it evidently came to nothing, it’s worth noting unit 3229 was not part of this proposal.

The lift at Stonebridge Park will almost certainly simply be a case of Stonebridge Park having experience with these trains. The demise of the PPP perhaps might have made this easier, the former Metronet/Tube Lines dividing line no longer existing. 3229 is a nice unit, and barring a couple of minor alterations like the red fronts it is a fine representation of a particular era in LU rolling stock, and LU in general, being representative basically from the late 1960s to the late 1990s. I hope it gets preserved when and if its LU role ends. I’d love to see it back in the Northern Line one day, but sadly pretty slim chance, never say never though.