London Underground A Stock

Photo from my recent trip to London.

One of my principal photographic targets were the old A60/A62 stock trains still running on the Metropolitan line, alongside the new S stock that's currently being introduced. It will only be a matter of time until the last A stock train will be displaced by a new S stock one, making me extra-anxious about getting a few proper shots. After all, these things were built in the early 1960s, currently the oldest type of rolling stock operating on the Underground network.

In the end, I ended up with a large number of photos while on tour with *CJSutcliffe and ~klambert94, this one having been taken at Northwick Park, with the train bound for Rickmansworth. We actually boarded and rode this one!

You probably know that I'm a sucker for old and outdated stuff, with these trains being a prime example. When I first boarded one of the new S stock trains, I noticed two things. 1.) The seats were rather hard, despite looking upholstered from a distance, and 2.) the train didn't depart immediately, due to a problem with the doors that the driver had to investigate first. All doors have been fitted with pressure sensors along their edges, but they are much too sensitive, causing many delays. Now I do realize that everything has teething troubles. But when you enter an A stock train and sit down on those bouncy seat cushions, hearing the doors close and lock with that ever so pleasant mechanical sound, the compressor chugging away under the floor... It's just a proper train, making proper train noises, departing even if some chav has his shoelace caught in the doors.

Interesting fact: When introduced, these were the fastest four-rail vehicles in the world, with a top speed of 70mph. Nowadays, their speed has been reduced to 50mph to improve reliability, but even the new S stock can only do 62 at max, making the old A stock the fastest train type that the Underground network has ever seen.

Yes, I know, the S stock has air conditioning, more passenger space, higher acceleration, spaces for wheelchairs and prams, and you can even hold the door open with your face without injury. They also have batteries, enabling them to reach the next stop in case of a total power failure, they have regenerative brakes, consume less energy, and didn't harm dolphins either. I'm sure they are 150% better in every technical term, apart from oldschoolness. In other words, they are very, very boring.