Metropolitan line (1933–1988)
Steam locomotives were used north of Rickmansworth until the early 1960s, when they were replaced following the electrification of the tracks to Amersham and the introduction of new electric multiple units.
The line, opened with steam locomotives and gas-lit wooden carriages, was built to connect the capital's mainline railway termini.
On 1 July 1933, the MR amalgamated with other underground railways, tramway companies and bus operators to form the London Passenger Transport Board (LPTB).
From 1935, the New Works Programme entailed some station rebuilding at places such as Rayners Lane, Eastcote, Ruislip Manor and Uxbridge.
The solution chosen by the LPTB was to extend the Bakerloo line through new tube tunnels from Baker Street to Finchley Road, and for these trains to take over the service to intermediate stations to Wembley Park and the branch to Stanmore.
[9] The Northern Heights plan would have seen the line extended to Alexandra Palace, but works were suspended after the outbreak of the Second World War.
The work begun at Harrow before the war was over was completed, and involved opening two more platforms so as to give British Railways (BR) trains their own.
[14] North of Wembley Park, there was a bottleneck where the six platforms shared four tracks for half a mile before Stanmore junction.
A Stock trains began running in 1960;[16] the Chesham branch operated with electric traction from September 1960.
[18] The new all-electric timetable saw 27 peak-hour trains arriving at Baker Street: 12 from Uxbridge, six from Amersham, one from Chesham and eight from Watford.
Express passenger services from London to Sheffield and Manchester were discontinued in January 1960, leaving only three "semi-fast" London-to-Nottingham trains per day.
London Transport (LT) took responsibility for the twenty 1,200 hp (890 kW) electric locomotives used for hauling coaches on the electrified lines south of Rickmansworth.
They continued in this service until working ended on passenger trains after the introduction of the A Stock multiple units in 1961.
The Pullman coaches were withdrawn early in the Second World War;[29] however, the Dreadnoughts continued until replaced by the A stock in 1961.
[30] The unelectrified Chesham branch was converted to autotrain working in 1940, in which the trains could be driven from each end, thus avoiding the time-consuming repositioning of the locomotive.
[32] The Bluebell Railway has four of the 1898–1900 Ashbury and Cravens carriages, and a fifth, built at Neasden, is at the London Transport Museum.
[33] London Transport inherited a number of different incompatible electric multiple units from the Metropolitan Railway.
Two trailers were included in an 8-car formation, but these were designed to allow conversion to motor cars at a later date after improvements to the power supply.
[22] In 1968, an order was placed for 35 six-car trains to replace the CP and CO stock on the Hammersmith & City and Circle lines.
