D78 Stock
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The London Underground D78 Stock, commonly referred to as D Stock, was a type of sub-surface rolling stock which operated on the
District line The District line is a London Underground line running from in the east and Edgware Road in the west to in west London, where it splits into multiple branches. One branch runs to in south-west London and a short branch, with a limited serv ...
of the
London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The ...
, except on the Wimbledon to
Edgware Road Edgware Road is a major road in London, England. The route originated as part of Roman Watling Street and, unusually in London, it runs for 10 miles in an almost perfectly straight line. Forming part of the modern A5 road, Edgware Road undergoes ...
service. The first units were withdrawn in January 2015 with the last withdrawn on 21 April 2017.


History

The D stock was ordered in 1976 to replace the pre-war CO/ CP Stock and post-war R Stock on the
District line The District line is a London Underground line running from in the east and Edgware Road in the west to in west London, where it splits into multiple branches. One branch runs to in south-west London and a short branch, with a limited serv ...
. Seventy-five six-car trains were built by
Metro-Cammell Metro-Cammell, formally the Metropolitan Cammell Carriage and Wagon Company (MCCW), was an English manufacturer of railway carriages, locomotives and railway wagons, based in Saltley, and subsequently Washwood Heath, in Birmingham. Purchased ...
,
Washwood Heath Washwood Heath is a ward in Birmingham, within the formal district of Hodge Hill, roughly two miles north-east of Birmingham city centre, England. Washwood Heath covers the areas of Birmingham that lie between Nechells, Bordesley Green, Stec ...
, the first entering service on 28 January 1980 with last delivered in 1983.


Details

The D Stock consisted of six-car trains, as opposed to the seven-car trains of CO/CP and R Stock, whose cars were shorter: under normal operation, each train consisted of two 3-car units, and 20 of the units are double-ended to allow 3-car operations under exceptional circumstances. The traction motors were the same LT118 type as on
1973 Tube Stock The London Underground 1973 Stock is a type of rolling stock used on the Piccadilly line of the London Underground. It was introduced into service in 1975 with the extension of the line to Hatton Cross, followed by a further extension to Hea ...
, and the bogies are same, unlike other subsurface rolling stock. With single-leaf doors and transverse and longitude seating, the style is very similar to 1983 stock on the
Jubilee line The Jubilee line is a London Underground line that runs between in east London and in the suburban north-west, via the Docklands, South Bank and West End. Opened in 1979, it is the newest line on the Underground network, although some secti ...
. The D stock and 1983 stock trains were the only trains on the underground to have their headlights positioned under the train body; many trains on the underground had only their tail lights under the body. The trains brought many innovations. The Metalastik rubber/metal "Chevron" primary springs and 'diabolo'-shaped rubber/metal secondary springs
suspension Suspension or suspended may refer to: Science and engineering * Suspension (topology), in mathematics * Suspension (dynamical systems), in mathematics * Suspension of a ring, in mathematics * Suspension (chemistry), small solid particles suspende ...
meant a smoother ride for passengers. The driver's cab is more ergonomic, the seat swiveling to move forwards, backwards, up or down. The dead man's handle is replaced by a joystick that needs to be twisted for the dead man feature, and moved fore and aft for motoring and braking. There is a Train Management System replacing the original Train Equipment Panel that highlights faults to the driver. The most noticeable difference between the stock and earlier trains is that the doors are single leaf. Originally, passengers pressed door-control buttons to open them. Posters explaining how to operate the doors were put up around Tube stations in
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
, French and German when the stock was introduced. The stock had a "POGO" switch (Passenger open/Guard's open) that could switch control of the doors from passengers to the guard (when the stock was introduced, the guard controlled the doors from the rear cab). While this function proved useful at above-ground stations and termini (especially in winter), station dwell time was significantly increased, and passengers had trouble getting used to the new system, not knowing how to open the door. By the late 1990s, the control of the doors went to the driver. The buttons remained, but they were covered up on refurbishment between 2004 and 2008. At over , the cars were the longest on the Underground. The windows had to be modified because of overheating when new, with pull-down opening windows installed in each car.


Usage

The stock was used on the
District line The District line is a London Underground line running from in the east and Edgware Road in the west to in west London, where it splits into multiple branches. One branch runs to in south-west London and a short branch, with a limited serv ...
, except the High Street Kensington to
Edgware Road Edgware Road is a major road in London, England. The route originated as part of Roman Watling Street and, unusually in London, it runs for 10 miles in an almost perfectly straight line. Forming part of the modern A5 road, Edgware Road undergoes ...
section, because the platforms are not long enough for D Stock. Between April 1985 and May 1987, the stock operated the East London line service in three-car formations, there being enough stock spare because of reduced services on the District line. This allowed A60/62 Stock to be sent for One Person Operation (OPO) conversion. The A60/62 stock took over the service again in 1987. The class received the Class 499/0 designation on British Rail's
TOPS Total Operations Processing System (TOPS) is a computer system for managing railway locomotives and rolling stock, known for many years of use in the United Kingdom. TOPS was originally developed between the Southern Pacific Railroad (SP), S ...
system to operate on the Richmond and Wimbledon branches. The stock started being replaced by S Stock in 2016. It was replaced about 15 years short of its intended lifespan, as a consistent new fleet will allow for frequencies to be increased and will reduce maintenance costs. In July 2011, Harrogate Chamber of Commerce proposed to use the stock on the Harrogate line from
York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
to
Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popula ...
via
Harrogate Harrogate ( ) is a spa town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Harrogate in North Yorkshire, England. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is a tourist destination and its visitor attractions include its spa w ...
to increase capacity. Stations in the Harrogate and Leeds urban areas are close together: the superior acceleration of the stock over the Class 150 diesel multiple units currently used, is intended to cut journey times. It was proposed that the line would be electrified with third rail, similar to the
Docklands Light Railway The Docklands Light Railway (DLR) is an automated light metro system serving the redeveloped Docklands area of London, England and provides a direct connection between London's two major financial districts, Canary Wharf and the City of Lo ...
, as opposed to the London Underground or the Southern Region network. On 24 July 2012, car 7007 was designated as the Olympic 2012 Train with London Underground Chief Operating Officer Howard Collins carrying the
Olympic Torch The Olympic flame is a symbol used in the Olympic movement. It is also a symbol of continuity between ancient and modern games. Several months before the Olympic Games, the Olympic flame is lit at Olympia, Greece. This ceremony starts the Olym ...
from Wimbledon to
Wimbledon Park Wimbledon Park is the name of an urban park in Wimbledon and also of the suburb south and east of the park and the Wimbledon Park tube station. The park itself is in area. The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club is immediately to the west ...
. This is the only London Underground train to be an Olympic Torch train.


Roster

* - Wheelchair space * DM - Driving Motor car * T - Trailer (non-powered) car * UNDM - Uncoupling Non-Driving Motor car De-icing equipment was fitted to trailers 17000 to 17048 (evens).


Refurbishment

The mid-life refurbishment was the first to be carried out under the
public–private partnership A public–private partnership (PPP, 3P, or P3) is a long-term arrangement between a government and private sector institutions.Hodge, G. A and Greve, C. (2007), Public–Private Partnerships: An International Performance Review, Public Adminis ...
(PPP), by
Metronet Metronet may refer to: *Metronet (British infrastructure company), who maintained London Underground infrastructure between 2003 and 2008. *Metronet (Western Australia), government agency formed in 2017, responsible for managing extensions to Perth ...
, and was delayed until contract negotiations were completed. A prototype unit of three cars (7008/17008/8008) was prepared by London Underground's Train Modification Unit at Acton Depot in 2001. This had some detail differences from the eventual refurbishment, and was later brought up to the standard of the rest of the stock. The refurbishment programme began in summer 2005 with the work undertaken by Bombardier Transportation's
Derby Litchurch Lane Works Derby Litchurch Lane Works (formerly Derby Carriage and Wagon Works) is a railway rolling stock factory in Derby, England. It was opened in the 19th century by the Midland Railway. The plant has produced rolling stock under the ownership of the ...
. The programme was completed in 2008. The refurbishment consisted of: * applying London Underground livery with anti-vandal paint and window film * restyling the interiors in green and white with silver door painting on the insides instead of orange and also change to the seat moquette. * replacing maple wood flooring with rubber * adding buzzers to the doors both when opening and closing * adding end-of-car windows * replacing hanging straps (bobbles on springs) with grab bars * covering the door buttons on exteriors * adding
dot matrix A dot matrix is a 2-dimensional patterned array, used to represent characters, symbols and images. Most types of modern technology use dot matrices for display of information, including mobile phones, televisions, and printers. The system is al ...
indicators showing the station and destination on the inside and exterior front and sides * adding an audio passenger information system guided by
GPS The Global Positioning System (GPS), originally Navstar GPS, is a satellite-based radionavigation system owned by the United States government and operated by the United States Space Force. It is one of the global navigation satellite sy ...
and odometer, voiced by
Emma Clarke Emma Clarke (born 1971) is an English writer of comedy and drama scripts and an award-winning voice-over artist, best known as the voice of the automated messages on the Bakerloo, Central and Waterloo & City lines of the London Underground. Most ...
: announcements for each station name include connecting lines, and provide warnings to "mind the gap between the train and the platform" * adding two tip-up seats/disabled multi purpose area * fitting air conditioning to driver's cab * fitting CCTV The refurbished D Stock were the first Underground trains to have electronic dot-matrix information displays on the sides of the cars; some pre-war trains had slot-in or reversible destination or non-stopping plates. It was also the first type in the subsurface fleet to sound buzzers even when the door opens. The rest of the refurbished sub surface stock only had buzzers when the doors closed. The refurbished D Stock also had the London Underground roundel painted on the sides of all the cars; previously, only the DM cars had the roundel on them. Around 2014, the emergency cords were fitted with flap coverings as a safety measure so that passengers only pull the cords in case of emergency.


Withdrawal

Withdrawals commenced on 19 January 2015 when the first full 6-car train, formed of units 7510 and 7058, was withdrawn from service at Ealing Common Depot and loaded onto trucks for Long Marston for the driving motors to be converted into 230s and the other cars to be either scrapped or stored for future use. The last train, formed of units 7007 and 7032, ran on 21 April 2017. A farewell heritage tour took place on 7 May 2017 operated by units 7007+7032. In February 2016, four redundant D78 cars were used by the emergency services in a mock tube accident staged at
Littlebrook Power Station The Littlebrook Power Station were a series of four oil and coal-fired power stations situated on the south bank of the River Thames, next to the Queen Elizabeth 2 Bridge and the Dartford Tunnel in Dartford, Kent. The final power station, Li ...
. One car 7012 is preserved by the London Transport Museum Depot at Acton. Car 7027 is preserved at Coopers Lane School, Lewisham for use as a library.


Conversion

In 2014
Vivarail Vivarail is a British rolling stock manufacturer, founded in 2012 and based in Southam. Vivarail's main project is the conversion of retired London Underground D78 Stock into two new classes for National Rail services. It was led by former Chil ...
purchased 156 driving motor cars and 70 trailer vehicles for conversion to Diesel–electric multiple units. 75 two or three-car units proposed. Under
TOPS Total Operations Processing System (TOPS) is a computer system for managing railway locomotives and rolling stock, known for many years of use in the United Kingdom. TOPS was originally developed between the Southern Pacific Railroad (SP), S ...
they are designated as Class 230. A prototype was produced for testing and accreditation in August 2015, with introduction to service in 2016. The first Class 230 service to carry passengers operated on 19 July 2017 when a unit was used to operate a shuttle service from Honeybourne to the Rail Live exhibition at the Quinton Rail Technology Centre. The first customer for production Class 230 units was
West Midlands Trains West Midlands Trains (WMT) is a train operating company in the United Kingdom. It operates passenger trains on the West Midlands franchise between London and the English Midlands under two trade names: West Midlands Railway (WMR) (within the ...
, which ordered three two-car DMUs in October 2017. Subsequently
Transport for Wales Rail Transport for Wales Rail Limited, branded as Transport for Wales and TfW Rail ( and ), is a Welsh publicly owned train operating company, a subsidiary of Transport for Wales (TfW), a Welsh Government-owned company. It commenced operations of t ...
ordered a total of five three-car sets, to be built as bi-mode multiple units (BMMUs), in June 2018. In September 2019 South Western Railway announced that it would be leasing five two-car Class 484s for use on the upgraded
Island Line Island Line or Island line may refer to: * Island line (MTR), one of the lines of the MTR metro system in Hong Kong * Island Line, Isle of Wight, a railway line on the Isle of Wight, England ** Island Line (brand) Island Line is a brand of the ...
on the
Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a Counties of England, county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the List of islands of England#Largest islands, largest and List of islands of England#Mo ...
from 2020. These continue to be powered by electricity drawn from the third rail. The first units arrived on the Isle of Wight on 19 November 2020, and entered service on 1 November 2021 once upgrade works on the island line were completed. While the 484s are considerably taller than the 483s they replaced, a survey of the line prior to the commencement of upgrade works confirmed that the new units would be able to traverse Ryde Tunnel, a requirement for any stock to run on the Island Line.


References


Sources

*


External links


D Stock
Tubeprune
Vivarail
{{London Underground rolling stock D78 Metropolitan Cammell multiple units Train-related introductions in 1980