The London Underground F Stock was built in 1920 and 1921 for the
District Railway
The Metropolitan District Railway, also known as the District Railway, was a passenger railway that served London from 1868 to 1933. Established in 1864 to complete an " inner circle" of lines connecting railway termini in London, the first par ...
(later the London Underground
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 servic ...
) by the
Metropolitan Carriage, Wagon and Finance Company
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. Purchase ...
. They were partly funded by the government as part of an initiative to help British industry recover from
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. One hundred steel-bodied cars were built: 40 driving motors, 12 control trailers and 48 trailers with the first train entering service on 23 December 1920.
The cars were built with manually-operated sliding doors.
They had non-standard equipment that precluded multiple-unit operation with any other type of train, and had significantly more powerful motors which resulted in acceleration of (which was considerably better than existing District Railway rolling stock). This led to some initial operating difficulties as the benefits of the new trains were not properly realised. The front ends of driving cabs had two distinctive oval windows separated by the centre door.
This was a less-than-ideal design, because it limited the driver's forward view in what is now considered a cramped, ergonomically unfriendly cab.
As built, the initial design of the stock was unwelcoming with a cold steel appearance, seats covered in a
Rexine Rexine is the registered trademark of an artificial leather leathercloth fabric produced in the United Kingdom by Rexine Ltd of Hyde, near Manchester, England. It was made of cloth surfaced with a mixture of cellulose nitrate (a low explosive also u ...
-type material and roof-to-floor grab-poles for standing commuters.
Frank Pick
Frank Pick Hon. RIBA (23 November 1878 – 7 November 1941) was a British transport administrator. After qualifying as a solicitor in 1902, he worked at the North Eastern Railway, before moving to the Underground Electric Railways Company ...
, the innovator of so much change on the Underground system, commissioned a well-known artist who improved the appearance of the upholstery, supplied armrests between individual seats, and replaced the grab-poles with hanging straps.
The stock had both first- and third-class accommodation at this time.
Between 1938 and 1940, the control trailers were all rebuilt into driving motor cars, and the doors converted to air-operation with passenger push-button control.
In 1950 and 1951, after a final rehabilitation programme (which included the provision of door-locking), the F Stock was transferred to the
Metropolitan line
The Metropolitan line, colloquially known as the Met, is a London Underground line between in the City of London and and in Buckinghamshire, with branches to in Hertfordshire and in Hillingdon. Printed in magenta on the tube map, the line i ...
where it operated services between
Uxbridge
Uxbridge () is a suburban town in west London and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Hillingdon. Situated west-northwest of Charing Cross, it is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. Uxbrid ...
and London, even working the occasional service to
Amersham
Amersham ( ) is a market town and civil parish within the unitary authority of Buckinghamshire, England, in the Chiltern Hills, northwest of central London, from Aylesbury and from High Wycombe. Amersham is part of the London commuter belt.
...
and
Watford
Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne.
Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, a ...
. The first rehabilitated train ran on 27 February 1951. Because of their powerful motors, the F Stock was often used for semi-fast services in the morning peak (calling at all stations from Uxbridge to Rayners Lane, then stopping only at Harrow on the Hill before Finchley Road), with return services in the evening rush hour. When running fast, trains notably tended to roll and lurch along the track. Some four-car sets also worked the
East London Line during the 1950s with maintenance being undertaken at
Neasden depot
Neasden Depot is a London Underground depot located in Neasden in the London Borough of Brent, between Neasden and Wembley Park stations on the Metropolitan line. It is the largest depot on the London Underground, and is currently responsible f ...
.
The F Stock was replaced by
A60 and A62 Stock in the early 1960s. A few units continued on the
East London Line with the last set operating on 7 September 1963 (the last Uxbridge service had operated on 15 March 1963).
The F stock were initially nicknamed "Dreadnoughts" but they quickly became known as "Tanks", possibly because of their all-steel construction or because they had been built in workshops that had previously produced
tank
A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and good battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engin ...
s during the war.
None survived into preservation.
References
External links
London Transport Museum Photographic Archive**
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{{London Underground Rolling Stock
Metropolitan District Railway
F
Train-related introductions in 1920