The blind enclosure is very similar in appearance to the C Stock destination blind in my Collection, though the rod that attaches the crank handle used in changing the destination is extended. Additionally, the enclosure was not painted Cornflower Blue during the 1967 Stock refurbishment that occurred in the early 1990s, as happened with the C Stock blind enclosures. The destination set in the photograph below indicated that the train would terminate at Seven Sisters station for passengers, but would then continue to Northumberland Park Depot, for use in shuttling any staff members from the Underground network to the depot. The presence of the dot within the destination confirms this route; the replacement 2009 Stock continuing the feature, albeit with a diamond-shaped indicator replacing the dot. A separate Seven Sisters (alliteration at its best) destination omitting the dot is also available on the blind roll - this would be used where trains terminated at Seven Sisters but did not proceed to the depot.
The enclosure belonged to unit 3161, which was a ‘D’ end Driving Motor (i.e. it faced towards Brixton), and one of the units where both cabs were operational, even after refurbishment. Its ‘A’ end equivalent was 3061. After the DM was decommissioned from service, it was used by the Emergency Response Unit at Acton, for staff training purposes, as this photograph shows. 3161 formed one end of the "Auto Tube Rambler" rail tour that was held on the 3rd June 1979; see here for an image and here for more information. As with the C Stock Destination Blind, a small window in the rear panel of the enclosure duplicates the outward-facing destination, with the larger destination being aligned correctly if the indicator destination is aligned correctly behind the small window. In the case of the Seven Sisters shuttle trains, the destination wording is replaced with ‘Staff Train’, in order to differentiate from the regular Seven Sisters destination.
Owing to the relatively short length of the Victoria line, every station is able to be selected as a destination, even though not all of these stations offer direct reversal facilities. A copy of the list below can be downloaded by clicking here.
Loosening the two slotted screws on the rear panel allow access into the enclosure’s interior.
A minor difference with this blind enclosure is that the wiring for the lamp passes through the right here, whereas, it passes through the left on the C Stock blind. The same type of geared system for revolving the blind material exists, however.
An insulated block connects the four terminals of the lamp, with the addition of tape and cable ties being used to bunch individual cables.
The 20 Watt fluorescent lamp included with the blind was manufactured in April 2008.
The blind was split into its component parts in August 2019. The internal winding mechanism proved difficult to remove from the enclosure, not helped by the crank side of the mechanism having a loose plate. Eventually, it was removed after the rear panel was removed from the enclosure. This should have been held in place with six bolts along the hinge; however, two were missing. Removing the mechanism revealed years of a combination of tunnel soot and grease, which had combined to form a substance that was very difficult to remove but easy to transfer to fingers, and then onto anything that was touched afterwards!
The mechanism was a snug fit within the enclosure.
I wondered how much more grubbier the enclosure interior would have been, had the gasket strips not been fitted to the front.
The worst of the grime was removed with some perseverance from a pressure washer.
The lower part of the enclosure cleaned up especially well.
The gasket was retained, but will be removed when the enclosure is repainted.
Meanwhile, the rear panel was given a cleaning of its own, though to prevent the labels from being destroyed, some of the dirt remained.
The inside of the panel was, similarly, given a surface cleaning. The existing wiring was removed at this time.
The blind material was washed, in order to remove the worst of the ingrained grime, and was then reunited with its winding mechanism.
The internal wiring was replaced in September; an LED lamp taking the place of the fluorescent lamp. As this lamp is designed to be used as a direct replacement for 2 ft (600 mm) fluorescent lamps anyway, a special starter switch is included with the lamp - it can be seen to the left of the wiring block. A replacement gasket strip was introduced too.
The blind enclosure returned from sandblasting and repainting at this time too. According to the company that undertook this work, the job proved rather testing, with standard powder coating failing to adhere properly. Only when a polyester-based paint was used instead did it start to take hold. Apparently, the steel used in the enclosure’s construction was of very poor quality too.
The interior was given the same treatment.
The blind mechanism and rear panel were reinstated next.
The panel fits much more securely now, thanks to six new nuts and bolts securing it to the hinge.
The next, and final, task, was to install the freshly-reassembled enclosure. Two heavy duty shelving brackets allow the unit to be wall-mounted. With the lamp supply activated, the 1967 Stock’s former line, and original southbound terminus, was illuminated once again.
The full complement of destinations is displayed below, in the order that they appear on the blind; click the thumbnail image to download individual destinations (note - the full-sized images are 5152 × 3864 pixels in size).
| Brixton | Victoria | Warren Street | King’s Cross | Highbury | Seven Sisters | Seven Sisters (Staff Train) | Walthamstow | Sorry Not In Service |
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| Stockwell | Vauxhall | Pimlico | Green Park | Oxford Circus | Euston | Finsbury Park | Tottenham Hale | Blackhorse Road |
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A video demonstrating the blind in operation is available below:
Not long after the blind was installed, I decided that I would investigate the possibility of having the blind material replaced - despite the cleaning, there was still a great deal of dirt on this, along with numerous scratches and several tears. Therefore, I arranged with McKenna Brothers , a well-known name in destination blind manufacture, for the existing blind to be sent to them, and a facsimile produced of this. A few weeks later, the old blind returned, along with its brand new equivalent.
The new blind was not an exact copy of the original; I decided to apply a little "artistic licence", and arranged for an extra destination to be added at the end of the list - you will not find this Derby suburb in your London A - Z!
I decided to take the opportunity to reduce the crank to its original, pre-refurbishment length.
The extra length of the shank was a necessity, owing to new panelling being introduced in the 1967 Stock cabs as part of the refurbishment work - the panelling would have fouled the rotation of the handle, had the alteration not been made.
As a comparison, this video demonstrates the new blind being wound through its destinations: