Whereas the driver’s seat of 7007 was upholstered in the moquette applied to refurbished 1967 Tube Stock, the equivalent seat in 7032 used the moquette fitted to the Waterloo and City line’s 1992 Stock fleet following refurbishment in the mid-2000s.
The external release mechanism for the cab door.
Despite being distinctly flat-sided trains, the cab fronts have a slight protrusion between the sides and the front ("M") door.
The train remained in platform 4 at Northfields during the lunch break; it having arrived in platform 1 and reversed at the adjacent Northfields depot.
Although the train appears to be sporting three tail lights, the innermost light on the right-hand cluster is actually the stabling light. Ordinarily, this would be left on, even with the train in motion, as it increases the visibility of the rear end of the train.
The commemorative panels were applied to both ends of the train.
Aside from the difference in moquette applied to the driver’s seat, 7032’s cab was identical to 7007’s.
The dot prefixing the car number signifies that it is fitted with de-icing equipment; not that this was required at any point during the tour!
The six cars were identified by a letter from A - F. I thought it appropriate to picture Car D of the D Stock. Notice the outward-facing LED destination display here too; these were another feature that was added upon refurbishment. Below the window, in the blue skirt section, is the "Butterfly" device that allows a single door on that particular car to be opened (or closed).
The D Stock trains entered service when passenger numbers were in decline. Therefore, as a cost-saving measure, the saloon doors were single-leaf and are slightly narrower than an equivalent double-leaf set on other contemporary stocks. As passenger numbers began to increase again towards the end of the 1980s, the single-leaf doors were found to increase station dwell times, as they slowed passenger egress, and were themselves, rather slow to close. Indeed, one of the reasons that the 1983 Stock of the Jubilee line saw only about fifteen years’ service before being replaced with the 1996 Stock was their single-leaf doors.
Depending on the locations of their respective door engines, some of the doors opened to the left, whereas others opened to the right. A feature of the doors when the trains were introduced was that they could be set to be opened by passengers and then closed by the guard, or later, the driver, as happens on some lines of the Paris Metro. The buttons that enabled individual doors to be opened were situated to the side of the corresponding door. As part of the D Stock refurbishment programme, the buttons were removed and the apertures blanked off, as by then, the policy had changed, and the driver opened all doors as a matter of routine. Ironically, the replacement S7 Stock trains have reintroduced the ‘Passenger Open’ option.
Feeling in a ‘reflective’ mood, I headed back to 7007, which would become the front of the train upon leaving Northfields.
The cab door is about half the width of a saloon door.
The cab window frames were fitted with bulletproof glass as another feature of the refurbishment; this came in response to missiles being thrown at trains as they passed bridges and the like.
The Tripcock Isolating Switch (TCIS) is located bottom-left on the cab front - in normal circumstances, it would be "Cut In" at all times, as it is here. Earlier stocks employed a Tripcock Isolating Cock (TCIC) instead, although it served the same purpose. As well as the tail and headlights here, the amber light is the "Calling-On" light; this is activated from within the cab and can be used to request assistance from following trains. The lenses for the light clusters have "Made in London" embossed on them, although I was unable to discern their manufacturer.
The view between Driving Motor 7007 and Trailer 17007.
A slightly different view existed between Uncoupling Non-Driving Motor cars 8032 and 8007. A single head and tail light is provided for use when the three-car unit is being operated on its own in depots, without being coupled to another unit.
A general view of platforms 3 and 4 at Northfields, with Piccadilly line 1973 Stock trains visible.
With the doors re-opened, the slightly off-centred nature of the window within the door becomes apparent. Now, children, have a look through the square (with rounded edges) window....
For obvious reasons, the windows that form door pockets were never adapted to accommodate opening sections.
The Metro-Cammell tread plates basked in the sunlight.
The amber light here shows that at least one door on this car was not fully closed; this provides a useful visual indicator to drivers and platform staff if a train is prevented from departing owing to an object (or person) blocking the door. Interestingly, unit 7032-17032-8032 still relied on a filament lamp shining through an amber lens as a means of providing this indication, whereas unit 7007-17007-8007 had had these replaced with amber LEDs at some point.
As part of the tour, the train terminated in the bay platform at Plaistow, and a short break was held. Many enthusiasts (myself included) took the opportunity to photograph the front of the train before it headed west again, in order for the participants to experience the siding to the east of West Ham station.
Meanwhile, the through platforms catered for regular passengers. Two S7 Stock trains happened to be at the station at the time, with the westbound (left-hand) train destined for Barking, and the eastbound train heading to Ealing Broadway, where the tour would end up eventually...but we had Upminster to visit before then!
Upon arrival at Upminster, the doors were opened once again, allowing for more photographing opportunities, including from the open bridge at the eastern end of the station.
Notice the raised "Weak Field" flag (the yellow and black object) in the left-hand window; with this raised, the train is able to travel at a maximum speed of 40 mph before the motors cut out. With this raised, the train’s acceleration is also improved. A second flag, the "Coasting Control" flag, could be raised instead; this has a lower acceleration rate but allows a speed limit of around 50 mph (in theory) to be attained. With both flags down, the train is limited to a top speed of 30 mph. Raising both flags would enable the train to run to its maximum design speed of 60 mph; however, this operation is prohibited on the grounds of safety. As can be seen, the D Stock headlights are positioned to be directly above the running rails.
An S7 Stock train destined for Richmond was also present at the station at the time.
The new trains are of a far more curved design than the trains they are replacing are.
Before long, the train’s final destination appeared on the display.
There was still time for a tour participant to drop their commemorative poster onto the tracks, however; requiring a member of staff to climb down and retrieve it.
As the shadows grew longer at Ealing Broadway, the sun was setting on the D 78 Stock’s time in passenger service with London Underground. Shortly before the train arrived, the driver of the preceding S Stock train made an announcement, informing passengers that the last D Stock was about to arrive. Click here to hear it.