London Underground 1983 Stock
Encyclopedia
London Underground
The London Underground is a rapid transit system serving a large part of Greater London and some parts of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex in England...
1983 Stock was a class of electric multiple unit
Electric multiple unit
An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages, using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a number of the carriages...
designed for the Jubilee Line
Jubilee Line
The Jubilee line is a line on the London Underground , in the United Kingdom. It was built in two major sections—initially to Charing Cross, in central London, and later extended, in 1999, to Stratford, in east London. The later stations are larger and have special safety features, both aspects...
.
The 1983 Tube Stock could be considered the last train to be designed by London Underground
London Underground
The London Underground is a rapid transit system serving a large part of Greater London and some parts of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex in England...
; it was the last conventional Tube train in the long line of evolving design since the 1938 Tube Stock
London Underground 1938 Stock
The 1938 Tube Stock is a London Underground tube stock design. The trains were built by Metro-Cammell and Birmingham RC&W, and were used on the London Underground until 1988. During their long lives they worked on the Bakerloo, Piccadilly, Northern, East London and Central lines...
.
The stock was built by Metro Cammell
Metro Cammell
The Metropolitan Cammell Carriage and Wagon Company was a Birmingham, England based manufacturer of railway carriages and wagons, based in Saltley and subsequently Washwood Heath....
to replace the 1972 Mark II Tube Stock
London Underground 1972 Stock
The London Underground 1972 stock is a fleet of trains used on the London Underground. The 1972 Stock was ordered to make up the shortfall in trains on the Northern line's 1959 Tube Stock fleet...
operating on the Jubilee Line; in turn this was intended to enable those trains to replace the ageing 1938 Tube Stock on the Bakerloo Line
Bakerloo Line
The Bakerloo line is a line of the London Underground, coloured brown on the Tube map. It runs partly on the surface and partly at deep level, from Elephant and Castle in the south-east to Harrow & Wealdstone in the north-west of London. The line serves 25 stations, of which 15 are underground...
.
This stock was formed of 6 Carriages
Design of the 1983 Tube Stock was finalised in 1980; originally 30 trains were planned, but declining traffic meant that only 15 trains were ordered in 1982, entering service in 1984. A surge in passenger numbers meant that another 15 trains were built (called Batch Two) and these were delivered in 1989.
The 1983 Tube stock owed much to the sub-surface D Stock
London Underground D78 Stock
The London Underground D Stock is a type of electric multiple unit used on the London Underground District Line . The entire fleet is due to be replaced with S Stock trains in 2015.- History :...
in design. Like D Stock, the 1983 Tube Stock had single leaf doors, a similar orange interior and cab design.
Unlike the D Stock, the 1983 Tube Stock proved to be unreliable. Electrical generators for lighting the carriages failed often, as did the motors. Boarding of passengers slowed down because of the single doors.
With the Jubilee Line Extension
Jubilee Line Extension
The Jubilee Line Extension is the extension of the London Underground Jubilee line from to through south and east London. An eastward extension of the Jubilee line was first proposed in the 1970s and a modified route was constructed during the 1990s...
in mind, it was planned the 1983 Tube Stock would be refurbished to run with the newer 1996 Stock
London Underground 1996 Stock
The London Underground 1996 Stock is a deep tube train used on the Jubilee Line and one of the newest trains currently running on the network. They were built by Alstom and began service in 1997...
that entered Jubilee Line service in 1997. The 1983 Tube stock was to be given similar interiors. This was abandoned in favour of re-equipping the line entirely with the 1996 Stock. Then it was proposed for the 1983 Stock to be added to the refurbished 1973 Tube Stock on the Piccadilly Line
Piccadilly Line
The Piccadilly line is a line of the London Underground, coloured dark blue on the Tube map. It is the fifth busiest line on the Underground network judged by the number of passengers transported per year. It is mainly a deep-level line, running from the north to the west of London via Zone 1, with...
; the plans included replacing the single leaf doors on the 1983 Tube Stock with double doors to speed up passenger boarding. This was abandoned on the grounds of cost. The last 1983 Tube Stock train ran on the Jubilee Line on 9 July 1998.
Despite their newness and attempts to sell the trains abroad, the trains are unlikely to see service again. Several have been taken to Rotherham
Rotherham
Rotherham is a town in South Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Don, at its confluence with the River Rother, between Sheffield and Doncaster. Rotherham, at from Sheffield City Centre, is surrounded by several smaller settlements, which together form the wider Metropolitan Borough of...
for scrapping by C F Booth Ltd, with the remainder stored at various places around the network. One heavily vandalised example can still be seen on sidings south of South Harrow tube station
South Harrow tube station
South Harrow is a London Underground station on the Uxbridge branch of the Piccadilly Line. The station is between Sudbury Hill and Rayners Lane. It is located on Northolt Road . The station is in Travelcard Zone 5...
on eastbound Piccadilly Line
Piccadilly Line
The Piccadilly line is a line of the London Underground, coloured dark blue on the Tube map. It is the fifth busiest line on the Underground network judged by the number of passengers transported per year. It is mainly a deep-level line, running from the north to the west of London via Zone 1, with...
trains, through windows looking east.
One carriage of the stock has been preserved by the London Transport Museum and another is used as a studio by Radio Lollipop
Radio Lollipop
Radio Lollipop is a charitable organization for entertaining children in hospital. It organizes volunteers to spend time with children on a one to one basis, taking its name from the radio stations it runs in hospitals playing children's programming - part presented by children...
at Great Ormond Street Hospital
Great Ormond Street Hospital
Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children is a children's hospital located in London, United Kingdom...
. A few more have been placed on the disused Broad Street viaduct
Broad Street railway station
Broad Street railway station was a major terminal station in the City of London, England. It opened in 1865 and closed in 1986. It was the main terminus of the North London Railway network of suburban services and was adjacent to station.-Opening:...
in Shoreditch
Shoreditch
Shoreditch is an area of London within the London Borough of Hackney in England. It is a built-up part of the inner city immediately to the north of the City of London, located east-northeast of Charing Cross.-Etymology:...
for use as artists studios.
External links
- Squarewheels.org.uk - 1983 Tube Stock 1983 Stock train at Charing Cross, Jubilee Line platform, 1986.