To celebrate the coronation of Charles III, London Transport Museum organised a series of rides on a bygone era on a 1938 Art Deco-style train (displaying some of the bold geometric forms of the modernist movement).
Comprising of four carriages, Digital Journal‘s London-based reporter went for a ride.
The aim of the event, organised by the London Transport Museum, was to transport the passengers back to 2 June 1953, which was the last time that Britain crowned a new monarch. This included a Grenadier Guard, in the regalia of the time, preparing for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.
The 1938 Stock was the first kind of tube train to have all of the electrical equipment underneath the floor, combining the latest technology of the era with quintessential late 1930s style.
The train is of a classic red livery. 1938 tube stock has appeared on a £1.28 British postage stamp (issued in 2013) as part of a set commemorating the 150th anniversary of the first London underground train journey.
This year saw the biggest increase to the London tube network, with a total of 1,121 cars built by Metro-Cammell and Birmingham RC&W, built as part of the London Passenger Transport Board’s New Works Programme 1935–1940.
These trains served London, on several deep-level tube lines, for half a century, working the Bakerloo, Northern, Piccadilly, East London and Central lines. The train travelled was a former Northern line one, and which was in active operation until the early 1980s.
The beautifully restored electrified train was made up of four cars complete with green and red moquette seating, grab handles and distinctive Art Deco light fittings. The train ran along the Picadilly Line.
The train was remarkably comfortable – more so than the trains currently running on the London Underground. It was also in pristine condition, with its polished wooden floor, Bakelite (thermosetting phenol formaldehyde resin) ‘light bulbs’ for standing passengers, and replete with 1980s advertising.
Each motor car is fitted with two series DC motors, one on each of the two bogies and are designed to operate from the 630-volt traction supply. Each motor has an output of approximately 250 horsepower.
The 1938 stock is also used for occasional filming work, including The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008).
The ride lasted around 30 minutes each way, transiting from Acton Town to Uxbridge and back. It was an enjoyable experience and an interesting way to celebrate London’s transport heritage.
A three-minute video of the trip can be found here.
