Waterloo & City Line (1) – Class 487 (built in 1940)
The Waterloo & City Line trains which were introduced by the Southern Railway in 1940. Here they are (mostly) seen in Network SouthEast livery, although there is a still image at the end showing a train at Waterloo in BR Blue. We also see the surrounding station areas at Bank and Waterloo and a DM after it had been withdrawn outside the National Railway Museum at York. The Trav-o-lator tunnel at Bank is a mess. For a station in the wealthiest district of one of the planet’s wealthiest nations this was a disgrace. Apparently the City Corporation (local govt. for the area) wanted to invest in the station and make it look respectable, but not only did Mrs Thatcher’s govt. forbid this but they threatened the City Corporation that if it tried making this information / dispute public then it (Mrs Thatcher’s govt.) would have taken revenge, with one of its actions including by increasing taxation on the vast profits the financial institutions make. (Information sourced from a private meeting I attended in the 1980′s where a former Lord Mayor was guest of honour). This was filmed in December 1989, during the period between Xmas and the New Year when fewer than normal people go to work. This was my first ever filming session with my then brand new s-VHS-C camcorder. More information on these trains can be found here en.wikipedia.org
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Video Rating: 5 / 5
@luerexbob
I have to say, I absolutely love this video. Great to see the heritage of our Underground. Go London!
scary! omg.. awesome tho
The Waterloo and City Line was opened by the London and South Western Railway in 1896. In 1923, the LSWR became part of the Southern Railway (quite different from the present train operating company), which built new trains for the line in 1940. In view of the impending transfer of the line to London Underground after privatisation of British Rail, the current (third generation) trains in use were built to the same design as the 1992 Central Line tube stock.
@raakone I dont know about the vehicle lengths… the money and Thatcher thing will be partly because they wanted to privatise, partly b ecause they did not state ownership (did not agree with their political and econonic ideaologies) but also because there was a need to find new ways to raise funds for preparing for an event which is expected to occur later this year (Sept – Oct – Nov). I am refering to the comet, which many say is something more than that.
@Cazkumali yes, the 482s (as they were called at the time) replaced the 487′s
@jamwithmates123 down I would suggest, since I started at the top and then went on to film at the bottom.
@werkowiczfilm the trains are from 1940. The film is much newer – I think I filmed this in December 1989.
@Murderdogs good question but alas I dont know the answer.
However, nowadays it would lead to a walkway to the DLR, which is behind there.
@citytransportinfo I assuming 1992TS (Class 482s) replaced class 487s
What’s that on the right at 3:48? Looks like a blocked up tunnel with a load of junk around it. I didn’t notice that when I was on this line, although I’ve only been on it once and I was in a hurry!
sorry…. but i think it is not so old film… 1970-1980 .. hmmmm?
are you going up or down on the escalator? i cant tell! :S
@kaiyan246 — Looking up Wikipedia, it says that thing dates from 1959.
Awesome video, such a shame only 1 car out of the whole stock was preserved. They should’ve preserved at least 1 full set….
@o8b74z although it is not as ‘bad’ as it used to be!
Known to many Londoners (and others) as ‘the drain’. Nice film.
Were the ’40 stock cars shorter than the ’92s that replaced them? Or are the new trains shorter? (but so because ’92s must always be in pairs…and there isn’t enough room for a six car train)
A rotten shame about that government thing. But I wonder if it was being done because Mrs. Thatcher’s government WANTED to give a reason to just „privatize“ the line as quickly as possible, without anybody complaining (well, it’s obvious under government administration it’s falling apart…)
Excellent.
Thanks for sharing this. I used to use the W&C quite a lot back in that era, simply because I loved the atmosphere. If you were there on a Saturday morning, the place was usually pretty deserted and it had a very eerie feel to it! Lovely to hear the growl of the motors again after a long, long time.
There was a lot of variation between cars, some were refurbished a bit and one even had strip lighting fitted. The place was unique and I loved it.
was für ein armes zugleben! immer die gleich 2,4 km lange strecke!
@kaiyan246 The train was introduced into service in 1940 – this was filmed in the early 1990′s.
Simon
that is not 1940 how come i see people and its world war 2 and a tv that looks like the 1970′s
1:05 very long escolator and is that in 1940?
omg thats a very long stairway
Externally, the train looked like a loaf of bread. Internally, the train looked like a submarine.
I live in Hong Kong, and I have never seen such a old train. Our MTR system is less than 30 years old.