London Underground 1972 Stock

{{short description|Type of rolling stock used on the Bakerloo line of the London Underground}} {{Use dmy dates|date=January 2020}} {{more citations|date=July 2024}} {{Infobox train | name = London Underground 1972 Stock | image = 1972 Tube Stock Stonebridge Park.jpg | caption = A Bakerloo line 1972 Stock at {{Tubestation|Stonebridge Park}} | interiorimage = File:Bakerloo line 72 Tube Stock T Interior.jpg | interiorcaption = The interior of a refurbished 1972 Stock trailer car | manufacturer = [[Metro-Cammell]]<ref name="wdtk-lu">{{cite web|last1=Neil|first1=Graham|title=London Underground Rolling Stock Information Sheet|url=https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/cy/request/284276/response/737827/attach/6/RS%20Info%20Sheets%204%20Edition.pdf|website=WhatDoTheyKnow|date=4 August 2015 |access-date=17 April 2016}}</ref> | factory = [[Washwood Heath]], England<ref name="wdtk-lu" /> | refurbishment = {{plainlist| * [[Tickford]] (at [[Rosyth Dockyard]]) 1991–1995<ref name="wdtk-lu" /> * [[Acton Works]], 2016–2018<ref name=otm>{{cite journal |title=Back on the Bakerloo |journal=On the Move |publisher=[[London Underground]]/[[Transport for London]] |page=3 |issue=64 |date=July 2019}}</ref> }} | yearconstruction = 1972–1974<ref name="wdtk-lu" /> | service = 26 June 1972–present | yearservice = 26 June 1972 | numberbuilt = 63 trains | numberservice = 36 trains | successor = {{plainlist| * [[London Underground 1983 Stock|1983 Stock]] ([[Jubilee Line]]) * [[London Underground 1995 Stock|1995 Stock]] ([[Northern Line]]) }} | replaced = {{plainlist| * [[London Underground 1938 Stock|1938 Stock]] * [[London Underground 1959 Stock|1959 Stock]] }} | lines = {{plainlist| * Current: [[Bakerloo line]] * Historically: [[Jubilee line|Jubilee]] and [[Northern line|Northern]] lines }} | formation = 7 cars per train | carlength = {{plainlist| * DM {{convert|16.091|m|ftin|abbr=on}} * T/UNDM {{convert|15.977|m|ftin|abbr=on}} }} | trainlength = {{convert|113.552|m|ftin|abbr=on}} | width = {{convert|2.641|m|ftin|abbr=on}} | height = {{convert|2.875|m|ftin|abbr=on}} | maxspeed = 72 km/h (45 mph) | traction = Pneumatic single camshaft ([[Associated Electrical Industries]])<ref name="wdtk-lu" /> | traction motors = LT115 DC motor ([[Brush Traction]])<ref name="wdtk-lu" /> | capacity = 851 per train | seating = {{plainlist| * 40 per DM/UNDM car * 36 per T car * 264 per train }} | stocktype = [[London Underground infrastructure#Subsurface versus deep-level tube lines|Deep-level tube]] | notes = {{Portal-inline|size=tiny|London transport}} }}

The '''London Underground 1972 Stock''' is a type of [[rolling stock]] used on the [[London Underground]]. The 1972 Stock was originally ordered to make up the shortfall in trains on the [[Northern line]]'s [[London Underground 1959 Stock|1959 Tube Stock]] fleet, but are now used on the [[Bakerloo line]]. Following the withdrawal of the [[London Underground 1938 Stock|1938 Stock]]-based [[British Rail Class 483]] electric multiple units from the [[Island Line, Isle of Wight|Isle of Wight]] in 2021, the 1972 Stock are now the oldest trains in regular passenger service in the United Kingdom. 63 seven-car trains were built in two separate batches.

==Construction== 441 cars were built by [[Metro-Cammell]] at [[Washwood Heath]], in two batches: the 1972 Mark I Stock comprised 90 driving motors (DM), 90 trailers (T) and 30 uncoupling non-driving motors (UNDM), to form 30 seven-car trains; the 1972 Mark II Stock was 33 seven-car trains (99 DM, 99 T and 33 UNDM).<ref>{{cite book |last=Hardy |first=Brian |title=London Underground Rolling Stock |year=1976 |publisher=Capital Transport |location=Stanmore |isbn=0-904711-01-3 |pages=28–29 }}</ref>

In the early 1970s, the [[London Underground 1938 Stock|1938 Tube stock]] on the [[Bakerloo line|Bakerloo]] and [[Northern line]] was life-expired and due for replacement. Tentative designs for a new Northern line fleet were abandoned when the go-ahead was given for the [[Piccadilly line]] to be extended to [[Heathrow Airport]]. That required a totally new fleet of trains to replace the [[London Underground 1959 Stock|1959 stock]] then in use. The plan was made to transfer the 1959 trains to the Northern, to allow the worst of the 1938 stock there to be scrapped, but there were only 76 1959 stock trains, and the Northern line needed more than that to operate. Originally, it was planned to refurbish around 30 of the 1938 trains, but this was scrapped in favour of 30 new trains of the 1972 Mark 1 Tube stock.

The 1972 Tube stock was ordered in a hurry, so there was no time to create a new design; the trains were based on the [[London Underground 1967 Stock|1967 Tube stock]] on the [[Victoria line]]. Although almost identical looking, the 1972 trains were conventionally operated with a guard and door controls in the rear car, and were not compatible with 1967 Tube stock. In later years some surplus 1972 Mark 1 cars were adapted to run with the 1967 trains on the Victoria line, being coupled in the middle due to the lack of ATO equipment.

A further 33 trains of 1972 Tube stock were ordered to provide service on the [[Northern line]]. The 1972 Mark 2 stock had slightly different interiors with a dark blue seating moquette, unlike the red and grey on the earlier 1967 and 1972 cars. The biggest external difference was that the doors were painted red, with a [[London Transport Executive (GLC)|London Transport]] roundel on the side of the carriages, rather than the [[Johnston (typeface)|Johnston]] lettering.

The 1972 Mark 2 trains first operated on the Northern line alongside the 1972 Mark 1 trains. From the late 1970s, they were gradually transferred to the Bakerloo line and operated alongside the 1938 Stock until they began operating on the Jubilee line when it opened in 1979. With the introduction of the first batch of [[London Underground 1983 Stock|1983 stock]] on the Jubilee line in 1984, half of the 1972 Mark 2 trains were displaced back to the Northern line. After the introduction of a second batch of 1983 Stock on the Jubilee in 1987, all 1972 Mark 2 trains on the Jubilee and Northern lines were gradually converted to OPO and transferred to the Bakerloo line to displace the 1959 stock, where they remain in service.

In 1989, several Northern line Mark 1 units were painted in experimental liveries, and three trains were internally refurbished, before the refurbishment work was stopped because of the decision to order a new fleet. 3227 and 3518 were painted with blue doors and a white body, 3204 and 3522 were painted with a blue and white body, and 3202 and 3523 were painted in what would become a corporate livery. The earlier 1972 Mark 1 stock on the Northern line was replaced by [[London Underground 1995 Stock|1995 Stock]] in 1999. After being withdrawn from the Northern line, a few cars of 1972 Mark 1 stock were converted to run with 1967 and 1972 Mark 2 stock in service on the Victoria and Bakerloo lines.

A further two trains were converted to be compatible with the Mark II type, and these now run on the Bakerloo line. One ex-Northern line set (3229) was based at the now-closed [[Aldwych tube station|Aldwych station]], for use in films until being sent to Ealing Common Depot in November 2021 and then [[Ruislip Depot|Ruislip depot]] a month later. Another Mark 1 unit in a trial livery was sent to Acton Works to be used for shunting. One three-car unit (unit 3511){{cn|date=July 2024|reason=Unreliabel source removed}} used to reside at Hainault depot until October 2018, where cars 4511 and 3411 had moved to Acton Works. The cab of unit 3511 had been fused onto unit 3538 following collision damage.

The 1972 trains are formed of seven-car sets and have a total of 268 passenger seats. After withdrawal from the Northern Line, five four-car units (units 3201, 3208, 3211, 3212 and 3230){{cn|date=July 2024|reason=Unreliable source removed}} were considered for use on the [[Waterloo & City line|Waterloo and City line]]. The objective was to supply the Central line with extra 1992 stock. This never happened and the trains were sent to Mayer Perry or [[CF Booth]] of [[Rotherham]] to be scrapped.

=== Refurbishment === The fleet was refurbished between 1991 and 1995 by [[Tickford]] at [[Rosyth Dockyard]].<ref name="wdtk-lu" /> From 2016 to 2018, the fleet was again refurbished at [[Acton Works]] to enable the trains to remain in service until their forecast replacement date of 2035.<ref name="otm" /> The class received the [[British Rail Class 499 (London Underground)|Class 499/2]] designation on [[British Rail]]'s [[TOPS]] system to operate on the Bakerloo line north of [[Queen's Park station (England)|Queens Park]].<ref>{{cite magazine |title=LUL stock given TOPS numbers |magazine=[[The Railway Magazine]] |issue=1145 |date=September 1996 |page=57 }}</ref>

In 2014 British textile design studio Wallace Sewell made a newly coloured version of the 2009 Barman [[Moquette]] for the 1972 stock currently on the Central, Northern and Jubilee lines. It features warm colours reflective of the Bakerloo line as opposed to the blue-based original Barman.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Transport {{!}} Wallace Sewell Projects |url=https://wallacesewell.com/pages/transport |access-date=2025-08-16 |website=Wallace Sewell |language=en}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:90%;" |- !style="background-color:#ccc;" colspan="2"|  |colspan="7"|{{align|left|← [[Elephant & Castle tube station|Elephant & Castle]] (A)}}{{align|right|[[Harrow & Wealdstone station|Harrow & Wealdstone]] (D) →}} |-style="border-top:solid 4px #{{rcr|London Underground|Bakerloo}};" !colspan="2"|Formation |style="width:5em"|'''32xx''' (DM) |style="width:5em"|'''42xx''' (T) |style="width:5em"|'''43xx''' (T) |style="width:5em"|'''33xx''' (DM) |style="width:5em"|'''34xx''' (UNDM) |style="width:5em"|'''45xx''' (T) |style="width:5em"|'''35xx''' (DM) |-style="border-top:solid 4px #{{rcr|London Underground|Bakerloo}};" !rowspan="12"|Numbers<ref name="wdtk-lu"/> !rowspan="3"|Mark I |rowspan="3"|3264 : 3267 |rowspan="3"|4264 : 4267 |4364 : 4365 |3364 : 3365 |rowspan="3"|3464 : 3467 |rowspan="3"|4564 : 4567 |rowspan="3"|3564 : 3567 |- |style="background-color:#ccc;" colspan="2"| |- |4367 |3367 |- !rowspan="9"|Mark II |rowspan="3"|3231 : : : 3248 |rowspan="3"|4231 : : : 4248 |rowspan="3"|4331 : : : 4348 |rowspan="3"|3331 : : : 3348 |3431 : 3438 |4531 : 4538 |3531 : 3538 |- |style="background-color:#ccc;" colspan="3"| |- |rowspan="5"|3440 : 3463 |rowspan="5"|4540 : 4563 |rowspan="5"|3540 : 3563 |- |style="background-color:#ccc;" colspan="4"| |- |3250 : 3256 |4250 : 4256 |4350 : 4356 |3350 : 3356 |- |style="background-color:#ccc;" colspan="4"| |- |3258 : 3263 |4258 : 4263 |4358 : 4363 |3358 : 3363 |- |style="background-color:#ccc;" colspan="2"| |4366 |3366 |style="background-color:#ccc;" colspan="3" rowspan="2"| |- |3299 |4299 |4399 |3399 |}

==Future replacement== {{main|London Underground 2024 Stock}} In the late 1990s, the Labour government initiated a [[public–private partnership]] (PPP) to reverse years of underinvestment in [[London Underground]].<ref name=":42">{{Cite news |date=16 December 2000 |title=New blow to Tube sell-off plan |work=BBC News |url= https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/1072193.stm |access-date=7 March 2021}}</ref> Under the PPP contract, [[Metronet (British infrastructure company)|Metronet]] (the private consortium responsible for the Bakerloo line) would order new rolling stock for the Bakerloo line.<ref name=":12">{{Cite web |date=2005 |title=Metronet Brochure 2005 |url= http://www.metronetrail.com/webfiles/Publications/Brochure%202005.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20061031091812/http://www.metronetrail.com/webfiles/Publications/Brochure%202005.pdf |archive-date=31 October 2006 |access-date=7 March 2021 |publisher= Metronet}}</ref><ref name=":13">{{Cite press release |date=8 January 2003 |title=Details of Tube modernisation plans unveiled |url= http://www.tubelines.com/news/releases/200602/20030108.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20060519094016/http://www.tubelines.com/news/releases/200602/20030108.aspx |archive-date=19 May 2006 |access-date=8 March 2021 |publisher= Tube Lines}}</ref> This would take place following the delivery of [[London Underground 2009 Stock|2009 Stock]] and [[London Underground S7 and S8 Stock|S Stock]] trains, with an order for 24 new [[Bakerloo line]] trains. These would have entered service by 2019.<ref name=":12" /> However, Metronet collapsed in 2007 after cost overruns, and the PPP ended in 2010.<ref name=":22">{{Cite news |date=18 July 2007 |title=Metronet calls in administrators |work=BBC News |url= https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6903977.stm |access-date=7 March 2021}}</ref>

In the mid 2010s, TfL began a process of ordering new rolling stock to replace trains on the Piccadilly, Central, Bakerloo and Waterloo & City lines.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |date=October 2014 |title=New Tube for London - Feasibility Report |url=http://content.tfl.gov.uk/ntfl-feasibility-report.pdf |url-status=dead |publisher=Transport for London |access-date=17 June 2022 |archive-date=30 November 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161130154257/http://content.tfl.gov.uk/ntfl-feasibility-report.pdf }}</ref> A feasibility study showed that new-generation trains and resignalling could increase capacity on the Bakerloo line by 25%, with 27 trains per hour.<ref name=":4" />

In June 2018, the [[Siemens Mobility]] [[Siemens Inspiro|Inspiro]] design was selected.<ref>{{cite news |date=15 June 2018 |title=Siemens to supply London Underground deep tube fleet |url= http://www.metro-report.com/news/news-by-region/europe/single-view/view/siemens-to-supply-london-underground-deep-tube-fleet.html |publisher=[[Metro Report International]]}}</ref> These trains will have an open-gangway design, wider doorways, air conditioning and the ability to run automatically with a new signalling system.<ref name=":14">{{Cite news |date=4 March 2021 |title=Piccadilly Line: Plans for new 'walk-through' trains unveiled |work=BBC News |url= https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-56273283 |access-date=5 March 2021}}</ref> TfL could only afford to order Piccadilly line trains at a cost of £1.5bn.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Harris |first=Simon |date=3 January 2018 |title=Plan to sell part of Tube fleet branded 'quite mad' |website=ITV News |url= https://www.itv.com/news/london/2018-01-03/plan-to-sell-part-of-london-underground-fleet-branded-quite-mad |access-date=6 March 2021}}</ref> However, the contract with Siemens includes an option for 40 trains for the Bakerloo line in the future.<ref name=":3">{{cite press release |date=15 June 2018 |title=Siemens Mobility Limited to be awarded TfL contract to design and manufacture a new generation of Tube trains |url= https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/press-releases/2018/june/siemens-mobility-limited-to-be-awarded-tfl-contract-to-design-and-manufacture-a-new-generation-of-tube-trains |access-date=16 June 2018 |publisher=Transport for London}}</ref> This would take place after the delivery of the Piccadilly line trains in the late 2020s.<ref name=":14" /> Based on a November 2021 paper, due to a lack of funding, this might not happen until the late 2030s or early 2040s, when the trains would be 60 to 70 years old — probably double their design life.<ref>{{Cite web |date=21 November 2021 |title=Impacts of Reduced Funding for TfL |url= https://board.tfl.gov.uk/documents/s16939/fc-20211124-item11a-Impacts-of-Reduced-Funding.pdf |publisher= Transport for London}}</ref> Since the withdrawal of the [[British Rail Class 483|Class 483 on the Isle of Wight]], the 1972-stock trains have become the oldest non-heritage trains running in the United Kingdom.

==Post-withdrawal use== {|class="wikitable sortable" !Subseries!!Car number(s)!!class="unsortable"|Notes |- |Mark I |3213-4213 3313-4313 |style="background-color:#FFFFBB"|Converted into Asset Inspection Train: see below. |- |Mark I |3214-3314 |style="background-color:#BBDDFF"|Cab of 3214 was converted into a static tourist exhibit at the [[Hamleys]] toy store. Since late 2018, the cab was up for sale on eBay since being replaced by Harry Potter merchandise. Cab of 3314 in storage at The Cab Yard.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://thecabyard.co.uk/collection/|title=Collection - The Cab Yard|publisher=The South Wales Loco Cab Preservation Group|access-date=17 August 2018|archive-date=2 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180902214258/http://thecabyard.co.uk/collection/|url-status=dead}}</ref> |- |Mark I |3229-4229 4329-3329 |style="background-color:#BBDDFF"|Formerly used for filming and training purposes. Stripped for spares at Ruislip depot in 2022, and awaiting scrapping in Staffordshire as of October 2023.{{cn|date=July 2024|reason=Unreliable source removed}} |- |Mark I |3530 |style="background-color:#BBFFBB"|Preserved at the Acton Depot of the [[London Transport Museum]] in [[Acton, London|Acton]], [[London Borough of Ealing]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ltmcollection.org/vehicles/objects/object.html?IXinv=1999/22944|title=London Underground 1972-tube stock driving motor car, number 3530, 1972|publisher=[[London Transport Museum]]|access-date=11 March 2014|archive-date=4 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304064945/http://www.ltmcollection.org/vehicles/objects/object.html?IXinv=1999%2F22944|url-status=dead}}</ref> |}

===Asset Inspection Train=== [[File:AIT SthEaling.JPG|thumb|1972 MkI Tube Stock 3313 incorporated into the Asset Inspection Train (AIT)|left]] {{unsourced section |date=July 2024}} Middle two cars are 67DM vehicles - 3079, 3179. Front 2 and rear two are 72 Mark 1 stock * Front two (72 Mark 1) 3313-4313 * Rear two (72 Mark 1) 4213-3213 Units 3079 & 3179 were overhauled at [[Eastleigh Works]] following withdrawal with no cab windows and new cables leading into each other. The AIT (Asset Inspection Train) was to replace the Track Recording Train (1960 Stock DMs and [[London Underground 1973 Stock|73 Stock]] T) which is currently in use. However, in July 2021 the AIT was scrapped at LKM Recycling Sittingbourne. {{citation needed|date=January 2022}}{{wide image|Asset Inspection Train LUL.jpg|1500px|alt=Asset Inspection}}

==References== {{Reflist|30em}}

==External links== * [http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/modesoftransport/londonunderground/rollingstock/1622.aspx Transport for London - Rolling Stock - 1972] * [http://www.trainweb.org/tubeprune/72%20tube%20stock.htm Tubeprune - 1972 Tube Stock]

{{Commons category|London Underground 1972 Stock}} {{Bakerloo line navbox}}{{Northern line navbox}}{{Jubilee line navbox}}{{London Underground rolling stock}}

[[Category:London Underground electric multiple units|1972]] [[Category:Metropolitan Cammell multiple units]] [[Category:Train-related introductions in 1972]]