London Underground 1967 Stock facts for kids

The London Underground 1967 Stock was a type of train that ran deep underground on London's Victoria line. These trains are not used anymore. Newer trains, called the 2009 Stock, replaced them between 2010 and 2011. They were built by a company called Metro-Cammell. Before the Victoria Line, these trains also ran for a short time on a part of the Central line between Woodford and Hainault.

Quick facts for kids 1967 Stock
1967 Stock at Green Park
1967 stock interior after refurbishment
Stock type	Deep-level tube
Line served	Victoria line  (1968-2011)
Manufacturer	Metro-Cammell
Constructed	1964-1971
Entered service	1968
Refurbishment	1989-1997
Scrapped	2011
Number built	39½ trains
Number in service	4 cars
Number preserved	9 cars
Formation	DM-T-T-DM-DM-T-T-DM
Capacity	376
Operator	London Underground
Depot(s)	Northumberland Park
Specifications
Car length	DM 52 ft 9 in (16.08 m) T 52 ft 5 in (15.98 m)
Width	8 ft 8 in (2.642 m)
Height	9 ft 5+1⁄4 in (2.877 m)
Doors	DM Two double-leaf, One single-leaf T Two double-leaf, Two single-leaf
Weight	DM 28.5 long tons (29.0 t; 31.9 short tons) T 19.4 long tons (19.7 t; 21.7 short tons)

The inside of a 1967 Stock train after it was refurbished.

How the Trains Were Built

In March 1964, an order was placed for 30 and a half trains of the 1967 tube stock. Each train was made up of eight cars. These trains were built by Metro-Cammell.

Each train was actually two smaller four-car units joined together. Building these trains cost about £2.25 million back then. Today, that amount of money would only buy about three trains!

The first train unit arrived at the West Ruislip depot on September 27, 1967. These trains were specifically bought to run on the new Victoria Line.

Testing the Trains

Before they could carry passengers, the trains were tested. First, they were tested at the depot. Then, they were moved to Hainault depot. Here, they were tried out with passengers on a special shuttle service. This service ran on the Central line between Woodford and Hainault.

Once all the tests were finished, the trains moved to Northumberland Park Depot. A special battery locomotive was used to move them. This depot was where the trains were kept and maintained for their entire service life. It's interesting because this depot is the only part of the Victoria Line that is not underground. Also, it has a unique rail link for staff from Seven Sisters station.

Special Features of the Trains

The 1967 Stock trains had a cool feature called Automatic Train Operation (ATO). This meant the train could drive itself! The train operator's job was to open and close the doors. To start the train, they just had to press two buttons at the same time. This would begin the automatic driving process.

These trains were the first on the London Underground to have "wrap-around" windows in the driver's cab. This gave the driver a wider view. When the trains were first delivered, they had a shiny grey paint job. However, this shiny look soon faded to a dull grey.

More Trains for the Victoria Line

The Victoria Line was extended to Brixton in July 1971. Because of this, 72 more cars of the 1967 tube stock were ordered. This made up nine more trains. This brought the total number of 1967 tube stock trains to 39 and a half.

Making the Trains Newer

After a big fire at King's Cross station in 1987, a plan was started in 1989 to make all London Underground rolling stock safer and newer. The Victoria Line trains were chosen to be the first to get this special treatment. This process is called "refurbishment," which means they were repaired, changed, and made to look more modern.

The refurbishment work was done by a company called Tickford Rail at Rosyth Dockyard. It was supposed to take five years to finish. However, it took longer, and the last train didn't leave the workshop until 1997. This was because each train was slightly different from the others.

After the trains were refurbished, their outside was painted in a new white, blue, and red design. The inside of the trains was updated with special fire-resistant materials. The interior was mostly finished in the Victoria Line's blue colours. Some trains also had the brown colours of the Bakerloo line, as they sometimes ran on that line too.

When the Trains Were Replaced

The very last 1967 Stock train that carried passengers ran on June 30, 2011. These trains have now been completely replaced by the newer 2009 Stock trains.

Train Car Numbers

Here's a look at how the different parts of the trains were numbered:

And what those codes mean:

Images for kids

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  The 1967 tube stock at Holborn, during a rail tour.

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  End view of 1967 Stock motor car, 1967

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  Interior view of 1967 Stock drivers cab, 1968