This post is about my experiences with travel on London Underground’s 1938 Stock as part of celebrating the 90th anniversary of the Piccadilly Line’s northern extension.
Bullet points as key points to take away if you don’t bother to read.
- If you like retro-travels, I recommend travelling on 1938 Stock.
- Uxbridge to Cockfoster is my favourite route because it has the best architecture and many preserved features from the past.
- If you decide to travel, remember that eating food is prohibited, so feed your kids before you travel. While they are toilets at Acton Town and Oakwood, they are in a poor state. For example, the toilet at Oakwood was run out of the toilet, so bring your own.
I was browsing the ianvisits.co.uk website for news about public transport in London. I found information about a ticket on the heritage train journey on the Piccadilly line on an ancient train known as London Underground 1938 Stock and British Class 483. As I missed a similar opportunity some time ago, I bought a ticket as part of my birthday celebration with my family.
It is my second time on this train. The first time, I travelled on the Island Line that operated on The Isle of Wight. This time it was a return trip between Acton Town and Oakwood. The trip took almost 3 hours. It took 1 hour one way plus around a 1-hour break.
The star of this show was a metro train London Underground 1938 Stock. It ran for 50 years between 1938 and 1988 on London Underground, and a few of them were converted to run as trains (known as British Class 483) on Island Line for more than 30 years. It was withdrawn from service after 3.01.2021. You can read more about this train at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Underground_1938_Stock.
On arrival, we needed to check-in. We got some leaflets about the train and the Piccadilly Line’s northern extension.
This train was running between regular Piccadilly service, so boarding was quick but a bit chaotic as the train stopped not in the place that Stewards expected it to stop, so people went to the wrong carriage, but it was quickly sorted.
The preserved train has a very cosy ambience and comfy seats. It allows you to rest while cruising through London.
Even ads was authentic from time that this train was in the service.
Each carriage has a volunteer, so you could talk about the train if curious. The trip itself went smoothly. In the beginning, between Acton and Hammersmith, trains as fast as they still can. You can feel this train is “alive” thanks to various mechanical noises. When this train was introduced to service in 1938, it was a state-of-the-art design and revolutionary changes like putting all the electrical equipment under the floor instead of behind the drivecab, increasing passenger space.
When we went underground, the train was constantly moving almost all the time. I felt like VIP.
It was funny to see surprised passengers at the station to see this ancient train; some even tried to board :D.
At Oakwood station, we had around 1-hour rest. We went for average coffee at the cafe on the left and explored inside the station as it has some cool old-school features, bins full of rubbish and toilets that feel abandoned and unloved by TfL.
Good hygiene must be so rare that one of the shop that sell food go wild with hygiene rating information.
It was also first time I travelled on the north-east part of the Piccadilly line. At 16:17, we had our trip back to Acton Town.
Overall, it was great; while the rest of my poor rest of family was surviving the trip (thanks for coming with me), I was enjoying it a lot. The travel on the tube with the best interior design was incredible. The staff was friendly, helpful and engaging. Everything was well organised.
The Picadilly line route between Uxbridge and Cockfoster is my favourite route in London because of the beautiful architecture of many stations, which have many unique features from the past.
They plan to run this train on special occasions in the future, so if you want to experience retro travel, I highly recommend it.
In my opinion, they should run this train between Uxbridge and Acton Town will be better as it offers you incredible scenery, but I wonder if it is possible. Experience to travel on 1938 Stock is worth trying on any route.
Abbreviations and Definitions
- TfL- Transport for London
- Tube – The nickname for the metro system in London, known also as London Underground.
Resources
Dominik Symonowicz 