Greetings, My questions are in reference to the roller destinations specifically Piccadilly, Waterloo, and Paddington. Were or are these actual special services that run on this line? If so, which station(s) did they often terminate at? Thanks.
Hey! Piccadilly Circus has a crossover that allows Southbound trains to turn back to the Northbound track. Not sure how often it gets used like that, probably when the line south of there is shut. Waterloo is the last stop on the line for any trains heading to London Road depot. They'll do a passenger service from somewhere in the north of the route (Harrow etc) to Waterloo, then detrain all passengers and take the empty carriages into the depot. Paddington I don't know about. There is a tunnel opening north of the station, might've had a crossover track in the past but does not now. Hope that helps!
Thank you. I've noticed the crossovers at these stations as well. With the Picadilly Circus returning north bound, did it terminate at Stonebridge Park, Queens Park? I know that Wembly Central used to be a common termination point in the past, could it have been that?
Only an educated guess for this one but I think if trains are turning back at Piccadilly Circus, they'll likely go to the usual north terminating points. Queen's Park, Stonebridge Park and Harrow. Not too sure, but I know the Bakerloo Line has had its northern end changed various times throughout the past. It used to go all the way to Watford Junction, then shortened to Stonebridge Park before lengthened back to Harrow. It also used to go to Stanmore, branching off at Baker Street but that became the northwest section of the Jubilee Line.
Yes. I noticed that while looking at a map of the Underground from the 1940's. A route like that would go nicely with the 1938 stock. Thanks, Joe for your help. I'm going to contact the Transport for London to see if I can get more details on these services or if anyone else knows please enlighten me on this subject.
Hi Vaughn, all the destinations you see on the 72 Stock roller blind or any tube stock for that matter are locations where trains are able to be reversed and turned back. As passengers you’d know these as terminating points such as Elephant & Castle or Queen’s Park, though other less used locations have points to allow trains to reverse for a variety of reasons, such as keeping the service running in the event of disruption on the line. All possible route moves are practiced by drivers on a regular basis to keep route knowledge up to date and ensure the rail equipment works as it should, these are referred to as ‘rusty rail moves’. Here are some YouTube videos on the matter if you’d like to see how it works in reality. https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRjJ3alLpN5yaiXySNYKVEYgzssDOR61v&feature=shared
This was helpful in understanding how some of the odd destinations on the Bakerloo were likely due to a rusty rail move, which we call a "deadhead" in the US. Thank you, Josh.
No worries, glad you found it helpful. If you have any more questions feel free to DM me or ask them here.
