1959 tube stock

The 1959 and 1962 stock where commissioned by London Underground after successful trials of the 1956 stock, these where mostly intended to replace the Standard stock which was ageing and in need of replacement, being in service since the 1920s. Both of these stocks were similar in appearance however the 1962 stock came with a series of improvements from the earlier running of the 1958 stock.

Initially intended for the [[Piccadilly line]], the 1959 stock was diverted after seven trains were delivered, to the [[Central line]] to replace the Standard stock on the line which was becoming increasingly unreliable. These were transferred when the 1962 stock was implemented onto the Central line back to the [[Piccadilly line]]. The 1959 stock had a long life in service serving the [[Bakerloo line]], [[Central line]], [[Northern line]] and [[Piccadilly line]] within their lives, eventually being withdrawn in 2000.

The 1960 stock, however, although of a similar appearance to the 1959 and 1962 stocks was a separate stock entirely intended as a prototype to test fully automated Automatic Train Operation (ATO) in anticipation for the new Victoria line.

1959 stock

The 1959 stock was constructed by Metro-Cammell in Birmingham and where based on the [[1956 prototype stock]] which was constructed from an aluminium alloy. The units had a long career, with some not being withdrawn until the year 2000 a full three years beyond their intended withdrawal date. During this career they served the Northern, Bakerloo, Central and Piccadilly lines.

The stock entered service on the [[Piccadilly line]] in 1959, however the units where transferred to the [[Central line]] to replace the lines Standard stock, which was becoming increasing unreliable; the [[Central line]]s version of the 1959 stock, the 1962 stock later took over the lines operations.

The [[Piccadilly line]] had opened an extension to Heathrow airport in the early 1970s which coincided with the introduction of a new rolling stock the [[1973 stock]]. As a result the 1959 stock was transferred to the [[Northern line]] between 1975 and 1979 to allow for the [[1938 stock]] to be withdrawn and scrapped from the line. Some 1959 stock trains where also transferred to the [[Bakerloo line]] during the 1980s to further allow for the withdrawal of the 1938 stock. The last service on the [[Piccadilly line]] was on 18 October 1979 on the Aldywich shuttle service.

The 1959 stock was considered distinctive because this was the first production stock for a deep-level tube railway that had not been painted, and had a clean silver exterior. However, the unpainted exteriors became jaded and dirty with the blue and grey interiors becoming dated quickly. The stock looked worn, and without the aesthetic red and green charm of the older stock nor the ambiance of the 1930s which made the [[1938 stock]] more celebrated.

The units where mostly concentrated on the [[Northern line]], by the mid 1990s and where getting old and required works attention. A haphazard minor refurbishment took place which entailed painting the blue and grey interiors white further to replacing the seat moquettes. The white interiors became very dirty by 1998 and the failure rate had risen to 1 in 3,000km (1,864 miles), making a replacement urgently needed.

The [[Northern line]] received a replacement to the 1959 stock and the thirty trains of [[1972 stock]] in the form of the 1995 stock. The plan was to keep the [[1972 stock]] to work alongside the new stock, with the trains receiving an extensive refurbishment which had been completed for the services operating on the Bakerloo line, however, after one trial refurbishment on a Northern line service showed it was more cost-effective in the longer term to have a line operated by a single rolling stock. The withdrawal of the 1959 stock on the [[Northern line]] was a long drawn-out affair, the last passenger service operated on 28 January 2000 and was the last train that had a crew of a motorman and a guard.

A train was repainted in the ‘heritage‘ red a cream livery in 1990 to celebrate the centenary of the railway opening.

Several vehicles have been preserved in a variety of locations, including one complete four-carriage unit numbered 1304.

Key Dates