London Underground 1960 Stock

London Underground 1960 Stock

The London Underground 1960 Stock was a class of electric multiple unit for the London Underground Central Line. Twelve motor cars were supplied by Cravens, and pairs were made up to four cars by the addition of two converted standard stock trailers. A production run of 338 motor cars was shelved, due to the time needed to assess the new features and the cost of converting the trailer cars. Some of the pre-1938 trailers were later replaced by 1938 stock trailers.

The trains were used as a test-bed for automatic train operation, where control signals were picked up from the running rails, and all control of the moving train, apart from the initial command to start when leaving a station, was managed by a "black box" controller. The Woodford to Hainault section of the Central Line was used for these tests, in preparation for the introduction of the system on the Victoria Line when it opened. In 1986, three trains were converted back for manual operation, and a 3-car unit worked the peak-only Epping to Ongar shuttle service, until that line closed in 1994. One train still works as a track recording unit, while a second is in private ownership and has been used for railtours on the Underground.