Refurbished 1973 Tube Stock Photos
Fig. 1: Refurbished 1973
Tube Stock Exterior
The 1973 Tube Stock was refurbished in the
mid-1990s and was turned out in the new standard corporate livery of red, white and blue
with a grey roof. Here, one is seen at Ealing Common depot.
At the front, there is a new central escape
stairway, which is incorporated into the front end door ( M door). This can be
quickly deployed to allow a speedy evacuation on to the track.
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Fig. 2: Photo of the
Interior of a Refurbished 1973 Tube Stock Car
This is the interior of a 1973 Tube Stock car
showing all longitudinal seating and the new colour scheme adopted. Lighting has
been redesigned and covered fluorescent tubes provided. A new, roof mounted
ventilation system has also been fitted.
A long standing argument within LU has
surrounded the question of car lighting design. Covered lamps do look better when
new but they do get dirty very quickly and there are always some which show signs of
condensation inside. The covers have to be secure but they must be easily removable
for cleaning and lamp changing.
Bare lamps are much easier to maintain and
clean. They may not have the visual appeal of the covered lamp but they look better
than dirty and stained covers. They always look brighter and could therefore be
reduced in number compared with covered lights. Tubeprune suggests that, unless a
lot of money is spent on cleaning and maintenance, bare tubes are better.
One feature of the refurbished 1973 Tube Stock
interiors is the window lock. These can be seen on one side near the bottom of each
interior window. They were provided because of the problem of the interior panes
swinging open while trains were in service. This was due to the flexing of the car
body shell whilst running over the rough track along much of the Piccadilly Line's open
sections.
The windows are hinged at the top and have to be
lifted to get to the cavity behind. They are double glazed and are designed in this
way to provide a pocket to allow doors to slide inside the cars. Trains built in
the 1990s have outside sliding doors and only single glazing.
Originally, the interior panes were designed to
lift open and then be hooked into the "straps" provided along the ceiling for
passengers to hold onto. The glazing is heavy and this was awkward to do. The
straps were removed during refurbishment and the windows fitted with gas struts to make
opening easier. The new locks were added to secure the window against springing open
while the train is moving.
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