Last Shuttle from Chesham

The Last day of the Chesham Shuttle card showing a Metropolitan saddle tank engine pulling into Chesham Station.

Today was a day when railway history was marked on the Chesham Branch of the Metropolitan Railway when the last shuttle from Chesham departed after running for 118 years since 1892. Up to today for most of the day a 4-car train operates as a shuttle service to and from Chalfont & Latimer station, on the main line to Amersham and Aylesbury. In February 2009, following a consultation the previous year, Transport for London announced that Chesham would have a regular through service to central London from Sunday 12th December 2010.

The double track line from Rickmansworth to Chalfont Road (now Chalfont & Latimer) and the single line beyond to Chesham were opened in July 1889. In 1892 the double track was extended from Chalfont Road through Amersham and Great Missenden to Aylesbury, albeit to a temporary terminus in Brook Street as the GWR refused access to its station until 1893. At Aylesbury the line joined the Aylesbury and Buckingham Railway which the Metropolitan had acquired in 1891. However this line was not doubled until 1897 when the Metropolitan started to run services from Baker Street to Verney Junction.


The first Metropolitan train at Chesham, July 1889

As I have pointed out before it is probably true to say that there is no Tube Station on London Underground which its community more closely identifies with than this branch line to Chesham. So much so that in 1889 when the railway opened the townspeople raised the funds to have the line built an extra half mile into the centre of town. It meant that this small Buckinghamshire town straddling the valley of the River Chess which gives it its name is directly connected to the West End and City of London; indeed it had its own direct fast trains, the Chesham Flyers, which ran “fast” into the City. Today Chesham has a population of 20,000 and won’t grow any further as it is surrounded by hills which are “Green Belted”, where development is prohibited to maintain green space around London. Indeed, as all the roads into Chesham are steeply sloping there are times in icy winter when the almost 4 miles of the “Chesham Branch” have been its lifeline to the outside world.


Chesham Station

So today at midday an assorted crew of aficionados, local residents, railway enthusiasts and London Underground personalities gathered on the platform at Chesham Station to bid farewell to the shuttle on its last official round trip from Chesham to Chalfont and Latimer. The Chesham Shuttle has been a unique service on this Branch Line and has reinforced the town’s identification with the Underground. Because it has been operated by a small pool of drivers they have a rapport with the residents many of who they know personally. After 118 years the new 8 Car S Stock Trains being introduced in 2011 mean that the 4 car EMU shuttle based on the existing A60 Metropolitan Line Stock is being retired. The new stock consists of 8 connected walk through carriages which cannot be accommodated in the bay at Chalfont and Latimer Station at the other end of the branch. So instead of the shuttle Chesham will have two direct trains an hour into London and Amersham which currently has 6 per hour will reduce to 4 per hour plus the stopping Chiltern Railway services.




The "Last Shuttle" entering Chesham

The current shuttle is designated A60 stock (A for Amersham and 60 representing 1960 their year of planned fleet release). The doorplates on the carriages have the name of their Sheffield manufacturer “Cravens” and the year 1961 but in fact this “1960” stock was only introduced on the Branch in 1962 when sufficient numbers were delivered. These units are the largest trains on the Underground. They are now almost 50 years old and whilst the whole fleet was extensively refurbished in recent years they are operating well beyond their design life, they must have clocked up an incredible mileage.


Interior of A60 Stock


Doorplate on A60 Stock

The new trains which will replace the A60 stock from 2011 are officially called 'S Stock' and they're very different to the Metropolitan's long-serving 1960s workhorses. They will serve around 40 per cent of the Tube network on the sub-surface lines, will have comfort cooling, walk-through carriages with CCTV coverage in each one, plus improved accessibility. The Metropolitan Circle, District and Hammersmith & City lines are known as sub-surface lines because underground sections run just below street level rather than in deep level tunnels.


The new London Underground Sub-surface Stock

The front of the new trains is red, with the destination displayed electronically. The doors are red too, with a button on each which looks like it needs to be pressed to gain entrance. But no, the doors pull apart automatically on stopping at each platform, and with a definite swish rather than a clunk. Oh, and there's only one carriage. Technically speaking there are eight, but they're all joined together to create one long articulated snake allowing passengers to walk all the way from one end to the other if they so wish.




S Stock showing inter-carriage connector

Once aboard passengers will be struck by the space. Traditional Metropolitan line carriages are full of places to sit, and these new replacements most definitely aren't. Most of the seats run along the edge, facing away from the windows, and there are only a handful of 4-somes where family groups might choose to locate. Several of the seats flip up to make way for wheelchairs or pushchairs, or to provide additional standing room if things get too crowded. There are only 30 seats in each new carriage, compared to more than 50 in the old, which is a significant reduction of approximately 150 places to sit in each S Stock train. That's not a problem in the centre of town where journeys are brief and crowding is high. But on the commuter run to Amersham, or Uxbridge, or Watford, not having anywhere to sit for up to an hour is going to frustrate hundreds of post-work travellers daily so it will be interesting to see the reaction of the denizens of Chesham to this feature.


The characteristic London Underground Moquette seat covering for the S Stock

Another innovation inside the carriages may be more welcome - scrolling displays which tell you the train's destination, and which station's coming up next, and whether the train's fast, semi-fast or not. Automated voice messages will played too, which customers on the Met have never previously had to experience. The seats have smart new Moquette, covered in regularly-spaced pairs of pink/purple and yellow/green rectangles. But there are no longer any racks on which to stash your briefcase, nor any hooks on which to hang your overcoat. People of Metroland, your new trains are no longer middle class, they're 21st century egalitarian.


S Stock interior

One feature of the new trains which Bozza Johnson has trumpeted but which I would take issue with is “Air Conditioning.” Well the S Stock spec, according to the manufacturers, calls for the ambient temperature inside the carriage to be 2 degrees Celsius less than the external air temperature when in “cooling mode.” So this is more properly described as “Comfort cooling” rather than air conditioning and as it has to be achieved in a box with three double doors opening every 2 minutes in the central area it is particularly wasteful technology. It also adds weight to the trains which is reflected in the motive power usage and extra complexity which will be reflected in maintenance. For these reasons the new stock has the same carbon footprint as the stock it is replacing, not a great leap forward in energy efficiency after 50 years? There is a lot of media hype each year as lazy editors send pup journalists out to do “meltdown on the Tube” stories but this is a short lived problem and mainly on the deep tube lines where trains can not be “air conditioned.” How does “cooling the Tube” compare as an investment priority with the clear legal obligations and moral imperative to make the system more accessible to the 10% of the population who are disabled or mobility impaired? Air conditioning is inherently wasteful technology developed in days of carbon irresponsibility and the world needs to look for better more sustainable low energy solutions – compare the greedy energy use of Dubai, that fallen icon of vulgar conspicuous consumption, with the city of Chandigarh in India designed by Le Corbusier where every building has its climate controlled without the use of air conditioning.


S Stock trial run on Metropolitan Line

Metroland was the term coined by Metropolitan Railway and taken up by the poet Sir John Betjeman to describe the new green suburbs made possible by this railway – indeed he used a speeded up trip on the Chesham Branch for the opening title sequence of his famous documentary. A century ago, the Metropolitan Railway had been extended from a profitable base in central London through the sparsely populated countryside to the north-west of Buckinghamshire, by Sir Edward Watkin, a contentious Victorian entrepreneur. This push through the Chilterns was part of his ambitious scheme to link Manchester by rail to Paris. Although Watkins’s plans failed with his death, a number of the untoward consequences of his actions fortuitously put his successors at the 'Met' in a unique position to exploit the surplus land adjacent to their lines, under the banner of 'Metro-land'.


The driver of the Last Shuttle

This aspirational promotional campaign created the image of an idealistic post-war lifestyle being based upon the concept of affordable housing of an individualistic character, set in pleasant countryside and yet within easy reach of London by the 'Met'. The propagation of the 'Metro-land' brand led to its wide adoption by the media and incorporation in our culture as epitomising a way of life. Indeed, it was so successful that the Met had to embark on a continuing programme of improving capacity to match the resulting growth in commuting. Set in a convenient countryside, these commuters were catered for by a varied and fascinating railway and the estates it created as part of Metro-land, were immortalised by John Betjeman - becoming part of our heritage.


Dr. Clive Foxell CBE

Well there is no better example of this ideal than the country market town of Chesham nestled snugly in a Chilterns valley and connected to the “Big Smoke” by this historic branch. We were fortunate on the last shuttle to have a commentary from Dr. Clive Foxell CBE on the storied history of the branch. Clive is a former MD of BT and author of many railway and history tomes including “Rails to Metroland.” Being born in Harrow, living in Chesham and having started his career as a railway apprentice he is the Sage of Metroland. After the last official shuttle returned to the platform at Chesham from its trip to Chalfont and Latimer a raffle was held for one of the commemorative headboards with the money raised going to the “Railway Children” charity which London Underground supports. The other headboard is fittingly going to the excellent Chesham Museum. Thanks to Angela Back, General Manager, Stuart Burnett, Performance Manager, and all the Metropolitan Line staff who ensured the end of the shuttle after 118 years was properly marked.


Rails to Metroland

As for Chesham from tomorrow they can look forward to the convenience and comfort of quicker direct trains to the West End and the City of London with step free access at Chesham and no awkward change, delay and exposure to the elements at Chalfont and Latimer. And when the swish S Stock is introduced in 2011 they will have a smoother more comfortable trip again. Maybe a new age of Metro-Land dawns?


Memories and photos being shared at Chesham Station


Chesham Museum site;

http://www.cheshammuseum.org.uk/

For more on Metroland see;

http://www.metroland.org.uk/

For more on Chesham and its railway see;

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2010/05/chesham-station.html


The shuttle at Chesham Road (now Chalfont & Latimer station) in 1892

For more see TUBE BLOGS and TRANSPORT BLOGS in the Blog sidebar >>>>>