Class 482 / London Underground 1992 Tube Stock (Waterloo & City)

The Class 482 replaced the 50 year old Class 487 units on the short (2.37km long) Waterloo & City Line [1] in 1992. These days the line is part of London Underground but until 1994 it was part of British Rail (and it's predecessor constituents) [2]. The Class 482s are nearly identical to the 1992 Tube Stock ordered at the same time for the Central Line [3], and indeed were among the first of the combined seven hundred cars that were built [4]. They have some equipment differences such as no Automatic Train Operation (ATO) and Automatic Train Protection (ATP) systems unlike the Central Line trains, the Waterloo & City uses tripcock protection instead.

65501 at Bank

Although each Class 482 is a two-car set (one car being powered) they operate in pairs, semi-permanently coupled. As each two-car set only has a cab at one end they operate in pairs of sets with the cabs at the outer ends.

Information
Number built:	20 (10 2-car sets)
Built:	1992
Builder:	ABB Derby
Engine:	4 Brush LT130 traction motors per car (630v DC fourth rail)
Power:	496hp (368kW)
Formation:	Driving Motor Standard Open (DMSO)+Motor Standard Open (MSO)[+MSO+DMSO]

Originally the Class 482 wore Network South East [5] livery but now they are in standard London Underground corporate livery. Their time as part of BR was pretty short though they kept their NSE colours until a major refurbishment in 2006.

The Class 482s are unique in that their line has no overground portions (the Victoria Line has an above ground depot though all passenger services are underground) and if they require heavy maintenance (such as the above mentioned refurbishment) that cannot be performed at the small underground depot at Waterloo they need to be lifted out by crane!

Unlike their predecessors the Class 487 which used 660v DC third rail the Class 482 uses 630v DC fourth rail like the rest of the London Underground. At the time of manufacture the Class 482 (and 1992 Stock) were highly advanced EMUs though have had their fair share of technical problems. One major problem occurred on the Central Line in 2003 when a traction motor broke off the bogie of a train causing a derailment. All of the stock on the Central and Waterloo & City Lines was taken out of service for some time for the replacement of worn and faulty bolts.

The trains will probably be replaced as part of the Deep Tube Upgrade in the 2030s.

The Waterloo depot can be seen in the background

Aboard, note the handrails in Waterloo & City cyan

Arrival at Bank

[1] Ben Muldoon, London Underground Rolling Stock Guide (Ian Allan, 2014) p. 69
[2] John Glover, London's Underground (12th Edition) (Ian Allan, 2015) p. 76
[3] Colin J Marsden, DMU and EMU Recognition (Ian Allan, 2013) p. 364
[4] John C. Gillham, The Waterloo & City Railway (Oakwood Press, 2001) p. 388
[5] John Glover, London Underground Rolling Stock in Colour (Ian Allan, 2009) p.88