District Railway Electric Locomotives

The District Railway bought ten of these locomotives from the Metropolitan Carriage & Wagon Company of Birmingham to haul London & North Western Railway and later London, Tilbury & Southend Railway services along the electrified section of its outer circle route between Earl's Court and Mansion House [1] and later onto Barking (the District Railway no longer wanted steam locomotives operating through these tunnels). The locomotives operated in pairs and only had a cab at one end. They were based on the railway's then-current fleet of B Stock EMUs and had wooden bodies and clerestory roofs [2].

Information
Number built:	10
Built:	1905
Builder:	Metropolitan Carriage and Wagon Company
Engine:	4 British Thomson-Houston GE69 traction motors (600v DC fourth rail)
Power:	800 hp (597 kW)
Wheel arrangement:	Bo-Bo

The locomotives were equipped with British Thomson-Houston traction equipment though in 1922 the traction motors were replaced by GE260 from F Stock. Three locomotives were scrapped in 1911 though the rest remained in service until 1939 when the LTSR service was withdrawn.

Model of locomotive at London Transport Museum

Public domain image [3]

Public domain image [3]

[1] "Electric Locos for London & North Western Cars in London", Street Railway Journal (1906) Vol XXVII No. 1, p. 46
[2] R.L. Vickers, DC Electric Trains & Locomotives in the British Isles (David & Charles, 1986) p. 29
[3] Street Railway Journal p. 46