#1949
Metropolitan Railway electric locomotives
🇬🇧 United Kingdom ·built by Metropolitan-Vickers· from 1922· class of 20 British electric locomotives
2 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
what is it?
Metropolitan Railway electric locomotives were used on London's Metropolitan Railway with conventional carriage stock. On the outer suburban routes an electric locomotive was used at the Baker Street end that was exchanged for a steam locomotive en route (latterly at Rickmansworth). The first ten had a central cab and were known as camel-backs, and these entered service in 1906.
who runs it
base stats
Bars compare against all trains: 600 km/h (maglev), 1,700 seats; power, weight and number built on a log scale up to 20 MW, 1,000 t and 20,000 built.
fun facts
- First built 104 years ago, in 1922.
- 895 kW is about 11 family cars (~85 kW each) flat out.
- Weighs about as much as 10 African elephants (~6 t each).
- Served for 40 years (1922–1962).
electric locomotive: Draws power from overhead wires or a third rail and pulls separate carriages.
spec sheet
- built
- 1922
- in service from
- 1922
- retired
- 1962
- status
- retired
- number built
- 20
- kind
- Electric
- traction
- electric
- origin
- 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- builders
- Metropolitan-Vickers
- operators
- Metropolitan Railway, London Passenger Transport Board, London Transport Executive
- top speed
- 105 km/h
- power
- 895 kW
- gauge
- 1,435 mm standard gauge
- electric system
- 600 V DC
- wheel arrangement
- Bo-Bo
- weight
- 62.4 t
From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q6825225, Wikipedia: Metropolitan Railway electric locomotives (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.