First Class on The London UndergrounD

[Jan Mayen]

Just wondering if any of the present Underground Lines had First Class accommodation. I'm aware the Metropolitan had a couple of Pullman carriages, but any First Class?

 

[etr221]

The Metropolitan, Metropolitan District Railways and Great Northern & City Railways all had first class; the deep level 'small' tube lines never did. Under the LPTB I believe the Northern City line lost first class when it changed from being part of the Metropolitan to Northern line shorly before the war; first class on other purely LPTB services (Metropolitan and District lines) was abolished as a wartime measure from 1st February 1940; it lasted on Met trains running beyond Harrow over the joint line to Aylesbury and Watford, until it ended on all trains (on the big four as well as LPTB) running wholly within the London Transport Area on 6 October 1941.

 

[Taunton]

First Class lasted on the Metropolitan Line until 1940, when it was eliminated along with all mainstream railway companies within the London Transport area. The O/P Stock was the last so built, for the Uxbridge line, almost new at the abolition, and the vehicles retaining little different interior touches until they were finally withdrawn around 1980, if you knew where to look. I believe the seats were the same, possibly upholstered differently, the difference being the quality of one's travelling companions! In the way of those times not only two classes, but each had in turn to be subdivided into smoking and non-smoking (the latter being the minority then, being thought of as "just for the ladies ...").

 

[mike57]

The Metropolitan

So were the Metropolitain Pullmans 1st class fare + supplement?

 

[etr221]

So were the Metropolitain Pullmans 1st class fare + supplement?

As the Metropolitan Pullmans were (only) first class, yes (elsewhere there were third, later second, class pullmans)

 

[Taunton]

So were the Metropolitain Pullmans 1st class fare + supplement?

... and plus the catering bill! Apparently "chop suppers" were standard stuff on the evening departures towards Aylesbury.

Beyond the two Met Pullman cars, "Mayflower" and "Galatea", business magnate Lord Rothschild had an even grander private saloon which was attached when he came from his fine Bucks mansion to his City office. If one of the Pullmans was in for repairs, and "Sir" was off on business somewhere, the Met used to hire it as a substitute.

 

[vic-rijrode]

... and plus the catering bill! Apparently "chop suppers" were standard stuff on the evening departures towards Aylesbury.

Beyond the two Met Pullman cars, "Mayflower" and "Galatea", business magnate Lord Rothschild had an even grander private saloon which was attached when he came from his fine Bucks mansion to his City office. If one of the Pullmans was in for repairs, and "Sir" was off on business somewhere, the Met used to hire it as a substitute.

The Pullman service was from Verney Junction to the City, I believe until WW1. Having stood on the long disused platforms at Verney Junction (before the recent Oxford Bletchley re-fettling I hasten to add), I found it hard to believe that one could get into a Pullman "car" once upon a time...

 

[ChiefPlanner]

The excellent author Alan A Jackson commented that "suitably dressed" individuals could be allowed entry to the Met Pullmans provided the neccesary supplements were paid !

Cooking was by primus stoves apparently but no doubt a gin and splash would have gone down well on the way home after a day in the Metropolis - but they must have been a marketing initiative if not a money maker !

 

[Rescars]

Cooking was by primus stoves apparently but no doubt a gin and splash would have gone down well on the way home after a day in the Metropolis - but they must have been a marketing initiative if not a money maker !

On a point of detail, were these really Primus stoves? Rippingille's had a strong reputation for making paraffin fired cooking ranges.

 

[ChiefPlanner]

On a point of detail, were these really Primus stoves? Rippingille's had a strong reputation for making paraffin fired cooking ranges.

Jackson says the Met had no desire to install gas cylinders for the Pullman stoves so from 1920 , cooking was "precariously performed on Primus oil stoves in circumstances which would have produced heart tremors in todays safety officers" (P214 of his magnificent book on the Met)

Morning services served breakfast , light luncheons and afternoon tea. The 1135 pm from Baker St to Aylesbury (arrive 1255 am) was for theater traffic serving suppers.

Jackson made the point that the Pullmans owed their survival to their nebulous prestige and publicity value rather than accounting balances. The 1939 war gave the LPTB a welcome excuse for their withdrawal from Saturday 7th October 1939.

No more buttered toast on the Circle Line.!

 

[Gloster]

So were the Metropolitain Pullmans 1st class fare + supplement?

Steam to Silver (J Graeme Bruce, LTE, 1970) doesn’t specifically say that they were First Class only, nor does the 1922 Bradshaw, but it would be surprising if they weren’t. The original supplement was 1/- for beyond Rickmansworth and 6d. for any distance from Aldgate to Rickmansworth; in 1915 it was reduced to 6d. for all distances.

 

[Rescars]

Julian Morel, erstwhile Catering Superintendent of Pullman, wrote that the cars were popular with City businessmen and at a supplement of "6d or later 1/- on top of the first class fare they could hardly fail."

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No more buttered toast on the Circle Line.!

True enough, but Morel also tells of another less well known connection between Pullman and LTPB. In the 1950s Sir John Eliot was chairman of both Pullman and London Transport. Through his good offices Pullman were able to make use some of the facilities at 55 Broadway as training kitchens for their staff. Apparently there were comments at the time that the standards being maintained in the 55 Broadway staff messes were too high!

 

[mike57]

in 1915 it was reduced to 6d. for all distances.

Tried putting 6d in 1915 into an 'inflation calculator, and ended up with £2.24 in 2025 money which to be honest doesnt feel right. So tried taking average annual salary in 1915, £70 per year, v 2025 average of £37,000 and arrived at £13.20 in todays money, which feels about right.

To put that in context would I pay a supplement of £10-£15 ish to travel in comfort from the City to deepest Buckinghamshire (well over an hour), with the opportunity for some food (paid for), yes I probably would. Am I ever likely to get this opportunity, obviously not...

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 10 Dec 2025 ==

Julian Morel, erstwhile Catering Superintendent of Pullman, wrote that the cars were popular with City businessmen and at a supplement of "6d or later 1/- on top of the first class fare they could hardly fail."

Exactly..