Editing Waterloo & City line (section)

=== Historic rolling stock ===
{{main|Waterloo & City Railway electric units}}
After tendering, a contract for supply of the passenger vehicles was let to the [[Jackson and Sharp Company]] of [[Wilmington, Delaware]] in the sum of £21,675. The vehicles were to be shipped to Southampton in [[knock-down kit]] form, to be assembled at [[Eastleigh Works]] by the LSWR.

By 6 January 1898, a skeleton carriage could be run through the tunnels to verify clearances and the first fully assembled train of four carriages was run from Eastleigh to Waterloo on 4 March 1898. The lift for lowering rolling stock to the tunnel level, and some electrical work, were not ready, but on 4 June 1898 a successful trial run was made.

The motor coaches were {{convert|47|ft|1|in}} overall length, and the trailers were {{convert|46|ft|3+1/2|in}}, both being {{convert|8|ft|6|in}} wide at floor level and {{convert|9|ft|8|in}} high from rail level. There were 11 of each type, to run in four four-car formations with spares.

The accommodation was of the open saloon type, then a novelty in Britain; there were gate entrances at the end of the vehicles. The trailers seated 56 persons, and the motor coaches seated 46, with a raised section over the motor bogie.

The traction motors by Siemens were series-wound {{convert|60|hp|abbr=on}} gearless motors on the axles. The trains ran in a formation of four cars, the two outer vehicles being motor coaches.  The motor cars were constructed to allow an early form of multiple unit operation and the front car's controller was additionally able to control the rear car's motors. The two motors at each end were connected in series at starting, then reconnected in parallel (using open circuit transition) as the train accelerated in the well established (at that time) method. This required eight cables to be run the length of the train at roof level. <!-- Two for each armature A and AA; two for each field Y and YY; for each motor making eight cables. ---> A further cable making nine in all linked the collector shoes at opposite ends of the four-car set to avoid problems with the large gaps in the centrally mounted conductor rail.

There was a crew of six at first: driver, driver's assistant, guard and three gatemen; the driver's assistant was subsequently no longer required. The trains used Westinghouse brakes, and the air reservoirs were charged from static compressors at Waterloo. They were charged to {{convert|100|psi|abbr=on}}, running down to {{convert|70|psi|abbr=on}} before needing to be recharged. Lighting was run from the power circuit, with four lamps in series from the {{val|500|u=V}} nominal.{{sfnp|Gillham|2001}}

====New trains ordered by the Southern Railway====
{{main|British Rail Class 487}}
[[File:Class 487 at London Transport Museum Depot.jpg|thumb|Preserved 1940 stock at the London Transport Museum Depot]]

In the late 1930s, new rolling stock was ordered by the [[Southern Railway (UK)|Southern Railway]]. Despite the declaration of war in September 1939, the work was considered well advanced, and 12 motor coaches and 16 trailers were ordered from [[English Electric]], and built at the [[Dick, Kerr & Co.]] works at Preston. The [[Art Deco]] style trains were delivered through 1940, and the old cars were removed from the line on 25 October 1940, the new cars starting work on 28 October, with the line closed over the intervening weekend.

Constructed of welded steel, trains were run in five-car formations, Motor coach + trailer + trailer + trailer + motor coach, with spares for overhaul. The motor coaches had cabs at each end, enabling single-car operation by them; they had two axle-hung traction motors rated at {{convert|190|hp|abbr=on}} for one hour. The new trains had on-board compressors for the air brakes, and interior lights were in two circuits, one fed from the motor car at one end of the unit, and one from the other, avoiding total lighting loss in passing conductor rail gaps. The conductor rail was altered to the outside position normal for the third-rail system. There was no train power line, and each motor coach collected its own electric supply.{{citation needed|date=May 2021}}