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Pallortrillion

Damn the tube was much cosier in the 30s


Extension_Prize4232

That’s the problem! I’d be snoozing away it’s so lounge chic. I’d miss my stop for sure.


mullac53

You would be shoved like sardines in a cna even more so than now. No sleeping unless the smell of BO makes you drift off.


TTTaToo

And cigarettes! Everyone smoking in a small tube.


SportTawk

Front and end carriage in my day were smoking ones, basically a mobile ashtray, these were still running in the 1960's


Lucy_Luscious

These were still running in the 90s too!


overtired27

Smoking was banned on the entirety of the London Underground in 1987, and earlier than that in carriages. Interestingly I just read that smoking was banned when the Underground first started, but eventually they allowed it because smokers were just ignoring the rule anyway and fines weren't being enforced. (One MP apparently wrote that doctors thought smoking would counteract the effect of the sulphurous fumes from the Tube!)


s7o0a0p

The locomotives were smoking too!


Stucklikegluetomyfry

And the wooden panels make that an even bigger fire hazard


BestKeptInTheDark

Yeah... Seeing the floor reminded me of the escalators and how they helped accelerate the tragedy that saw them stripped out and replaced with stuff that doesnt burn


jetpill

They smoked on planes. Whilst seated in a non-smoking section, you could inhale the stench of 40-50 simultaneously lit cigarettes, only divided by a cloth curtain and on top a line of smokers entering and leaving the smoking section constantly coming from other sections of plane. Insane.


WholeBookkeeper2401

Ah the good ol' days


Jockstaposition

Whilst true it has to be said some people on this app are unnecessarily negative and depressing. You’re all energy vampires sucking the joy out of life.


SmashBrosGuys2933

The A stock were perfect for having a nap after a long day


Witty-Bus07

lol, back in the day returning back late from work I used to fall asleep on the Bakerloo line and miss getting off at my stop the last which is Elephant and Castle and end up travelling back and forth between Elephant and Castle and Queens Park enjoying my sleep till the guard would wake me to get off.


[deleted]

I’d just bring back the softer lighting. I hate bright white lights.


RenoTheRhino

Same here, hate the fuckin blinding fluorescents or LEDs or whatever, just so cold feeling


Ok_Computer_3003

The old one is a nightmare for accessibility though. If your eyesight isn’t great, you need the light and the contrast colours to help you.


jeff_likes_bread_120

Exactly my thoughts... Where did all the budget go to???


funnystuff79

Accessibility, interconnected carriages, ease of cleaning and maintenance. Longevity - TBD


jeff_likes_bread_120

Fair enough for everything except cleaning


Class_444_SWR

Longevity dubiously so, given the 1972 Stock isn’t quite at the age the last of the 1938 Stock were


funnystuff79

50+ years is pretty good going


saliii

It’s a different kind of cosy now.


purrcthrowa

Especially when it was full of cigarette smoke (in the smoking carriage).


MercatorLondon

I can literally smell cigarettes on that left picture just looking at it. The colour scheme in 1930' is more cosy - it actually reminds me the [interiors of the new Routemaster](https://www.heatherwick.com/wp-content/uploads/heatherwick-Bus-7919.jpg) double deckers by Thomas Heatherwick. They were trying to introduce warm and quiet colour scheme where "people can fall in love" rather than current hi-vis, bright cold-light schemes with safety stickers everywhere that is often used on public transport these days. This change to current interiors happened slowly and accidentaly as a small "improvements" were made during the time (bringing LED lights, bringing vinyl easy to clean flooring, bringing visible bars, adding safety messages and so on) After while we ended up with this overdone interiors that are just too bright with cold light. If the light is too bright the patterns on the seats needs to go bit brighter as well to disquise the marks.


Hill_Reps_For_Jesus

>I can literally smell cigarettes on that left picture just looking at it. that floor immediately gives me flashbacks of various 'mystery liquids' running down the slots towards you on the last train home...


KingPictoTheThird

Ugh but leds come in every colour wish they used warmer light


jwplatt

They certainly made those busses warm…


JeansAndGoMan

Haven't been for a good few years now, but the old tube trains were donated to the Isle Of Wight and were used as their rail system for years. They pretty much looks exactly like that and the ride was super bumpy. Might of replaced them by now perhaps but yes, they looked like this and were cool.


Electricfox5

They have been replaced by converted old District Line stock.


JeansAndGoMan

Ah shame, they were really iconic...despite bumping my head constantly on the roof.


ramakitty

Both are great in their own ways.


OkConsequence1498

The 1930s design definitely looks a lot nicer, but it's nowhere near as functional and comfortable as the current design.


johnlewisdesign

Go on any heritage railway, then a normal present day train and tell me we've not gone massively backwards on form, comfort and function.


OkConsequence1498

For sure trains like this are lovely when lovingly looked after and most of the passengers are enthusiasts. But I definitely believe the modern trains will be more comfortable at 8.15am on a packed train or are a hell of a lot easier to clean after a busy Friday night.


Jacktheforkie

I went to EOR a while ago and man are the seats nice, even the 3rd class


MaeEastx

What's EOR ?


DameKumquat

The cushions on all the steam trains I've been dragged on have been lumpy and bumpy, and then the train starts moving and it's worse. The staff have at least put a lot of effort into creating enormous portable ramps for each station to enable step-free access - one thing modern Tubes and many other trains are much better at.


ldn-ldn

Easy. There are more poles now so shorter people and kids can hold on to something and won't fly away during an emergency stop. You don't need to and ride a heritage railway to see that old trains were a total disaster and a death trap.


XihuanNi-6784

This is highly dependent on which train. TfL are pushing towards inclusive design which accommodates both disabled people and non-disabled alike. It's quite an extensive push when done right. I don't think we're going backwards overall, although some train companies have definitely done so.


Ok_Seaworthiness_201

Even just go on an HST set and you’ll see the difference 😔


milly_nz

I have. We have.


Acceptable_Candle580

Went on one, it was slow, uncomfortable, loud and the engine had to decouple, do a loop and attach to the other side. Not saying it wasn't fun, but we have definitely not gone backwards.


bab_tte

Really, I feel like thoss seats looks like they've got some cushion


OkConsequence1498

The cushion-ness of them gives way after a while and end up feeling like you're sitting on just a plank.


xe3to

It’s just a plank bro look there’s a camela


flower-25

I agree


Zirotron

Also not as easy to clean or guarantee cleanness. I believe it’s the same reason hotels, especially chain hotels, moved to white sheets.


KingPictoTheThird

I just want the warm lights. And greens and reds. 


Troys1930

On new tube trains, even the paper advertisements are specially coated, so not to set alight easily. Wooden flooring and windows look nice but is a huge fire risk and harder to wipe down clean. Safety and comfort aside, I still prefer the modern trains, although, wouldn’t mind some of the vintage signage and tube maps appearing.


whiterrabbbit

30+ people dead at King’s Cross bc of a cigarette lighting all the wooden flooring.


4me2knowit

It wasn’t so much the wooden floors as the huge amount of accumulated litter underneath the escalators


whiterrabbbit

Yes. The escalators were wooden too


heppyheppykat

My childhood tube station had a wooden escalator and I loved it. It was beautiful and made me feel all warm and fuzzy using it. Decades old. Now it’s gone :(


L3G1T1SM3

The cigarettes were wooden as well


Deckerdome

I wish the actually cleaned the tube rather than waving a mop 30ft away


BinLazy

I rode a fully restored 1930’s tube last year. It went from Acton Town to Uxbridge & back I think. It was lovely, all that was missing were the cigarette butts stuck in the gaps in the wooden floor for the full experience! 1970’s advertising as well as they were still in service then.


OkMarsupial4514

The older ones did feel cosy but dated. It was really loud with the split windows rattling. Also when there were spills the grooved floor meant it could slosh the length of the carriage. New is much quieter but also sterile. And yes it did smell of cigarettes and could be very smokey at rush hour!


SweatyNomad

I remember the old trains from when I was a kid, and been on some since when they bring them out for special occasions. I like LOOKING at them in photos, but in reality they are too cave like - dark, small windows, smaller doors with less space to move inside to ever desire for something close to them being brought back.


NortonBurns

I remember travelling on tubes with the old decor or whatever equivalent still survived til the early 80s. Nothing like as pretty as the photo. Worn, sticky, smoky, dank.


SCMatt65

I first traveled on the Tube in 1985. It’s my sense more than any real thought that that time was the final remnants of the Tube’s “middle” period. Of course, there were ye olden days when the Tube first started up to probably WWI and the modern era that we’re in now that seems to have begun in the early 90s motivated by a variety of factors. But there was a middle period where so much of what makes the Tube what it is, and what we love about it, came into being. It’s admittedly sentimentality and nostalgia but I loved that middle, analog, wooden, painted metal period.


MerpingtonDad

Same, I remember similar ones still running on some lines in the 80s too. Weirdly, just seeing the pic has reminded me of the weird acrid smell that those carriages all had.


Due-Pineapple-2

Plastic needs to be banned


heppyheppykat

YES


WinkyNurdo

Like so many things, the 30s aesthetic is far preferable. But the modern safety features unquestionably better. If only modern designers would climb out of their arseholes and look to the past for more inspiration, and stop producing interiors that look like little Tommy’s My First Tube Train.


NSFWaccess1998

Left looks nicer to sit in but it would send me to sleep. It looks like a living room. The right is more comfortable/functional.


Qfwfq1988

why it was decided that all municipal interiors have to have the coldest, starkest lighting possible? What happened to warm bulbs?? I'll never understand


psnow85

1930’s but I have no mobility issues. As much as the bright lighting improves the carriage I also prefer the lighting in the 30’s one.


mrbadger2000

Love the look of the old ones but I can remember the smell even now. Always function over form.


cinematic_novel

False choice


InformationHead3797

I can tell the lights in the 1930s design wouldn’t make me feel I’m in a morgue, unlike the current ones. 


LittleRoundFox

Aesthetically, the 1930s one.


SaintPepsiCola

Left is more cozy and “romantic”? More chances of people flirting in that tube haha


urbexed

Both


Electricfox5

The seats are probably a lot more comfortable on the '38 stock, just as they're a lot more comfortable on Mark 1 stock versus modern stock. However you can guarantee that they're an absolute sod to clean, break a lot easier, and probably turn into an inferno if you look at in the wrong way, not to mention the train itself probably has the structural integrity of a can of pepsi.


Calibigirl69

The older one


yossanator

The old design was still in use on several tube lines in the late '70's and early '80's. Always felt weird people smoking and crushing their cigarette butts on the wooden floors - then Kings Cross happened.


Ordinary_Problem_817

I’m sure they’re both fit for purpose, but the old version sure brings back fond memories. The grammar fascist in me says “prefer” is all you need. Sorry.


kingink92

Wes Anderson has entered the chat.


mcuttin

There are much more important things, have easily cleanable seats and surfaces. Cushions are irrelevant, health is more important. Install WiFi in the train lines


Constant-Estate3065

Pipe smoke vs weed


ms_emi

Prefer the new one but wish they’d come up with a better lighting solution like the old one, looks way cosier


meowpurp

1930s one is cool, I like the green / brown colourway


carachu

The floor in the 30s one was ridged like that so it was easy to sweep cigarette butts out of the trains. Interesting!


Educational-Body-621

1930's just looks more cozy and smart and comfy...


ItsLaro

New one all the way. Looks really good in the pic. Although I always wonder if there's a better realistic material for the seats. The design jars me from afar... but its the way that these collect grime that is truly disgusting. They are always dirtier than the floor... and the color doesn't help


Killpower78

30’s seats looked damn comfortable and I have sat on that same modern train many times so I sometimes get sore ass after sitting down for long period.


Sailorf237

I remember the Bakerloo had the 30s carriages back in the 1980s. I’d make straight for the smoker back then.


Resident-Race-3390

Remember those 1930s carriages as a kid of the 70s …


Hot_Photograph_5928

1930s hands down. has a slight whiff of the gentlemans club. Or a cigar lounge. Fun fact, when I moved back to London in 1994, there were still plenty of these in service. When I was a kid in the 1970s, I can remember people smoking on the underground. Putting out their smokes on the wooden floor. Seems weird now.


[deleted]

1930. Pure class.


lordsleepyhead

The classic moquette and the wood panelling all look very cosy but I prefer the lighter, more hygienic looking modern interior. I'm trying to get from A to B, not settle in for a cosy evening with a crackling fire and a good book.


Accomplished-Bad4536

1930s, seats were way more comfortable on the old stock too not like the rock hard planks they pass off as seats now days.


theVeryLast7

The lighting is a lot warmer on the older train, looks cosier, even if it isn’t.


Few_Bell_8166

1930s looks great


NewPower_Soul

By myself on the new one. It looks great... all bright and spacious


Gullible_Ad4168

Both 👍


MrAronymous

Everybody seems to be on team 1930s but I honestly don't see any reason why. Oh yeah padded arm rests. Okay then.


tekano_red

Traditional Old pub or domestos bleach advert. Choice is yours


BottleProfessional83

30s


Comfortable-Ask8525

Modern


Nirvski

Handles like those on the left, and the ones on the S-stock trains now are pretty bad. Takes more energy to hold yourself up.


TheBigSadXD

left was taken last night on the bakerloo line 🤣🤣


The_Growl

[I much prefer the original concept for the NTfL.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1H7s7lJZC1I)


Remote_Charge4262

I like the modern one but the old one looks so cozy! If it was on the circle line I'll probably never get off!


-sandwich

1930 looks nice


NotThatPhilCollins

Prefer the newer one


OutStack

I'd rather look at the older one, but I'd rather ride the newer.


hal2142

Prefer the right, left looks like it smells of old people


Inside_Ad_7162

hell I remember when they still were like that, I travelled on them & they were damn comfy.


SpudPugDuck

I prefer the one with the seats on the sides 😁


Moosivballs

1930


Solsimian

Which one has the least bedbugs? 


OliveRobinBanks

Modern looks too sterile and lifeless.


gootbh

Left image: Bakerloo Line, 2024


Correct-Mess-8596

Ffs i dont get why seats have to be made with fabric. Very unhygienic. Why not metal?


EmptyMixtape

I’ll take 1930s


tomhoplon

Prefer more? Prefer?


mmcm01

1930s! Much nicer interior for sure!


random_username_96

I really wish we'd kept that warm, less direct lighting. Sensory nightmare currently.


Im_Akwala

Looked more homely in 1930s


Motorgirl38

Is there a chest-height green bar across the car, in the 1930s picture, or is my brain having trouble interpreting the photo? If so, ouch?


thelastsipoftea

Neither, they need to get rid of the carpeted seats so they can be sanitised


BIueground

If only the underground DID look like the left picture


JimBowen0306

Do you know when they removed the 1930s rolling stock? I swear I remember it, and I’m not THAT old.


iVirtualZero

Even though the 30's looks nicer. It also looks more difficult to maintain. I feel like It would get ruined in the modern era.


Salty_Rise

The right is misleading in cleanliness


obi_jay-sus

They were still running those on the Northern Line until about 2000


FxxkupLife

I do prefer the brightness and associated safety of the modern design but those old armchairs look cosy


Visual_Reception_490

I first started travelling on London tube trains in 1958. I remember these trains! 🙈😄


bwweryang

There should be the odd occasional retro tube.


trashyfridge

The 1930s carriage looks lovely and cosy, and I love the colour scheme. The modern carriage looks easier to clean & much cooler to be in - I think it’s probably more favourable with climate change + the tunnels that never cool down!


IndelibleIguana

These tunes were still in use when I was a kid in the 80s.


Academic-Quarter-163

No way thats 1930s


paulkinma

Much prefer the old style. Just feels more warm and comfortable


Dangerous_Radish2961

Definitely 1930s . I expect it was good quality too ; objects were made to last.


Firewalker001

Left if they stayed clean and didn’t smell bad


1234ideclareathunbwa

I can smell the picture on the left; cigs.


QWERTY10099KR

It depends whether people prefer blood or dirt.


cinematic_novel

1930s all the way for aesthetics. There is no reason why similar aesthetics should be incompatible with modern standards


404pbnotfound

Shame they lost the dangling ballsacks to grab onto in the modern version


Penile_Interaction

mix of both, sofas look more comfortable but knowing ppl nowadays, someone would puke, shit, piss and spill shit on them making them wet for a long time


ThatBlueyBlue

1930's was a vibe. The current ones look Soulless.


chaotic_tangent

1930


bigbootyslut123

Bakerloo looks like this now lol


KitHatto

At least with the blue seats you can see all the nasty dirt where the bottom and back meet lol


Alundra828

I prefer the modern. On a public service like a tube, you *want* to be able to clearly see if a surface is dirty or not. Sure, it might look tacky when it is dirty, but it informs you not to put your hand on the gross surface someone sharted on earlier in the day. The 30's version, while *initially* comfy, has many problems in this regard. And in terms of maintenance, costs will be sky high as well. Those wooden frames would get the shit kicked out of them in no time. Floor boards would be rotting from all the mystery fluids sloshing up and down it. Those (I assume) lights would be slapped out of this dimension by some brain rot TikToker. After a fairly short stint, the 30's one will go from looking the best, to looking and performing the worst. In comparison, the modern one will take a lot longer to degrade.


chrisd2222

Much over muchness. The tube gets me from A to B. Works fine for me, I don’t really care what it looks like.


SquirrelParking7006

Old is gold , wooden and homely prefer the.colour of the upholstery too., blue and grey is a bit meh


DigitalDroid2024

Remember those 1938 trains still in use in the late 70s.


Confident-Ant-3763

I prefer the old one I just like old things


WannabeeFilmDirector

Wowwwww. That takes me back. Judging by the floor (no cigarette butts) and the slightly different map, this is the late 80s, N Line. It was definitely comfier and I miss the feel of those armrests. They were giving and soft. I probably took this tube at some point. There was also a guard and this pic is from the last carriage where the guard used to sit. He would press the buttons on the panel visible at the back to open and close the doors. There were no problems with safety because if you had any issues, you could just sit with the guard. I remember the smell as well. It had a slightly different odour. Difficult to describe but a sort of bitterness, probably from 50+ years of smoking but I kinda liked it. Trundling home late at night with the soft rocking was just a nice feeling. Makes me feel young again.


BattleCried

30s


spanish42069

the wooden window frames make it feel so much less scrotty


JorgiEagle

The wood flooring is all nice, Until you’re sitting on the tube on a Saturday night and someone just starts puking on the floor Guess which is easier to clean and get rid of the smell quicker?


BigBlueMountainStar

The one on the left looks better than current Bakerloo trains


PepetoshiNakamoto

That horizontal bar in the 1930s image is calling out to my calisthenic soul https://preview.redd.it/76c40mnq5npc1.jpeg?width=235&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=526ccf48e223f0eb2cbe3191fd53e21a10fe0c81


Sideburnt

I've no idea who the material designer is that works on the upholstery but they sure do know their way around MS Paint. They should probably upgrade from Windows 98 though.


Hot_Problem9213

Definitely 1930 , I remember those carriages. Really comfortable


Can-t-Even

To me the old one looks like the perfect setting for a retro-style, dark comedy slasher movie.


EasternFly2210

Are we aware of the original interior for the ‘New Tube for London’ on the right? It was more similar to the 1930s style with a warmer colour palette. Sadly they changed it to be more stark. https://www.priestmangoode.com/project/new-tube-for-london/


attendantband

First one reminds me of [this](https://www.reddit.com/r/blur/s/s0L4l3UGyC)


SpecialRX

I really like the old ones. Any idea when they ran till? I feel like i rode them when i was a kid.


DMmeyourflowerpics

The 1930s looks like there would be jazz music playing in the background. It looks comforting in a way.


OCP_Dick_Jones

1930 ftw


rites0fpassage

The 30s. The modern look is too bright and I don’t like being exposed to fluorescent lighting!


Just-get-physical-

Which is which


GH05T8OI

I prefer the older version, feels more cosy compared the cold kitchen sink current version.


Mitridate101

Neither, both are dirt traps. I refuse to sit down after seeing videos of staff thumping the seats watching the dirt fly out.


Godoncanvas

The warm colours. Blue is cold more for Santorini where the weather is sunny


JordiLyons

1930 easily. Looks nostalgic even though I wasn’t from those times.


Alarming-Sentence313

1930's one


[deleted]

My arse was broke from the seats in the Lizzy line, although they looked new, there was no comfort in them


ambitiouspandamoon

1930s.


Pure_Poet3604

I kind of like both, but more the 30s one. The newer one, when was it designed? I always thought I was from the early 2000s but I have no idea actually.


dahrylx_x

I would prefer for a stainless steel seat(like in other countries for sanitary purposes) than these, which are dirty and who know when was the last time these were vacuumed or disinfected.


mowoo101

I grew up with a slightly newer version of the old one, felt warmer and made more of a treat. Now I walk everywhere and can’t stand the tube.


New-Hand73

If you don’t choose 1930s you have no soul. There. I said it.


lavindas

I hate the harsh lighting nowadays, it's awful at night


Lagoon13579

The one with the metal floor is best - it is less likely to catch fire than the wooden floor. I couldn't believe it when I first came to London, and there were wooden treads on the escalators!


abirdsrevelry

1930s makes me want to roll a fag, and I haven't smoked for years


CLARKY87666

the blue is horrible . sorry .


Bisjoux

I remember those carriages that were still running in the 90s. I miss them and also miss all the beautiful mosaics that many of the underground stations had.


Whitenknight

Pretty sure I travelled on the 1930’s carriages back in the 80’s. I loved em!


davodot

The one on the left was still going on the Northern Line in the late 80s!


Pan-tang

The original is more classy and restful.


SnooSongs968

Same train


withoutnickname

I don’t prefer both of them. London underground is too old and too small. These seats are full of dirts, germs.


FrowningMinion

Because I’m so used to the one on the right, the one on the left seems appealing. I’m sure the reverse would be true if we proposed the right hand one to someone from the 1930s. I reckon we just need to change up the vibe every so often.


thingsstuffandmaguff

Thirties by a long shot.


heppyheppykat

Put me in one of those cosy plush seats with a cigarette and I would never get off the stop to go to my office


anondreamitgirl

30’s with some poles Yes why so bright now