Ex-London Underground D78 Stock in Pennsylvania: Pop Up Metro Class 230 BEMU

The mountains and former narrow gauge coal railroading territory of central southern Pennsylvania isn't the first place you'd expect to find former London Underground trains in operation, but in Rockhill Furnace, two 2-car sets can be found shuttling up and down a couple of miles of rural track under test for Pop Up Metro.

Using the Shade Gap Electric Railway of the Rockhill Trolley Museum, a former East Broad Top narrow gauge branch that was widened to standard gauge for the trolley museum, Pop Up Metro is currently testing two Vivarail-remanufactured D78 stock sets, now battery-powered, and given the UK TOPs designation; Class 230. Pop Up Metro aims to eventually take the trains to various cities across the US as real-life feasibility study test-beds for potential commuter rail service on existing rail infrastructure. They will travel complete with temporary "kit" stations that can be installed along the routes during the studies (hence the "pop-up" name).

Class 230s currently operate in-service in the UK with Transport for Wales, London Northwestern Railway, and GWR, with third-rail electric versions operating with South Western Railway on the Isle of Wight. Originally designated as D78 Stock for the London Underground, they were built by Metro-Cammell in 1979 for the sub-surface District Line, traveling between west London and Upminster in the east for almost 40 years. Although now running on battery power with fairly major changes to the cab and front-ends, they retain much the same feel, with their interiors retaining the configuration they were retired with (albeit with updated colors and moquettes). Their traction motors continue to produce their iconic low hum, with a high-pitch whine from the battery propulsion system being the only difference.

In this video, we catch 230002 as it switches from the storage track and heads out for a demonstration run, with the adjacent East Broad Top steam excursion providing an audible backdrop to the action.