rake of four trailer cars. From 1910 the locomotives were used on London, Tilbury and Southend Railway (LT&SR) trains extended over the District line, taking over from steam locomotives at Barking. Carriages The steam carriages were four wheeled, long over the buffers. First, second and third class compartments were available. First class carriages had four compartments, the others five. Lighting was initially provided by burning coal gas held in bags on the roof, later by a pressurised oil gas system. At first they were fitted with a chain brake. This was replaced by the simple Westinghouse brake and then a fully automatic Westinghouse brake. Initially trains were made up of eight carriages, but after 1879 nine became the standard. At the end of 1905 the District replaced 395 carriages with electric multiple units. A preserved carriage at the Kent and East Sussex Railway was thought to be a District Railway first class, but now thought likely to be a cutdown Metropolitan Railway eight wheeler. Electric multiple units In 1903 the District tested two seven-car trains with different control and brake systems on its unopened line between Ealing and South Harrow. Access to the car was by platforms with lattice gates at their ends and hand-operated sliding doors on the car sides. Later some trailer cars were fitted with driving controls and two and three car trains operated from Mill Hill Park to Hounslow and South Harrow and later Uxbridge until they were withdrawn in 1925. The District Railway ordered 60 x 7-car electric trains in 1903. A third of the vehicles were made in England, the rest in Belgium and France and electrical equipment was installed on arrival at Ealing Common Works. Access was by sliding doors, double doors in the centre and single doors at either end. First and third class accommodation were provided in open saloons with electric lighting. The seats were covered with rattan in third class and plush in first. From 1906 the standard formation was six cars, with an equal number of motor and trailer cars running in either two or four car formations off-peak. By 1910 the District required additional rolling stock and ordered cars largely constructed of steel. The first batch arrived in 1911, followed by more in 1912 from a different manufacturer but to a similar design. Further cars arrived in 1914 with an elliptical roof instead of the clerestory roof on