There are two entrances to the Ruislip Manor Metropolitan/Piccadilly line station, one either side of the bridge. On the wall of the bridge on either side, over the passenger entrances to the station, there has been an 'Underground' sign on a metal board as you see everywhere.

Last week the white backed sign was removed, and in its place is a much bigger old-style Underground sign - big "U" and "D", smaller "ndergroun".

It's similar, but not quite the same, as the original sign from 1938 as seen in the photo at http://goo.gl/Gwe0l0 on the London Transport Museum photo archive.

It's garishly floodlit though, and rather than looking 'retro' is looks more 'Las Vegas'. Photo of the original (as in the last 15 years) and the new old sign side by side he http://goo.gl/nolNR

Is this common? It seems a bit late for it to be part of the 150 yrs of the Met line, and I've noticed no other station replacing a modern sign with an old one. Short of the people sitting in the ticket office with a 'Use the machines' board in the window making it obvious they don't want to have to talk to passengers, the station itself is pretty much unmanned so there's nobody to ask there.