tubechallenge.com

First published on Saturday 23 April 2005:
Tube challenge ends in triumph

TWO intrepid county men who went Underground to raise money for their school have emerged victorious from the expedition.

Friends Rupert Chambers and Mike Morgan, from Upton-upon-Severn, set out to visit all 275 London Tube stations in as short a time as possible.

And while various problems prevented them visiting all of the stations, they still managed a whistle-stop tour of an astonishing 263.

"One of the stations was closed and football fans going to the Chelsea-Arsenal match caused a lot of problems with the others," said Mr Chambers, aged 39, of Longfield, who was accompanied by Mr Morgan, aged 42, of Mulberry Drive.

"But apart from that we were delighted with the effort. We used a tram and a bus to get us between some of the stations, and walked between others. We set out at 5.19am and returned at 00.54 on Thursday, and not once did we get bored."

The Tube Challenge raised £600 towards a £12,000 network of computers at Upton-upon-Severn Primary school, where they are chairman and vice-chairman of the Friends Association.

And as well as sponsoring the event, class five pupils at the school were also given the chance to chart the pair's progress with the help of a giant map and hourly reports.

Speaking before the event, their teacher, Sarah Shakles, said the children were looking forward to it.

"The children are very excited to be at the hub of it," she said.

According to the Guinness Book of Records the quickest anyone has visited all tube stations is 18 hours and 35 minutes.

And while they did not manage to break that this time, Mr Chambers signalled he would like to give it another go.

"I think we would do it again, we certainly haven't been deterred," he added.