Glen and Iain 25/4/2012 (The attempt that wouldn't die)

[Iain]

Tube Challenge 6/4 (Iain/Glen) – a Real Tube Challenge and a half.

If the tube lines are the arteries of London, then on the 25th April London had a severe sickle cell crisis. It was a nightmare! We’d decided to have a crack at a different start, but this necessitated an expo service unless we fitted the entire route around KenO, which was awkward. We knew there was an expo with the extra trains from 25th to 26th, so we wrote the 25th in our diaries/calendars and got planning. Then along came the maintenance workers strike. We thought of scratching the attempt, but decided that a) strikes get cancelled last minute quite often and b) if it does all go pear shaped we can do a DLR challenge or try the tram network. The strike didn’t get cancelled, so we went ahead with the maintenance workers from three lines off. Fingers crossed for the Jub, Northern and Met.

We started well on a route with some slack. Our first (of very few) one minuters was at Moor Park, but the WTTs showed it was actually 90 seconds, and we hoped it was just a cross platform. This was our first issue. Myles who was our excellent support person texted to say that the train to Watford was early as we were two minutes out, so we were on the look-out. Before we were even level with the platform, we saw the train head up to Watford. We’d arrived bang on time but it had left 60-90 seconds early. Bugger! While we obviously didn’t want this to happen as there was quarter of an hour delay until the next train, we had planned a recovery route, at least until the loop. We followed this, taking out the near loop via the H&C and HSK. Then onto a central train, we’d taken a slightly earlier train to Epping, and had a moment of panic when we realised we’d relaxed and hadn’t changed. By this time the Jubilee line partial suspension we’d seen as we started was reported as resolving, so someone was doing maintenance. I had envisaged that once a line went down it wouldn’t be fixed until after the strike, so that would be our attempt scuppered. Good news indeed.

Further network status problems occurred during the day – a signal failure at Tooting led to the Northern being part suspended, emergency engineering works were needed on the Bakerloo, and there was a one under on the Met. All these plus the subsequent fall out, along with other lines with minor delays, someone pulling the passenger alarm, and loads of holds, changes of train destination etc. lead to a day where we were constantly re-evaluating, and were on the verge of bailing out from lunchtime onwards. All this led us to call the attempt “The One that Wouldn’t Die”; it had more lives than Frankenstein’s cat. Our main criterion was to get under eighteen hours, and we were sailing close to this in spite of a 16:53 scheduled time for a large chunk of the day. Coming off the loop, we were an hour down on the clock but had taken out some extra sections, but were still definitely down. We decided to assume that most of the timetables would follow a similar pattern an hour later and just went with that as a basis for our decisions where we couldn’t access Journey Planner.

In no particular order:

Cockfosters to High Barnet
A quick trip down the Vic and a speedy change meant we were soon on our way out to Cockfosters. We dashed out to see a 384 sitting there, looking like the driver was just chilling out. How soon would it go? We’d allowed about 22 minutes for the change but had made some back, so if it was going soon the 20 minute weaving route might still keep us ahead of schedule, and was better than an indefinite 307. We didn’t think for long and decided to run down to meet the 307. It passed the end of Belmont Avenue 15 seconds before us, and we jogged down to the next bus stop, where after a short wait we got another one.

Into High Barnet, and onto the train after an annoying run up the stairs and back. The departure board said it was ready, the signal was green, but the train sat there and um – sat there. This was an issue as we had a MHE train to meet. Fortunately we made it with a minute to spare. At this point Myles informed us that Geoff had offered to add his support so we suggested he meet us at an unspecified station.

Unfortunately we were relatively quickly telling Geoff we couldn’t be certain of times at all due to the Northern misbehaving. The train crawled with lots of long holds down to Camden, and then the announcement came that it was switching from branch A to branch B of the northern, about 10 seconds before pulling into Camden. Great notice LU, thanks! No announcement that there was another train on the other branch to our original destination either, or holding it to give people time to get over there. Very easy to do, and frustrating as we were savvy enough to check but got there just as the train pulled out.

The next few trains were on the same (wrong for us) branch, but Glen came up with a great way to rejig our route. We were soon on board the next train and moving again, albeit slowly. It was around this time that I started calculating planned times for each section to figure out that roughly speaking we were forty minutes down. The sub 18 hour time was still on.

Big thanks to Geoff for the offer of support, and sorry to mess you about.

Transfer between Central and Victoria Line
We’d set a tough but makeable target, but our train was two minutes late at Snaresbrook, making it even harder. We belted out, decided not to go across the common and risk further assault by birdlife. We were relieved when a W12 appeared (we knew one was scheduled but weren’t going to wait) and rode it for two stops. Even so, we felt we had to push it to Wood Street. We did, and made it just as the train rounded the bend. All was going well. We positioned ourselves by the right door, and Glen pressed frantically on the “Open” button as our train pulled into Walthamstow Central. The train stopped and…the door didn’t open. I knew some trains rely on a GPS system to tell them when they’re at a platform (Over-engineering, anyone?) so didn’t panic, and Glen kept pressing. A few seconds later and we saw people from the adjoining door walking across the platform so we went for the adjoining door. I wonder if Glen broke the door? Anyhow, we rushed down to the tube platforms and onto a southbound train. No driver change at Seven Sisters which gained us time.

To Upminster and Beyond!
The trip to London Bridge went well, then we did a Southwark double back. This resulted in a highly sexy change…onto a train for Canning Town, we might as well have caught the next one. This one was chocka (and the next one probably was too). Onto the train to West Ham, and good door positioning left us well placed to make a connection, but on the crowded Jubilee trains we hadn’t had space to check whether to get an overground or underground. I sprinted across and heard someone else close behind. He overtook me and I saw that it wasn’t Glen. I assumed from his workwear that he probably did this route every day, and when I saw him dash up to the overground platform I followed, as his speed suggested he expected a train to be there. A quick glance at the DMI on the way confirmed this and we leapt onto the train. The lack of a connecting door to the next carriage suggested to me that this was the rear carriage (note to self – check as you get on) but it wasn’t, and we ended up way past the overbridge at Upminster. There was only one underground in, and we opted for the bridge at the far end of the platform as this was nearer. The downside was a lack of DMI info but it seemed likely this one was due to leave first, even when another two others pulled in.

All went well on the way back, we had an average connection back to Aldgate but on the lower circle the driver announced that someone had pulled the passenger alarm. This looked ominous, if someone had been taken ill that would take a long time and kill the attempt stone dead. We decided to wait and see and fortunately the delay was comparatively short and still left a chance to get under 18 hours, but no slack.

Uxbridge and Surrounding Area
The trip up to West Ruislip went smoothly, but we were half expecting it to all fall apart here due to the one under on the Met leading to severe delays. For this reason we took the U1 when we saw it at the bus stop, figuring that when trains weren’t behaving themselves, only travelling in one direction is better than two. I was concerned at around 4:30pm that the roads would be busy, but the journey was trouble free. No sign of the Bono Bus this time though.
On arrival at Uxbridge, we rushed in, and a train was there. I suddenly remembered the departure board just as we were running past and slipped to the floor in my efforts to stop and have a quick look. Up again quickly and onto the train for a few minute wait before departing. Myles joined us at Ickenham where we’d posted him as we hadn’t realised we’d get the U1 on the way in to Uxbridge. He told us that the previous train had been to HOTH only. Shortly after that the driver confirmed this (in spite of an earlier announcement it was to Aldgate). We got out at HOTH to find there were no Southbound trains. This was a serious problem; even not considering time, we couldn’t then tick off Northwick Park and Preston Road. We didn’t take a lot of persuading to bail and to go for a beer and pizza with Myles. Fortunately Myles suggested going up to Watford where his car was so he could drive us to Chesham where Glen had left his car, as otherwise we’d have already been off the station two minutes later when the announcement came that a through train was arriving. It was back on! Would the Bakerloo work though? It was down to minor delays, but all went really smoothly, save when arriving at a station on the Picc and Bakerloo lines where Glen commented how busy it was and I responded with “It’s like Piccadilly Circus”.

The Final Stages
We were on the home stretch, but still needed Ken O. We needed a fast connection from Morden. I prefer going Wimbledon to Morden but this time we were reversing it, which wasn’t in our plan. We had a quick glance outside for a 93 but then rushed back into Morden to do a double back to South Wimbledon. We pelted out, and ran to catch a 93. I suspect we’d just missed it at Morden. This put us on to get to Ken O in time, if a train left soon. The DMI basically said “take the first train out and change, we have no idea what’s happening”. There was only one train waiting so we got on and waited. And waited. Glen checked the time and found that the next train out was due at 21:58 which got us to Ken O three minutes too late. Would the Ken O train be late due to District line issues too? The answer was no, but our train sped through, and as we pulled into the eastbound platforms, it was 22:14, and a train was pulling into the westbound platforms. We didn’t stop to check what it was, we just ran! Good job we did too, as it was to Ken O. The challenge had come alive again; we weren’t going to get that beer and pizza just yet!

Still – we needed a fast run to West Ken, and we got it – a Richmond train was pulling in. We were now back on for sub 18. The schedule (assuming it worked the same at this time of night) left a nine minute run between Gunnersbury and Chiswick Park. We made it with time to spare, only to find people on the platform, so we hadn’t just missed it. But…

Twelve minutes later we were still there. No District trains had passed, but a HRT123/4 had – this was the one we were due to switch to at Acton Town. So near, and yet so far. We could have completed in a projected time of 18:03, but it would mean having to go back and get the car the next day, which was a pain in the bum. I’m not sure if we would have done anyway, even just those three minutes over the target time would have really stuck in the throat.

Total stations: 259/270
Projected finish: 18:03

In one sense this was a frustrating day, but in another we’d managed to keep going in spite of the network having a bad day, rethought our route on the fly, and if the train at Chiswick Park hadn’t been conspicuous by its absence we’d have gone inside the GWR from a few years ago. We’d also run faster than we normally do, probably mainly due to me as I’d been the slower of the pairing. I’m not convinced the strike made a huge amount of difference. Signal failures and one-unders are unfortunately part of tube challenging, and although all three lines that were affected had issues, they seemed to be cleared at much the same speed as normal. So overall I think we felt very positive about this attempt. I was sick of tubes by the end of it but in a few days I’ll be keen to get back to it. The next expo is same time next month – can’t wait!

[tractakid]

I'm impressed at how well you coped when everything went wrong. I wouldn't have had a clue what to do. I barely had a clue what was going on when everything went right! Give us a tip, whats they key to knowing what's going on?

[Iain]

We actually couldn't believe when we calculated roughly how much we were down that it wasn't nearly two hours rather than just under one. It felt like it.

I think a large part of it is experience (although I've only done six). There's no substitute for that, although I think shorter events such as the R15 help hugely.

Another is being aware of the options - so different bus routes etc.

We find it really important to keep an eye on the status of the network. For example if you see a line is part suspended you can try and reorganise your route to do it later to give it a chance to recover. This isn't always possible, for instance late on we heard the District had delays but that was pretty much all we had left to do.

Just by sheer practice I'm getting more awareness of how bits fit together - so when you do have to rejig, your possible options for reorganisation are more obvious.

I suppose it's also in part "Going with the flow" - when our train destination changed and we couldn't find one on the branch of the Northern we wanted, we rejigged to use the one available.

As well as the CiN day, I've been out with Andi a couple of times, it's brilliant as I learn as he talks through stuff. See if you can find someone to go out with who's done a few. Provided I'm off then I'm quite happy to do it

[The Raven]

I'm impressed at how well you coped when everything went wrong. I wouldn't have had a clue what to do. I barely had a clue what was going on when everything went right! Give us a tip, whats they key to knowing what's going on?

- I see the Underground as a series of "Loops". There's always stations you go through twice like Camden Town, West Ham, Woodford etc. Therefore, you always have options
- Learned alot from going round with Andi, Sam and Kevin. You can only see further by standing on the shoulders of giants!

[Iain]

I personally wouldn't use the word "loops" but I certainly see it as sections. Somethimes you can break it up into different sections sometimes, but there's only so many combinations without making the route inefficient. For example the Morden-Wimbledon segment and the Upminster section really fit together well. Our change meant we did them in reverse.

Get some underground maps and try tracing out routes on them. You don't need to do times for all of them but see what works and what doesn't. Sometimes you can have an idea that looks brilliant, and works well on its own, but when you see what remains left to be covered it can be rather clumsy. For instance- there's a nice bus from Amersham to Uxbridge, but then what do you do with the bit of the Central that goes to West Ruislip?

[geofftech]

Excellent write up, enjoyed reading that!

I almost went out to meet them, yes - but by then things were already going badly wrong. I'm amazed that you did manage to get a train past Harrow and knock out Preston and Northwick. My offer to give you tea had you been passing Ealing Common at the right time still stands ... !

How do you know what's going on? By doing it multiple bloody times and persisting at it, that's how! Having support/point people too are a godsend, because they keep an eye online what's happening on the network and advise you.

But just having the knowledge from lots of previous attempts helps enormously, as does research - just trying things out. I've also re rerouted on attempts and done things I'd never planned or though of doing before. Just a case of working round the problems as you find them, being willing to run, and making use of buses too.

I get the impression now that we all know the next time the Olympia service is running an exhib service, and that there's probably going to be quite a few people here that are out trying it that week ...

[Iain]

Thanks Geoff, no-one told me about the offer of tea!

Thinking back, I think we knew about the Met problem when we were coming down from High Barnet, and Glen's rejig delayed going up there until later.

[geofftech]

Glen didn't tell you? Tsk ... I often call my GF as I'm leaving Rayners Lane south, timing it so that she's standing on the platform with a hot fresh tea as my train pulls in. It's the best!

Chiswick Park also has to be the most miserable desolate place to wait late at night for a train, watching Piccadilly's whizz through, yup. My record time of waiting there once was 23 minutes. I could have walked home from there in that time.

[tractakid]

How do you know what's going on? By doing it multiple bloody times and persisting at it, that's how!

Sounds good to me!

Unfortunately, all the Exhibition service dates are also school dates. Unless my June timetable for school gives me a whole day off on the 27th of June (possible*), none of the currently listed exhibition services allow me to make an attempt on that day.

*i'll have 6 'lessons' which can fit into 17 'slots', all of which need to avoid the 3 'slots' on friday- someone else can explain how to work out the probability

[Iain]

There's nothing wrong with a Heathrow start if you can get there early enough.

[Nigel]

*i'll have 6 'lessons' which can fit into 17 'slots', all of which need to avoid the 3 'slots' on friday- someone else can explain how to work out the probability

Assuming your lessons are allocated to slots at random you should have nearly a 25% chance of being free on Friday.

Number of ways 6 lessons can be allocated to 17 slots = 17C6 = 17!/6!(17-6)! = 17.16.15.14.13.12/(1.2.3.4.5.6)

Number of ways 6 lessons can be allocated to the 14 non-Friday slots = 14C6 = 14C6 =14!/6!(14-6)! = 14.13.12.11.10.9/(1.2.3.4.5.6)

Hence the probability of avoiding a Friday lesson is 14C6/17C6 = 14.13.12.11.10.9/(17.16.15.14.13.12) = 11.10.9/(17.16.15) = 33/136 = 24.3%

[Iain]

I hope one of your subjects isn't maths Tractakid

I'm guessing the lesson allocation wouldn't be truly random - having worked in a school there are all sorts of systems and restrictions (rooms etc) which would possibly make a difference.

[palkanetoijala31]

I hope one of your subjects isn't maths Tractakid

I'm guessing the lesson allocation wouldn't be truly random - having worked in a school there are all sorts of systems and restrictions (rooms etc) which would possibly make a difference.

of course and im joking here is to bunk off skool is a defo way of getting day off.

[MylesHSG]

I used to bunk all the time

[Going Underground]

I'm impressed at how well you coped when everything went wrong. I wouldn't have had a clue what to do. I barely had a clue what was going on when everything went right! Give us a tip, whats they key to knowing what's going on?

- I see the Underground as a series of "Loops". There's always stations you go through twice like Camden Town, West Ham, Woodford etc. Therefore, you always have options
- Learned alot from going round with Andi, Sam and Kevin. You can only see further by standing on the shoulders of giants!

Glad to have been of some help