The next story?

[GuyBarry]

Here are some possibilities for the next story:

(1) Tramlink. Probably my least favoured option since there are only 39 stops and a lot of them end with "Road", "Street", "Lane" etc., which could make things rather repetitive.
(2) DLR. More of an opportunity for creativity on this one but still only 45 stations, so not much of an opportunity to develop the plot.
(3) Combined "light rail" including both the DLR and Tramlink. This is probably feasible but might still be a bit on the short side.
(4) All the National Rail stations on the London Rail and Tube Services map. I haven't counted these (though I'm sure one of the seasoned challengers can tell me the figure) but it looks like more than enough to get a decent plot going, and with some pretty good names in there. My preference I think, especially if we can get more people involved than last time!

Your opinions please?

[GuyBarry]

(4) All the National Rail stations on the London Rail and Tube Services map. I haven't counted these

I've just had a go and I make it 272 - spookily close to the number of Underground stations! Anyone up for it?

[GuyBarry]

I can't resist any longer, so I've made a start. Just to clarify - the criterion is stations on this map that have at least one non-TfL line passing through them.

I note that one major character from the original was (to my mind at least) unjustly neglected from the sequel, so I'm about to make amends...

[The Orange One]

If I brought Bromley back, I'd have to bring back a troupe of scouts, which would spoil the proceedings a little.

What's your policy on things like:
- Wandsworth Road and Clapham High Street, which receive one Southeastern a day
- Gidea Park, Harold Wood and Brentwood, which receive a Sunday AGA service only
- Seven Sisters and Edmonton Green, which receive a few peak AGA services
- Moor Park, which (don't quote me on this) Chilterns can call at in emergencies
- Watford Junction, Shenfield, Ockendon, Chafford Hundred, Purfleet and Grays, which accept Oyster but are outside the zones
- Dartford and Swanley, which accept the Freedom Pass though they do not accept Oyster
- Heathrow stations and Stratford International, which do not accept Oyster or Travelcards

[GuyBarry]

My original proposal (for simplicity) was to go strictly by the map, which only includes the following stations out of the ones you mentioned:

Watford Junction, Shenfield, Ockendon, Chafford Hundred, Purfleet and Grays, which accept Oyster but are outside the zones

and

- Heathrow stations and Stratford International, which do not accept Oyster or Travelcards

Although the prospect of working in the Heathrow station names a second time is rather daunting (and Stratford International isn't much better)!

I suggest we stick with the map for the time being, but if you can come up with a better set of criteria then by all means suggest it. There's no harm in including stations that we aren't sure about.

[GuyBarry]

For the benefit of readers who might be unsure about all the various characters and plot developments so far, here's a summary:

Hidden Underground (originally "A Story From the Tube")

Chapter 1: After hearing about a mysterious substance in the water that makes birds sing in harmony, Wes Tacton decides to capture the birds from London Zoo. On the run from DI Warren Street of Scotland Yard, he arrives in rural Oxfordshire where he meets up with Colin Dale and Stan More. In a pub, they meet Roy Aloak, who offers them advice at a cost. They steal a car and hatch a plan to raise the money by selling Tube maps.

Chapter 2: Richard Bromley, a boy scout leader, and his housemaid, Ava Sudbury, receive an unexpected visit from John Collier, who does a remarkable impression of Woody Allen. They encourage him to take part in a "battle of the talents" show in the Scottish town of Wick.

Chapter 3: Wes, Colin and Stan arrive in Oxford, where Inspector Street gives chase. They sneak into a convent disguised as gardeners, and take the Mother Superior out for a drink, but she gets mugged by Charles Denton. They hail a taxi to Norwich, where Colin runs out of money and has to ring the very rich Don. Don has enough to pay off everyone's debts to Roy, and invites Roy to Norwich.

Chapter 4: Don is arrested by Inspector Street on suspicion of stealing the birds from London Zoo, but the other four get away. Don is sentenced to prison, but escapes and gets into a getaway car driven by Ken Sington, who turns out to be the car parking organiser for the forthcoming talent show in Wick. Don falls for Ken, who persuades him to come with him to Wick. Don is unhappy there and asks Ken to sing at the competition to lift his spirits.

Chapter 5: Ken is so successful that he is asked to represent the UK at the Eurovision Song Contest in Manchester. John is asked to represent Ireland (even though he isn't Irish and can't sing). The Azerbaijani performers, a mysterious quartet in burqas, are revealed during one of the semi-finals to be Wes, Colin, Stan and Roy, who have secretly travelled there from Norwich and kidnapped the actual contestants. They are arrested by Inspector Street and led off the stage. The final is won by Turkey, with Ken coming a poor 19th for Britain and John coming last.

Chapter 6: Richard and Ava have a new house guest, Walt Miller (grandson of Walt Disney). The four suspects are taken to a police station in Manchester for interrogation. Ken goes back to his old job as a parking attendant. John is talent-spotted by an American impresario. Richard and Ava decide to take Walt for a drive in the country.

Chapter 7: Don makes his way south and ends up in a monastery in Yorkshire, where he pretends to be in the military. The four suspects are further interrogated but suddenly all the police officers have to attend to a road accident. Ken meets a football supporter in the car park who gives him a mysterious piece of paper. Walt starts to get a little more familiar with Ava, but they're distracted by Tony and Dudley, two incompetent delivery men. John is booked to appear on a cable TV chat show, but a studio mix-up means he almost ends up on a quiz show instead.

Chapter 8: Don admits to the friar that he's an escaped criminal and asks for sanctuary. The four suspects are locked up in a cell. Ken reads the note and finds out he's being offered tickets for Wembley. Walt invites Ava to join him on holiday in the Seychelles. John gets a booking at the 'Square World' comedy club.

Epilogue: Don becomes a monk. Wes is sentenced to five years for theft; Colin and Stan get lesser sentences. Roy is acquitted but gets a fine for animal cruelty. Ken gets tickets for the FA Cup Final. Walt takes Ava back to America and marries her. Richard goes back to his boy scouts, and John is booked to play Woody Allen in a film of his life.

"A Story from the TfL Rail" (well, not much of a story actually!)

Harold Wood, recently fired from Ford, gets a new job as an estate groundsman.

Over The Top (originally "A Story From the Overground". Characters from "Hidden Underground" in italics.)

Main plot: Bruce Grove is looking for his lost dog, which has been captured by Roy Aloak and his brother Ken. Bruce is joined in the search by his father Theo, who brings in some musicians. They spot Roy and Ken and give chase. Roy and Ken jump into a cab and head for Marylebone. Bruce and Theo are offered rail tickets to London Bridge by a pair of strangers who turn out to be Parson Sal Green and her boyfriend Fred Monton. They can't get across the river because the bridge is closed, but luckily Don turns up, who is now calling himself James Hartlan. He offers to get them to Marylebone, but at a price. They get on the next train to Banbury.

When they reach Banbury, they head for the home of Canon Bury, a priest who assists them with the plan. They run into Charles Denton, who turns out to be the mastermind, and the five of them manage to subdue Roy and Ken and tie them up in a barn. They contact DI Warren Street, and Roy and Ken are sentenced to prison, where Roy is reunited with Wes, Colin and Stan. Bruce and Theo return to join Sal and Fred, who agree to get married. Don arranges the wedding, with the reception organised by Ken Sington.

Sub-plot: Tony and Dudley deliver a parcel to a Mr Hamstow, and then have to get across to South Kensington to deliver a vacuum cleaner to a Mr West at 7 Leyburn Avenue. Their satnav breaks down and they can't find the street, so they phone Mr Hamstow for directions. His wife directs them there, but when they arrive they can't see any numbers on the doors. They try a buzzer marked "T.T. Enham" and are confronted by his son Syd Enham, who tries to invite them to a bizarre 'romp' where rats are eaten for dinner. They rush out and then realize they've left Mr West's vacuum cleaner behind.

They go into a local pub, where Tony suggests they get another vacuum cleaner sent over from the depot. Dudley says that there's no time and that the head of operations wouldn't let the staff go. Instead he buys a cheap model from a friend of his who runs a nearby electrical shop. They return to Leyburn Avenue and try to deliver the cheap cleaner, but Mr West doesn't want it. Dudley explains that the Enhams must have received Mr West's cleaner and suggests that he swaps them over. Mr West refuses to go and calls them "vandals", but Dudley and Tony rush off to another delivery.

"A Story from the Network" (roughly, all National Rail stations in London)

Richard Bromley is visited by a young lady called Alex, who offers to become his new housekeeper.

And now it's over to you

[tubeguru]

And people think *I* take this forum too seriously.

[GuyBarry]

And people think *I* take this forum too seriously.

This isn't serious - it's pure unalloyed fun! Come on, we've got about 246 stations to get through. Who knows what bizarre twists and turns are about to take place. You only need to include one or two stations per post - you don't need to do long ones like I've been doing recently. It'd be nice to recapture the spirit of the original "Story from the Tube", where lots of people took part. (I wasn't here for the early stages, but a lot of those contributors don't seem to be around any more.)

EDIT: I've just gone back and re-read the original thread here. It's so different from the edited version, and absolutely hysterical in places. I'd forgotten how much brilliant stuff had been thrown away...

[Iain]

I'm not quite sure how to fold this into the story, but how about a zealous policeman who insists that vehicles stop short of the advanced stop line at a traffic lights to protect cyclists. "CARS HALT ON that line", he insisted.

I also have an idea for a large container full of premium honey, known as the bee chest. This is involved in an accident, and vehicles screech to a stop on it, leading a headline "Cars halt on bee chest"

[GuyBarry]

I'm not quite sure how to fold this into the story, but how about a zealous policeman who insists that vehicles stop short of the advanced stop line at a traffic lights to protect cyclists. "CARS HALT ON that line", he insisted.

Brilliant! Just post it to the story thread. All you need is a line like "Outside the house, a policeman was directing the traffic..." and you're off.

I also have an idea for a large container full of premium honey, known as the bee chest. This is involved in an accident, and vehicles screech to a stop on it, leading a headline "Cars halt on bee chest"

That's going to need a bit of working up to, perhaps, but I'm sure we can arrange for a container of honey to be delivered to Richard's house. Maybe he's particularly fond of honey-glazed ham...

[The Orange One]

My original proposal (for simplicity) was to go strictly by the map, which only includes the following stations out of the ones you mentioned:

Watford Junction, Shenfield, Ockendon, Chafford Hundred, Purfleet and Grays, which accept Oyster but are outside the zones

and

- Heathrow stations and Stratford International, which do not accept Oyster or Travelcards

Although the prospect of working in the Heathrow station names a second time is rather daunting (and Stratford International isn't much better)!

I suggest we stick with the map for the time being, but if you can come up with a better set of criteria then by all means suggest it. There's no harm in including stations that we aren't sure about.

I'd certainly include Gidea Park, Harold Wood, Brentwood, Seven Sisters and Edmonton Green. I'd exclude Moor Park, Dartford and Swanley, because they're silly, and I agree we should have the stations you picked out. Please note that it's Heathrow Central, not Heathrow T123.

This only leaves Wandsworth Road and Clapham High Street - I've been on the one Southeastern train a day that both stations get, and it was totally empty. I can't find any excuse to leave them out, other than the map doesn't show calls, and that hasn't stopped us in the past (Battersea Park)! I think this and the AGA stops on the ex-AGA lines are the only services not taken over by LOROL that aren't on the map.

As well as Heathrow Central, remember that it is:
St. Pancras International
West Hampstead Thameslink
Queenstown Road
Sudbury and Harrow Road
King's Cross

[GuyBarry]

I'd certainly include Gidea Park, Harold Wood, Brentwood,

The simplest way of doing that is to incorporate the "Story from TfL Rail" into this one. Crossrail is after all part of the National Rail network.

Seven Sisters and Edmonton Green. I'd exclude Moor Park, Dartford and Swanley, because they're silly, and I agree we should have the stations you picked out. Please note that it's Heathrow Central, not Heathrow T123.

That makes things a bit easier!

This only leaves Wandsworth Road and Clapham High Street - I've been on the one Southeastern train a day that both stations get, and it was totally empty. I can't find any excuse to leave them out, other than the map doesn't show calls, and that hasn't stopped us in the past (Battersea Park)! I think this and the AGA stops on the ex-AGA lines are the only services not taken over by LOROL that aren't on the map.

OK.

As well as Heathrow Central, remember that it is:
St. Pancras International
West Hampstead Thameslink
Queenstown Road

No "(Battersea)" any more? (That's a relief as well!)

Sudbury and Harrow Road
King's Cross

OK, I'll go with that list. I'll put a full alphabetical list of stations up on my blog site shortly (it's too long to post here).

[GuyBarry]

Here's the full list of stations to be included, now standing at 280. (I've added in seven as The Orange One requested, and I had inadvertently omitted Queenstown Road.) Please check the list for any errors or omissions if possible.

Incidentally I've listed Waterloo and Waterloo East separately - the map has them as a single station but it seemed rather silly to treat them as one.

[The Orange One]

I was going by this Wikipedia page for my list and deleting the LO-only stations.

I'm hoping we can link the Tony/Dudley storyline together with the main tale, perhaps by way of our policeman. We'll have to bring back Don, obviously, perhaps under the temporary alias of Gordon Hill, Ed Enpark, Lewis Ham or Sid Cup. He does like his false names (and I'm not the only one to concoct a false name for him that he quickly throws away, Ray Nerslane). Mind you, we've had Wes Tharrow (now legally Tacton-Chalfont of course) and Hamilton (Sal Green, who was male in one of the very first posts but managed to switch gender by the end, which I'm sorry about) as well, so as these things go...

Perhaps we should introduce the concept of a throw terminal?

[GuyBarry]

[I'll cut back to the original storyline. Oh, and I'm future-proofing this section for some possible new additions to the London Tube and Rail Services map, according to some reports from Kent County Council. It's your job to find all seven of them.]

I think I've got them all: Otford, Bat and Ball, Eynsford, Shoreham, Swanley, Sevenoaks, and Dunton Green. (I also found "Ascot", but that's not in Kent... it took me a little while to work out the relevance of Nova Scotia!)

What did you mean by "greenscreen man", by the way?