Sub-surface Challenge 2016
-
- Zone 6
- Posts: 975
- Joined: 04 Jun 2013, 10:42
- Location: South of the Thames
Re: Sub-surface Challenge 2016
And the winner is... ME!
Time 7:15:37, finishing at Upminster.
Amersham Chalfont & Latimer Chesham Moor Park Watford North Harrow bus to Rayners Lane Uxbridge Baker Street Hammersmith (Cir/H&C) run to Hammersmith (Dis/Pic) Pic to Acton Town Ealing Broadway Chiswick Park run to Gunnersbury Richmond West Kensington run to Kensington (Olympia) Earl's Court Wimbledon Earl's Court High Street Kensington Paddington (B/C/D) Great Portland Street (the long way round) Aldgate run to Aldgate East Barking Upminster
So, I made a bad planning error, putting down a wrong time for Moor Park that had me making the -1 minute connection, which of course didn't happen and put me 16 minutes down leaving Watford, with the probable outcome of being 20 minutes down later at KenO.
Proceeded to Uxbridge as described by TOO, and headed back down the Met with GU, intending to double back at KXSP. At Baker Street the train was held in the station and a light bulb went on - I'm sure GU had the same idea for me - and I bailed to catch the train that I planned to catch at KXSP. I do now have a longer double-back to do later, but at least I can follow my plan for now.
Only I don't.
The train is a minute early arriving at Hammersmith (H&C) and at the other Hammersmith there's a Pic in the platform when I planned to go to Richmond first. I go to Acton Town, get a District to Ealing Broadway, but it's a slow double-back, and then a slow connection after the Chiswick Park to Gunnersbury run. But I do get a 30 second reverse at Richmond. I end up back at West Kensington 2 minutes after my schedule but I've still got plenty of time for the KenO run and make the train with no problem.
And then a few extraordinary things happen...
The KenO train leaves 30 seconds early and seems to race into Earl's Court. I'm up over the bridge and straight onto the front of a Wimbledon train and ahead by a train. Good job I'm at the front because I have to run around the platforms to catch the train back, which is headed to Tower Hill, but I'm a train up still. I'm wondering about gambling at Gloucester Road, but then I realise I'm on perfect schedule to get another KenO shuttle. I get off at Earl's Court, the KenO shuttle rocks up a minute later, I get to HSK and there's a Circle line train in the cross platform. I race onto it and it leaves immediately. Up over the bridge with a perfect door position at Paddington just as an anti-clockwise Circle train arrives one minute late! I'm suddenly a whole Circle train up on my plan, albeit with an extra double-back to do.
A long haul now around to GPS. In the Barbican/Farringdon area, where there's some daylight, I check the live departures on my phone, but it's clear I'm not going to get my original train at GPS, and it looks like it will be Met-Circle-Met, when I really want an H&C. I get a Met to Aldgate and run to Aldgate East. The worst that can happen is I'll get the H&C that was a few trains behind, and when I get to Aldgate East there's an empty platform and the sign simply says 'Barking'. Phooey!
However, it turns out this a District line train to Barking (still phooey!), but when I get to Barking, the next train is an Upminster service and the one after that is a terminator, presumably the H&C, so I have gained a train. I arrive at Upminster one District line train down - about five minutes - on my original schedule.
As TOO says, there's a lot of boring sections on this challenge, but I had a lot of fun improvising the middle sections.
Time 7:15:37, finishing at Upminster.
Amersham Chalfont & Latimer Chesham Moor Park Watford North Harrow bus to Rayners Lane Uxbridge Baker Street Hammersmith (Cir/H&C) run to Hammersmith (Dis/Pic) Pic to Acton Town Ealing Broadway Chiswick Park run to Gunnersbury Richmond West Kensington run to Kensington (Olympia) Earl's Court Wimbledon Earl's Court High Street Kensington Paddington (B/C/D) Great Portland Street (the long way round) Aldgate run to Aldgate East Barking Upminster
So, I made a bad planning error, putting down a wrong time for Moor Park that had me making the -1 minute connection, which of course didn't happen and put me 16 minutes down leaving Watford, with the probable outcome of being 20 minutes down later at KenO.
Proceeded to Uxbridge as described by TOO, and headed back down the Met with GU, intending to double back at KXSP. At Baker Street the train was held in the station and a light bulb went on - I'm sure GU had the same idea for me - and I bailed to catch the train that I planned to catch at KXSP. I do now have a longer double-back to do later, but at least I can follow my plan for now.
Only I don't.
The train is a minute early arriving at Hammersmith (H&C) and at the other Hammersmith there's a Pic in the platform when I planned to go to Richmond first. I go to Acton Town, get a District to Ealing Broadway, but it's a slow double-back, and then a slow connection after the Chiswick Park to Gunnersbury run. But I do get a 30 second reverse at Richmond. I end up back at West Kensington 2 minutes after my schedule but I've still got plenty of time for the KenO run and make the train with no problem.
And then a few extraordinary things happen...
The KenO train leaves 30 seconds early and seems to race into Earl's Court. I'm up over the bridge and straight onto the front of a Wimbledon train and ahead by a train. Good job I'm at the front because I have to run around the platforms to catch the train back, which is headed to Tower Hill, but I'm a train up still. I'm wondering about gambling at Gloucester Road, but then I realise I'm on perfect schedule to get another KenO shuttle. I get off at Earl's Court, the KenO shuttle rocks up a minute later, I get to HSK and there's a Circle line train in the cross platform. I race onto it and it leaves immediately. Up over the bridge with a perfect door position at Paddington just as an anti-clockwise Circle train arrives one minute late! I'm suddenly a whole Circle train up on my plan, albeit with an extra double-back to do.
A long haul now around to GPS. In the Barbican/Farringdon area, where there's some daylight, I check the live departures on my phone, but it's clear I'm not going to get my original train at GPS, and it looks like it will be Met-Circle-Met, when I really want an H&C. I get a Met to Aldgate and run to Aldgate East. The worst that can happen is I'll get the H&C that was a few trains behind, and when I get to Aldgate East there's an empty platform and the sign simply says 'Barking'. Phooey!
However, it turns out this a District line train to Barking (still phooey!), but when I get to Barking, the next train is an Upminster service and the one after that is a terminator, presumably the H&C, so I have gained a train. I arrive at Upminster one District line train down - about five minutes - on my original schedule.
As TOO says, there's a lot of boring sections on this challenge, but I had a lot of fun improvising the middle sections.
Royal Oak to Bethnal Green in 333 days
Heathrow Terminal 4 to Amersham in 17 hours, 42 minutes and 22 seconds
Heathrow Terminal 4 to Amersham in 17 hours, 42 minutes and 22 seconds
- crypto
- Zone 2
- Posts: 85
- Joined: 18 Sep 2015, 23:48
Re: Sub-surface Challenge 2016
Going Underground wrote:crypto, you were spotted several times what's going on
Didn't realise I was so popular . I needed to be in London in the evening, and did what I usually do of crossing off more uncompleted lines during the day. Remembered last minute that this was happening, so made half baked plans to see if I could bump into people at the start of the challenge and cross off the north west corner in the process. Apparently you were all there but the timings were off. I was eagerly waiting at Chalfont & Latimer for a dash of people off an eastbound train
Re TOO, correct on the first three sightings, but did not go to Rayner's Lane.
- Going Underground
- The Twilight Zone
- Posts: 8797
- Joined: 11 Apr 2006, 12:24
- Location: Down in a tube station at midnight.
- Contact:
Re: Sub-surface Challenge 2016
Well done Nick Seems our days turned on their heads with the timings and I very pleased you beat my projected time of around 7hrs 19mins as it would have been more annoying had the Ken O barriers cost me 1st place...
Twice former full network GWR holder and former Zone 1 Olympic and World Record holder with The Raven and Soupie
Tube personality of the year 2009
Twice Winter Olympic Biathlon Gold Medalist with The Beer Baron
2008 All Lines Olympic Gold
Tube personality of the year 2009
Twice Winter Olympic Biathlon Gold Medalist with The Beer Baron
2008 All Lines Olympic Gold
-
- Zone 6
- Posts: 975
- Joined: 04 Jun 2013, 10:42
- Location: South of the Thames
Re: Sub-surface Challenge 2016
I should have gone with gkr on the Amersham/Chesham run and saved another 9 minutes.
Sub 7 hours possible?
Sub 7 hours possible?
Royal Oak to Bethnal Green in 333 days
Heathrow Terminal 4 to Amersham in 17 hours, 42 minutes and 22 seconds
Heathrow Terminal 4 to Amersham in 17 hours, 42 minutes and 22 seconds
- tractakid
- The Twilight Zone
- Posts: 3320
- Joined: 15 Nov 2011, 20:04
- Location: Milton Keynes
Re: Sub-surface Challenge 2016
I remember completely ruling out Amersham-Chesham on foot. Now I run further than that every single Saturday. except when I'm volunteering of course.DrainBrain wrote:I should have gone with gkr on the Amersham/Chesham run and saved another 9 minutes.
Sub 7 hours possible?
*insert boasting about notable tube accomplishments here*
Re: Sub-surface Challenge 2016
That's funny I thought it was longer than 5kmtractakid wrote:I remember completely ruling out Amersham-Chesham on foot. Now I run further than that every single Saturday. except when I'm volunteering of course.DrainBrain wrote:I should have gone with gkr on the Amersham/Chesham run and saved another 9 minutes.
Sub 7 hours possible?
- Tube Geek
- The Twilight Zone
- Posts: 3620
- Joined: 31 Mar 2016, 20:06
- Location: BS20 or BS3
- Contact:
Re: Sub-surface Challenge 2016
Personal Best - 264 Stations in 19 hours 37 minutes.
COYR
COYR
- Iain
- All Zones
- Posts: 2155
- Joined: 11 Nov 2011, 11:26
- Location: Sutton
Re: Sub-surface Challenge 2016
2.3 miles - a 5k is 3.1 miles.
Full Network: Three completions, Best time: 17:18:18 - thanks Glen, Andrew and Rhys!
Former DLR 45 station record holder (with Glen, Andi and Stevo) - 2h:08m:57s
All lines: 46:11 (6th equal)
Zone One 2:52:51 (thanks Glen)
Former DLR 45 station record holder (with Glen, Andi and Stevo) - 2h:08m:57s
All lines: 46:11 (6th equal)
Zone One 2:52:51 (thanks Glen)
- Going Underground
- The Twilight Zone
- Posts: 8797
- Joined: 11 Apr 2006, 12:24
- Location: Down in a tube station at midnight.
- Contact:
Re: Sub-surface Challenge 2016
Plus mainly downhill the way Peter went..
Twice former full network GWR holder and former Zone 1 Olympic and World Record holder with The Raven and Soupie
Tube personality of the year 2009
Twice Winter Olympic Biathlon Gold Medalist with The Beer Baron
2008 All Lines Olympic Gold
Tube personality of the year 2009
Twice Winter Olympic Biathlon Gold Medalist with The Beer Baron
2008 All Lines Olympic Gold
- greatkingrat
- All Zones
- Posts: 2544
- Joined: 11 Feb 2005, 00:35
Re: Sub-surface Challenge 2016
I think so, if you can pick your own starting time and get a good connection at Moor Park that would save a chunk of time.DrainBrain wrote:I should have gone with gkr on the Amersham/Chesham run and saved another 9 minutes.
Sub 7 hours possible?
Soon to be yet another forum train driver
-
- Zone 1
- Posts: 21
- Joined: 03 Jan 2016, 12:37
Re: Sub-surface Challenge 2016
Hi guys,
I hope had a great time, apologies for my absence! I will speak to Tangy about this challenge appearing on explorerticket, and hopefully there will be another sub-surface day at the end of the year.
see you at zone 1 day
JBA
I hope had a great time, apologies for my absence! I will speak to Tangy about this challenge appearing on explorerticket, and hopefully there will be another sub-surface day at the end of the year.
see you at zone 1 day
JBA
Josh Nichols-Ageros
Tube challenging since 2014
Croydon Tramlink Record holder - 01:35:15
"Life's like a Victoria Line train to seven sisters..."
Tube challenging since 2014
Croydon Tramlink Record holder - 01:35:15
"Life's like a Victoria Line train to seven sisters..."
Who is online
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 60 guests