tubechallenge.com

Welcome to the 2015/16 Random 15 Championship. I am your host (commonly known to regulars as the BERC when I am hosting Random 15 challenges). The Random 15 challenge is just that, visit 15 randomly selected stations that feature on the Tube Map and/or London Connections Map (usually within zones 1-2 and using the Underground network only). There will be certain rounds within the championship that are a variation of this such as adding an extra zone/s or network/s e.g. DLR, National Rail onto the challenge and these are known as "twist" rounds.

If anyone is not familiar with the standard rules (or scoring) for Random 15 challenges, they can be read here: http://www.explorerticket.co.uk/tubecha ... 5rules.htm (for regulars the rules are the same as last year).

So let us announce the details for round 5.

When: Saturday 4th June 2016 at 12:30 UK local time.
Pre challenge meet up point: Essex Road (EXR). Meet in ticket hall, street side of the ticket barriers.
Post challenge meet up: The Bricklayers Arms, Gresse Street (off TCR, the road).

The challenge: Round 5 of the Random 15 Championship is a "twist" round, thus will be a LU+LO, zones 1 and 2 challenge. Therefore London Overground stations within zones 1-2 will be thrown into the mix... oh, and if you haven't already noticed we will be starting from Essex Road.

Closures affecting the challenge:
Circle: Closed throughout
District: Tower Hill- Barking
East London: Highbury- Shadwell and Surrey Quays- New Cross
GOBLIN: Closed throughout.
H&C: King's Cross- Barking
Metropolitan: King's Cross- Aldgate

c2c: No trains via West Ham, all trains to Liverpool Street via Stratford.
South Eastern: Trains to/from Charing X will not call London Bridge.
Thameslink: No trains between Blackfriars and London Bridge.

Holland Park: Station closed (pass through allowed).
Caledonian Road: Station closed (pass through allowed).
Paddington (Praed Street): Bakerloo line platforms closed, Circle/District platforms remain open.

Those engineering works listed are only the closures that might affect the challenge, there are further works (on National Rail) going on in other areas. Please check if travelling from further afield.

Hope to see you there.

Signed: Tangy
The BERC (Random 15 host).

First trains out of Essex Road are:
1230 to Moorgate (calling all stations)
1239 to Welwyn Garden City (calling all stations)
1245 to Moorgate (calling all stations)

Knowing this. will Essex Road be one of the 15 stations (and must be visited by train) or is it just an arbitrary start point with 15 stations that must be reached at some point? Because this is a prime candidate for "depart on foot, return to starting station at a later point".

I think the H&C may also be closed east of King's Cross St Pancras - otherwise there's no reason to cut the Circle service!!

You also forgot Paddington is closed on the Bakerloo! So Paddington (B/C/D) must be visited on the Wimbleware.

Closed stations would be:
Farringdon
Barbican
Aldgate
Aldgate East
Whitechapel
Stepney Green
Bow Road
Bromley-by-Bow
Dalston Junction
Haggerston
Hoxton
Shoreditch High Street
New Cross
Upper Holloway
Battersea Park

with Moorgate only available on Northern Line, Liverpool Street (LU) and Mile End just on Central Line and West Ham just on Jubilee Line.

The Orange One wrote: Knowing this. will Essex Road be one of the 15 stations (and must be visited by train) or is it just an arbitrary start point with 15 stations that must be reached at some point? Because this is a prime candidate for "depart on foot, return to starting station at a later point".

Essex Road is not a Underground or Overground station, so it can't be one of the 15 surely? Indeed, you may not need to enter the station at all.

If Essex Road was chosen as a pointlessly obscure starting point, you could have chosen Lea Bridge which should be open by then.

Essex Road is not obscure, it's served by a hundred buses an hour, it's one stop's train ride from two major tube stations, one of which is a major London Overground interchange, and it's not too far from Angel or Canonbury either!!

But I get your point.

Attending
GU

parkrun Hackney Marshes
GU

Spoons Baxters Court, Hackney
GU

The Orange One wrote:First trains out of Essex Road are:
1230 to Moorgate (calling all stations)
1239 to Welwyn Garden City (calling all stations)
1245 to Moorgate (calling all stations)

Knowing this. will Essex Road be one of the 15 stations (and must be visited by train) or is it just an arbitrary start point with 15 stations that must be reached at some point? Because this is a prime candidate for "depart on foot, return to starting station at a later point".

As per the rules of the Random 15 Challenge challengers are NOT required to depart from the start station straightaway by train, challengers can run to a nearby station and visit station 1 later in the challenge.

However Essex Road WILL be one of the 15 to visit during the challenge (even though it is on the Great Northern network) as the Northern City line is now open at weekends.

Can't attempt an All Lines with the Circle shut, so I can sleep in a bit and get a train arriving KX about 11:45. (Can't make the Z1 on the Friday, though.).

Attending
GU
Sarnian

parkrun Hackney Marshes
GU

Spoons Baxters Court, Hackney
GU

With Essex Road in, will the rule about having to use specific trains still apply to the other stations? For example, if Denmark Hill turns up, can we arrive and depart by Thameslink?

(Also, 1230 GMT on the 4th of June will be 1330 BST)

Sarnian wrote:(Also, 1230 GMT on the 4th of June will be 1330 BST)

Congratulations, you win Pedant Of The Week.

michael_churchill wrote:

Sarnian wrote:(Also, 1230 GMT on the 4th of June will be 1330 BST)

Congratulations, you win Pedant Of The Week.

Yes, well, seeing as the original post specified 1230 GMT, not just 1230, it's become a quite important distinction.

Attending
GU
Sarnian
The Orange One

parkrun Hackney Marshes
GU

Spoons Baxters Court, Hackney
GU

Hopefully I'll actually remember to visit all 15 stations this time...

Attending
GU
Sarnian
The Orange One
alexmcmotor +1

parkrun Hackney Marshes
GU

Spoons Baxters Court, Hackney
GU

Looks like this is going to be an A to Z job...

Attending
GU
Sarnian
The Orange One
alexmcmotor +1
tractakid

parkrun Hackney Marshes
GU
tractakid

Spoons Baxters Court, Hackney
GU
tractakid

Attending
GU
Sarnian
The Orange One
alexmcmotor +1
tractakid
Nozza (finally 20 different parkruns)

parkrun Hackney Marshes
GU
tractakid
Nozza

Spoons Baxters Court, Hackney
GU
trackakid
Nozza

nozzacook wrote:Attending
GU
Sarnian
The Orange One
alexmcmotor +1
tractakid
Nozza

parkrun Hackney Marshes
GU
tractakid
Nozza (finally 20 different parkruns)

Spoons Baxters Court, Hackney
GU
trackakid
Nozza

Tidied up the parkrun bits for Damo and now you can get you "Cow Cowell" and join the tourist gang on FB

nozzacook wrote: parkrun Hackney Marshes
GU
tractakid
Nozza (finally 20 different parkruns)

Spoons Baxters Court, Hackney
GU
trackakid
Nozza

Hmm. Been thinking- Hackney is an all-tarmac course. I'm starting to think it might be a good idea to swap the venue for a grassy/trail one, which is at it's best in the summer. We could save Hackney for a wetter winter morning.

Obviously we need to do a venue that's new for Nozza so he can join the cow cowl gang.

If anyone's up for a swap, how about Lloyd, Harrow Lodge, Greenwich, Wanstead Flats or Walthamstow? If the weather turns out awful there's still Hackney!

Just a thought- what do others think?