All Lines and South London (tube) attempts

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DavidC
Zone 6
Posts: 711
Joined: 20 Feb 2015, 22:15

All Lines and South London (tube) attempts

Post by DavidC »

On Friday 30th September, during the late afternoon and early evening, I completed the All Lines Challenge in 46m 25s followed by the South London (tube) Challenge in 1h 51m 07s. I'm in my fifties and only break into anything beyond a brisk walk for things like short cross-platform interchanges - I do walk up and down escalators though ! I'm very happy with both timings in that context.

My All Lines Challenge began with the traditional hat-trick from Farringdon once the planets/trains/boards eventually aligned to tick off H&C (Barking), Met (Aldgate) and Circle. There were gaps between the three trains, but being too close often leads to signal checks anyway. The smelly tunnel to the Central line escalator at Liverpool Street followed : missing a train gave time to walk to the back ready for the next one (West Ruislip) soon afterwards. It was annoying to just miss a W&C train at Bank, but the next one gave me excellent positioning at Waterloo so it wasn't too disastrous. A Northern line train (Edgware) was arriving in the platform and then neatly nipping upstairs at Embankment thankfully saw me in decent time for a District line train (Wimbledon). Disappearing down into the bowels of Westminster took a frustrating eternity as always. A Jubilee line train (Stanmore) was followed by reasonable progress at Green Park to catch a Victoria line train (Walthamstow). Slight trouble at Oxford Circus getting to a Bakerloo line train (E&C) was followed by a reasonable change to a Piccadilly line train (Northfields) at Piccadilly Circus for the final stage to Green Park, finishing in a solid 46m 25s.

My South London (tube) Challenge began superbly with a District line train from Kew Gardens to Richmond timed perfectly for the half-hourly SWT semi-fast service (first stop Putney) : that pair of moves probably saves up to ten minutes against random choices. Turning the corner on leaving Putney station, I saw a 37 at the bus stop and exerted myself enough for the bus driver to kindly reopen the doors for a fast one-stop run to East Putney. Crossing the road led to arrival upstairs with time to walk to the front before the imminent Wimbledon train arrived. For me, I'm sure bus to South Wimbledon is the best option for getting from Wimbledon to Morden, and a 57 arrived on cue with a decent but unexciting run through surprisingly-light traffic to start with : I expected much worse. Maybe I really should have walked from the last stop before the lights, but we got through after only a couple of changes. After walking back from the stop around the corner it was good timing at South Wimbledon and I was delighted with the subsequent perfect cross-platform interchange at Morden. Further good cross-platform interchanges (between lines or directions) followed at Stockwell, Vauxhall, Brixton and Stockwell (although progress had been a bit slow towards Brixton). Fortunately the door alarm on the Mill Hill East service from Stockwell to Borough only lasted one stop before clearing and didn't require intervention, and a decent return got me neatly back to Elephant & Castle. So far, then, mainly good/excellent with a little mediocrity. Next, however, was my only real annoyance, just missing a Bakerloo line train due to meandering passengers. The wait wasn't too long but I wasted a potential positioning opportunity and was disappointed that we slowed down so much for Lambeth North that its closure probably didn't make much difference. So, a longer-than-necessary-but-long-regardless walk at Waterloo to catch a Stratford service to North Greenwich, arriving in a pretty respectable 1h 51m 07s.

I'm very happy with those times. I might try those challenges again, but probably only if I take up running ! I might be able to edge up a few places on the All Lines Challenge, but so much went well with the South London (tube) challenge that cracking the Bakerloo aspect would be unlikely to coincide with a repeat of all the other good fortune anyway.
First to 100000 in the 2015+ Tumbleweed contest. Winner of a few rounds of a diverse range of quizzes/games. Some decent times in alternative challenges as a fiftysomething who merely walks briskly. Briefly led All The Actons.
Elsie
Zone 3
Posts: 126
Joined: 03 Aug 2016, 21:45

Re: All Lines and South London (tube) attempts

Post by Elsie »

Thanks for posting, I enjoyed the read especially "Disappearing down into the bowels of Westminster took a frustrating eternity as always".

For me, this is double-edge sword. On one hand it's my 2nd favorite station on the network; I love admiring the engineering that went into building it right next to Westminster. On the other, when doing a challenge it's a pain in the rear, especially when coming up from the Jubilee line. Head says "Move Soldier!" but legs, ankles and knees say "Nope!". :lol:
Elsie
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