Random 15 Championship 2016/17: Round 3

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DrainBrain
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Re: Random 15 Championship 2016/17: Round 3

Post by DrainBrain »

crypto wrote:...

From Whitechapel, it was a long slog around the southern Overground circular. I didn't realise quite how slowly it crawls around this line, but there wasn't much alternative at this point.
...
Why DO Overground trains run so slowly?
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Re: Random 15 Championship 2016/17: Round 3

Post by xcooler123 »

A frustrating day more than anything else for me.

Started at Earl's Court, I headed down to West Brompton with the majority of people. I elected to take the Southbound train along with tractakid and tufnellpark. A 5 mins wait was followed by a horrible 10 mins wait at Clapham Junction so that we could cover off West Brompton and Peckham Rye. Carried on crawling around the SE section of the Overground loop until I got to Whitechapel to change for Stepney Green. Arrived and headed over to the Westbound platform where I watched a train depart in front of me :x Caught the next train which then got held outside of Whitechapel which in turn caused me to watch another train leave in front of me when changing onto the Overground. Finally headed up to Dalston Junction where I got off for the short dash to Dalston Kingsland where a train was 2 mins away :D Arrived at Hackney Central to try out the new link to Hackney Downs where I met tufnellpark going the other way! Caught the stopper to cover off London Fields and Cambridge Heath before getting off at Bethnal Green LO to change for Bethnal Green LU. Central Line across the city to Bond Street where I changed for the Jubilee Line covering off Swiss Cottage. Arrived at Kilburn for a run to Brondesbury Park where I only had to wait 1 mins for the next train to Stratford. Arrived at Gospel Oak for a quick comfort break and a run to Tufnell Park. Arrived and went down to platform level to watch yet ANOTHER train leave as I arrived. Finally got up to Archway where guess what? Yep, you guessed it, another train leaving as I arrive on platform :cry: Next train was via Bank so I headed down to KXSP and changed onto the Piccadilly line to cover off Covent Garden. Arrived at Leicester Square to change onto the Charing X branch and tick off Charing Cross LU and Embankment. One last change at Kennington where, shock horror, I watched another train disappear right in front of my eyes so had to wait for the next one to finish at Oval

So, 5 trains to leave as I arrive at platform, 4 new runs, a 3+ hours time, 2 tired legs and a 1st ever change at Leicester Square :D
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The Orange One
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Re: Random 15 Championship 2016/17: Round 3

Post by The Orange One »

Well, I had good change after good change - some of them a little too good...

My route:
Earl's Court :arrow: West Brompton :arrow: Willesden Junction :arrow: Brondesbury :arrow: Kilburn (foot) :arrow: Baker Street :arrow: Warren Street (30 bus) :arrow: Camden Town :arrow: Archway :arrow: Camden Town :arrow: Camden Road (274 bus) :arrow: Hackney Central :arrow: Hackney Downs (foot) :arrow: Bethnal Green (stopper) :arrow: Whitechapel (foot) :arrow: Mile End :arrow: Holborn :arrow: Leicester Square :arrow: Kennington :arrow: Clapham North :arrow: Clapham High Street (foot) :arrow: Wandsworth Road :arrow: Peckham Rye

So I started at Earl's Court with 16 other challengers, then quickly made my way onto the waiting Wimbledon service (which became a Parsons Green service) for the short hop down to West Brompton, where I knew there was an Overground train due to head north and another one not long after to head south. Deciding that it would be faster to avoid visiting Clapham Junction on the Overground, I jumped on the northbound and headed up to Willesden Junction along with James, Tangy, Neil, A2 and Phil. A 6 minute wait for the train onward allowed me to go online and check whether a possible Thameslink connection would be late allowing me to make it - but no luck, and then after calling at Brondesbury Park it was the run from Brondesbury to Kilburn. I reached the barriers at Kilburn to hear the train pulling in above me, had a brief travelcard failure before I finally got through and jumped onto the train along with James, leaving the other challengers behind.

Consulting my timetables, an Overground connection at South Hampstead was also out of the question (and heading back to the Overground at Finchley Road and Frognal/West Hampstead would be too slow), so into town it was, and not looking forward to the Great Portland Street to Warren Street run - or having to go via Oxford Circus! Headed south through Swiss Cottage, then suddenly, between St John's Wood and Baker Street, I had a brainwave - why not ditch the tube altogether and get an 18 bus across (with the 27, 30 and 453 as backups); Baker Street tube is on the same side of the road as the bus stop of course. So I rushed up the escalators at Baker Street and jumped aboard a waiting number 30, which whizzed down the bus lane and dropped me at Warren Street in minutes (6 minutes platform to platform). I went down to the Northern Line to see that the next train north was an Edgware in 1 minute. Took said Edgware service to Camden Town, then dashed through the cross passage and through the closing doors of a High Barnet service, which took me to Archway (NOT UPPER HOLLOWAY, TANGY, HOW DID YOU FORGET TO EXCLUDE THE CLOSED STATION) where a southbound train closed its doors as we pulled up. No matter, the next one was but 2 minutes away and I surfaced at Camden Town with 6 minutes to get to Camden Road, so I made the trip in style with a ride on a conveniently waiting 274 bus.

At Camden Road I boarded an eastbound Overground, and consulted my timetables to see that I had a timetabled 2 minute connection at Hackney Central/Downs. With the new link, this was a nice easy run - except my Overground train dawdled at Highbury and Islington and Dalston Kingsland, leaving me with just 30 seconds to make the connection!!! Sprinting down the link bridge, I reached Platform 1 of Hackney Downs to see the train just coming into Platform 3. Dashed along Platform 1, down the stairs, through the subway and up onto Platform 3 and just made the train by the skin of my teeth - result!! Unfortunately, it took me until Cambridge Heath (via London Fields) to get my breath back, and the end result was that running all the way from Bethnal Green to Whitechapel was out of the question. I took this one at a half jog, half walk, then bemoaned the fact that Whitechapel station entrance had been relocated to possibly the most inconvenient place possible. Turned on the taps for the last bit along Court Street and into the station and jumped, yet again, through the closing doors of a train - this time a Hammersmith and City Line train to Barking.

As we left Stepney Green and realising I had not yet hit 2 hours, with but 6 stations to go, I was wondering if I could come in under 3 hours! Changed at Mile End for the nice fast Central Line into town, then at Holborn for the Piccadilly Line (which I just missed so 2 minute wait) to knock off Covent Garden. At Leicester Square, I once more just missed a train, but again the next one was but 2 minutes behind, taking me to Kennington via Charing Cross and Embankment. Switched branch for a train on to Clapham North to kill off Oval. As I arrived at Stockwell, I checked the time - 53 minutes past. I knew there was an Overground out of Clapham High Street at 56 past, so I knew it was going to be tight. Doors opened at Clapham North at 55 past the hour dead, so I had one minute to get to the surface and chase down that train - then if I missed that I had 9 minutes to undertake a completely unknown run to Wandsworth Road, a run I couldn't be sure was possible in 9 minutes. Luckily, I made the Overground train (the fact it was slightly late helped), so I had a nice relaxing 7 minute ride to buy myself a drink before taking my last train of the challenge to Peckham Rye.

I then took a slightly mucky Southeastern service from Peckham Rye to Victoria, which was a nice healthy 5 minutes late, unlike the Southern service to London Bridge which was my other choice, which was 12 minutes late, or the Thameslink service to Blackfriars, which was cancelled. Which is weird, as it's usually Thameslink which is late and Southern which is cancelled!
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DrainBrain
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Re: Random 15 Championship 2016/17: Round 3

Post by DrainBrain »

Much of my route was the same as TOO, and I visited the stations in exactly the same order, just more slowly...

Earl's Court :arrow: West Brompton :arrow: via Brondesbury Park to Brondesbury :arrow: on foot to Kilburn :arrow: via Swiss Cottage to Baker Street :arrow: Great Portland Street :arrow: on foot to Warren Street :arrow: Archway :arrow: Camden Town :arrow: on foot to Camden Road :arrow: Hackney Central :arrow: up to Hackney Downs :arrow: via London Fields to Cambridge Heath :arrow: on foot to Bethnal Green (LU) :arrow: Mile End :arrow: via Stepney Green to Cannon Street :arrow: on foot to Bank :arrow: Holborn :arrow: via Covent Garden to Leicester Square :arrow: via Charing Cross and Embankment to Kennington :arrow: Oval :arrow: bus, bus, bus to Wandsworth Road :arrow: Peckham Rye

I had a slow start while I figured out where the stations were, so by the time I got to West Brompton I was already an Overground train down and waited 11 minutes. Still, Michael turned up and we took the same train until I got off at Brondesbury and walked up to Kilburn (first time on this run).

Just missed a train at Baker Street and had to wait four minutes for the next train which was then held for three minutes to 'regulate the service' - this makes no sense to me as we were clearly well behind the previous train - all just to go one stop to GPS. Walked to Warren Street and then up the Northern line to not Upper Holloway.

Also hadn't done the run to Camden Road before so it took me a while to get my bearings... and this is where I joined an Overground train towards Stratford along with a gazillion West Ham fans.

Got lucky at Hackney Downs where I caught a train that was four minutes late that I would otherwise have missed, and then did another new run from Cambridge Heath to Bethnal Green (LU).

Several tube trains, and one familiar walk (Cannon Street to Bank) later I was at Oval, and this is where things went horribly wrong. I decided I might be able to avoid a wait for an extra Overground train by going by bus directly to Wandsworth Road. I got the first bus to Vauxhall OK, but wasn't really sure where my stop was at Vauxhall bus station. I saw an 87, got on it, and found myself on a bus heading across Vauxhall Bridge, which proceeded to get stuck in a traffic jam, taking ten minutes just to go one stop. I crossed the road and fortunately didn't have to wait for too long to catch an 87 going in the right direction. (Incidentally going past another Covent Garden.)

Finally at Wandsworth Road, I still had a wait of nine minutes for my final train to Peckham Rye.

Just to round things off, I then had to wait fifteen minutes for a train into Victoria - a scheduled earlier Thameslink train apparently being cancelled - and hence to the pub.
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crypto
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Re: Random 15 Championship 2016/17: Round 3

Post by crypto »

RJSRdg wrote:Presumably you went up from Embankment to Leicester Square, then King's Cross and on up to Archway from there, in order to get Covent Garden in.
Good catch. Edited for clarity.
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Re: Random 15 Championship 2016/17: Round 3

Post by Going Underground »

A good turn out, a kind set of stations, 2 schoolboy errors from me which led to considerable waits at various points and very sorry to hear about your lost wallet Rich :(
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Elsie
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Re: Random 15 Championship 2016/17: Round 3

Post by Elsie »

Sorry to hear about your wallet Richard, that a real downer. :( Glad someone was able to help you though, that was kind.

May I ask, how long do you get to study the 15 stations before you leave or is it GO! as soon as they're announced?
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Re: Random 15 Championship 2016/17: Round 3

Post by RJSRdg »

GO as soon as they're announced. Normally everybody's given an envelope with the list of stations in and the start is the moment Tangy tells us to open the envelopes. Saturday's was slightly different in that we had more competitors than envelopes so somebody read the list out and the watch started as soon as they'd said the last one.

The first time I attempted an R15 I reckon everyone else had visited at least one station before I'd even found them all on the map!
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Elsie
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Re: Random 15 Championship 2016/17: Round 3

Post by Elsie »

Thanks Richard!

That's what I was worried about; you have really got to know your stuff to be able to move so quickly, especially the overground links. I think I'll have to build myself a random 15 generator and start practicing routes in my head before contemplating doing one of these!
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crypto
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Re: Random 15 Championship 2016/17: Round 3

Post by crypto »

Knowing useful links and changes just comes with experience and map/timetable studying. I learned new runs and bus options this time round that could be useful later. Also, since the stopwatch starts at the same time for everyone, you get to choose whether to run straight for a platform or spend a couple of minutes thinking things over.
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tractakid
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Re: Random 15 Championship 2016/17: Round 3

Post by tractakid »

Honestly the best way to get good at R15s is to just get experience.

and then sometimes you'll still be rubbish, like Kevin staying on a Bank branch train when he wanted to head to Embankment :D

Sometimes, though, there are more important things than getting a good time. Having previously lost a wallet while challenging, and been rescued, I know how gutting it is.

I'm hoping, Richard, that nobody misused your card before it was cancelled?

Also...

it may well be good practice that we all have each other's mobile phone numbers before we set off on the challenge. You can opt out if you really want, but if you do end up without a ticket and a means by which to pay for a new one, a phonecall may prove to be the only escape. Or, it could be vital should anything else bad happen.
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Re: Random 15 Championship 2016/17: Round 3

Post by EssexElec »

Well, what a fun afternoon.... Tangy and I grabbed the Parsons Green train at Earl's Court pfm 4 and then changed at West Brompton for a NB LO train to Willesden Jn, changing onto the following LO train to Brondesbury, where we then ran (always read as canter / jog in my case, whereas Tangy runs like a greyhound) with Andrew B and Phil to Kilburn (dangerously uneven pavements on the way) and straight onto the SB Jub. Reaching Baker St, Tamgy and I opted for the WB Circle to Euston Sq, walking to Warren St for the Northern line to Archway. In common with several of you, the complex Northern line provided some frustration: always remember that now the trains run at 3 minute intervals in all off peak periods, it is difficult to change at Camden Town and make a gain. We changed off the Edgware train, then I lost Tangy, took a couple of wrong turns and luckily found him on (naturally) the right platform. This lost us at least 6 mins but we then proceeded at spend to Archway, waited 3 mins to return south to Leicester Sq and changed via the short cut which is not signed to do a quick Covent Garden and back. It was great to see the Piccadilly line operating its 24 trains per hour Sat aft service again, although the dot matrix indicator created a different impression! Reunited with the Northern line, we sped to Embankment where a 5 min wait for the District line greeted us. We trundled along to Stepney Green in air conditioned S stock, joining Andrew B and Phil who boarded at Whitechapel. A reversal at Stepney Green was rewarded with a prompt WB District line train, followed by an H&C from Aldgate East to Liverpool Street. We were aining for the 15.00 LO Enfield Town departure, which we all comfortably caught to Hackney Downs, luxuriating in the former 1st class of an 8 car 317/8. This was an ideal time to undertake this journey, as Spurs kicked off at 12.30. Alighting at Hackney Downs, we had 3 mins for a WB Richmond train via the new footway link. Oh heavens, what a long jog / canter / gasp for air! Very luckily, the train was busy which required a slightly longer dwell, plus the boys were ready to hold the doors for me. Tangy and I changed at H&I for the SB Victoria line to Stockwell, which was immediate and devoid of any signal checks in spite of the 2.25 minute frequency. Up and down at Stockwell took us to the Northen line to Oval, then reverse to Clapham North, and this time each wait was barely a minute. Arriving at Clapham High St revealed a wait of 4 mins to Wandsworth Road, then 6-7 min for the next train EB to Peckham Rye where Tangy stopped the watch. I think the reason for the sedate speed of LO trains on the South London line is the age of the viaducts and curvature of the line, but this is just a guess. So, that was us finished. We then caught a grimy 319/0 to Blackfriars, which appeared to have received nothing except a retrim of moquette during its entire 25+ year life! Stark contrast was then provided by a one stop hop on a new class 700 to City T'link for the short walk to St Paul's and the speedy Central line to TCR. A very convivial evening followed which we all seemed to enjoy. Thank you to Tangy as always for his organization flair and better platform entrance / exit position knowledge than mine!
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Re: Random 15 Championship 2016/17: Round 3

Post by Elsie »

tractakid wrote:It may well be good practice that we all have each other's mobile phone numbers before we set off on the challenge. You can opt out if you really want, but if you do end up without a ticket and a means by which to pay for a new one, a phone call may prove to be the only escape. Or, it could be vital should anything else bad happen.
Even though I haven't done a R15 myself, I think that's an excellent idea. Had I lost my wallet continuing the challenge would be the least of my worries and knowing (especially being so far from home), that I could ask for assistance would be nice. Maybe that and/or updates to a Twitter account?
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Re: Random 15 Championship 2016/17: Round 3

Post by michael_churchill »

How not to do a Random 15...

I didn't go straight through the barriers at Earl's Court, I took some time to make sure that I had heard the list of stations right and marked them on my map. Eventually, I got a District to West Brompton, thinking of heading anti-clockwise to tick off Wandsworth Road and Peckham Rye, but seeing a train leave in that direction. So I joined DrainBrain waiting for a train heading towards Stratford. He got off at Brondesbury - I had no idea that Kilburn was so bloody close by. Even if I had, my thought was that since Overground trains are so infrequent, I'd be better off staying on the one I had. I had the entertainment of the (drunk?) guy who broke the first rule of public transport etiquette by insisting on talking to everyone, all the way round to Hackney Central. That takes 45 minutes you know! I bet nobody else was on a single train for that long! I did know about the link to Hackney Downs. Then I went all the way to Liverpool Street in order to catch an H&C to Stepney Green, where those in the know went on foot from Bethnal Green to Whitechapel. District to Embankment, then up to Covent Garden and back again, now heading to Clapham North. Having a chance to check some online timetables, based on an estimate of when I would arrive at Clapham North, I thought waiting for an OG at Clapham High Street to Wandsworth Road then waiting for the reverse would be too long. So, I walked all the way from Clapham North to Wandsworth Road. Oyster tells me from touch out to touch in that took 12 minutes. I still had to wait 10 minutes, so that was probably wrong too. OG to Peckham Rye, then not too long for a delayed Southern (surprise?) to London Bridge. Northern to Archway then back to Kentish Town. Thameslink to West Hampstead. Jubilee to Kilburn, back through Swiss Cottage to stop the clock.
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Re: Random 15 Championship 2016/17: Round 3

Post by RJSRdg »

Just to add as an update that my wallet has been found and is now on its way back to me.

Talking to the gentleman who found it, it would seem he found it pretty promptly after I mislaid it. (14:30 approx. in Vallance Road). Given that we arrived in Whitechapel at 14:06 and got a little lost owing to the direct route being closed by Crossrail works, it was probably at least 14:15 when I dropped it and had therefore been found and removed by the time I got back to Vallance Road in search of it! Glad to have got it back! :-)
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