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Random 15 Championship 2019/20: Round 1

Posted: 19 Aug 2019, 21:16
by tangy
Welcome to the 2019/20 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 (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 or network e.g. DLR onto the challenge. So are you ready to take on the Random 15 championship?

The rules and scoring are unchanged from previous seasons but if anyone is not familiar with them, or needs a refresh, they can be read here: http://www.explorerticket.co.uk/tubecha ... 5rules.htm

We return for the 2019/20 season. Therefore all league table points are reset to zero and as is traditional we start the season with the Champion's Twist, as nominated by last year's Random 15 champion.

When: Saturday 21st September 2019 12:30 UK local time.
Pre-challenge meet up point: Waterloo (bottom of the stairs from Exit 7 off the NR concourse). This is located in the middle of the concourse by platforms 6-9.
Post-challenge meet up point: Our regular haunt. The Bricklayers Arms, Gresses Street (off TCR).
Variant: Zone 1 and 2. LU, DLR and NR but you are NOT permitted to cross the Thames by any form of RAIL. You can only cross the Thames using other valid means of travel such as on foot or by bus. Therefore stations that straddle the Thames or can only be reached by crossing the river will be specially excluded.
Time limit: 6 hours

For the avoidance of doubt, Blackfriars (NR), Canary Wharf (LU), Cannon Street (NR), Charing X (NR), North Greenwich and Victoria (NR) will all be excluded as they are either impossible to visit by rail without crossing the river or in the case of Blackfriars NR has entrances on both sides of the river.

The Thames is clearly marked on both the standard Tube Map and a London Connections map but it can be easy to unintentionally cross if you are on a deep level Tube line for example but it has been agreed there will no penalty if you realise this and immediately turn around to go back across the river at the SAME crossing point.

Closures affecting the challenge: AMENDED 11th September 2019
Circle: Closed throughout.
District: No service High Street Ken- Edgware Road (Circle).
Hammersmith & City: No service Hammersmith- Moorgate.
Metropolitan: No Service Wembley Park- Aldgate (Jubilee unaffected)
Overground (West Anglia): No Chingford branch.

Other closures to be aware of:
West Anglia: No trains via Tottenham Hale, diversions via Seven Sisters. Temple Mills line (and Lea Bridge station) closed.

Everyone is welcome but please advise if you are attending.

Thanks
The BERC

Re: Random 15 Championship 2019/20: Round 1

Posted: 19 Aug 2019, 21:43
by xcooler123
Thanks Tangy for posting that, although I think you need to add Victoria (NR) to your list of excluded stations.

I should make it clear also that all credit needs to go to Andrew Baker (A2) for the "no crossing the Thames by rail" rule. I just added the extras to make it a Champion's Twist :D

Re: Random 15 Championship 2019/20: Round 1

Posted: 19 Aug 2019, 22:23
by greatkingrat
Are we starting from Waterloo LU or NR?

Re: Random 15 Championship 2019/20: Round 1

Posted: 20 Aug 2019, 08:22
by Going Underground
Sounds very tricky and intriguing :!:

Maybe you can leave Waterloo by either mode, lets see what the BERC says... :?:

Attending; GU
parkrun; Catford - GU
Spoons; The London & Rye, Catford

Re: Random 15 Championship 2019/20: Round 1

Posted: 20 Aug 2019, 14:41
by michael_churchill
Going Underground wrote: 20 Aug 2019, 08:22 Sounds very tricky and intriguing :!:

Maybe you can leave Waterloo by either mode, lets see what the BERC says... :?:
Yes, it depends... if Waterloo is the first of the 15 then we need clarification - or is it just a pre-determined starting point and not (necessarily) one of the 15?

If it's not one of the 15, I guess you have the option of starting by crossing the river non-rail straight away, with the choices of Westminster, Hungerford (Golden Jubilee) and Waterloo bridges close by.

Regarding Blackfriars (NR), it may be excluded from the 15, but is it banned altogether. For instance, could you catch a north-bound train if you use the northern entrance or a south-bound train if you use the southern entrance? You could argue that the train won't be crossing the river.

Re: Random 15 Championship 2019/20: Round 1

Posted: 20 Aug 2019, 15:31
by Going Underground
michael_churchill wrote: 20 Aug 2019, 14:41
Regarding Blackfriars (NR), it may be excluded from the 15, but is it banned altogether. For instance, could you catch a north-bound train if you use the northern entrance or a south-bound train if you use the southern entrance? You could argue that the train won't be crossing the river.
Having seen the discussion on FB Blackfriars is 100% banned, even for crossing on foot through the platforms...

Re: Random 15 Championship 2019/20: Round 1

Posted: 20 Aug 2019, 15:58
by michael_churchill
Going Underground wrote: 20 Aug 2019, 15:31
michael_churchill wrote: 20 Aug 2019, 14:41
Regarding Blackfriars (NR), it may be excluded from the 15, but is it banned altogether. For instance, could you catch a north-bound train if you use the northern entrance or a south-bound train if you use the southern entrance? You could argue that the train won't be crossing the river.
Having seen the discussion on FB Blackfriars is 100% banned, even for crossing on foot through the platforms...
Fair 'nough!

Re: Random 15 Championship 2019/20: Round 1

Posted: 20 Aug 2019, 16:02
by xcooler123
Attending; GU, xcooler123
parkrun; Catford - GU, xcooler123
Spoons; The London & Rye, Catford - GU, xcooler123

Re: Random 15 Championship 2019/20: Round 1

Posted: 20 Aug 2019, 22:57
by tangy
michael_churchill wrote: 20 Aug 2019, 14:41 If it's not one of the 15, I guess you have the option of starting by crossing the river non-rail straight away, with the choices of Westminster, Hungerford (Golden Jubilee) and Waterloo bridges close by.
You do have the option to do this in any case as the rules state you do NOT need to depart the first station by the nominated rail mode straightaway. You can run/catch a bus or depart on a different network to a neighbouring station and visit station 1 legally later in the challenge.
Regarding Blackfriars (NR), it may be excluded from the 15, but is it banned altogether. For instance, could you catch a north-bound train if you use the northern entrance or a south-bound train if you use the southern entrance? You could argue that the train won't be crossing the river.
As per the discussion on the Random 15 Facebook group where this question was also posed, Blackfriars NR is off limits. You may NOT board, alight or pass through Blackfriars NR by train (or even use the station platforms to run across the river). You may use Thameslink trains as far south as City Thameslink or as far north as Elephant/London Bridge.

Re: Random 15 Championship 2019/20: Round 1

Posted: 21 Aug 2019, 09:01
by Going Underground
tangy wrote: 20 Aug 2019, 22:57
michael_churchill wrote: 20 Aug 2019, 14:41 If it's not one of the 15, I guess you have the option of starting by crossing the river non-rail straight away, with the choices of Westminster, Hungerford (Golden Jubilee) and Waterloo bridges close by.
You do have the option to do this in any case as the rules state you do NOT need to depart the first station by the nominated rail mode straightaway. You can run/catch a bus or depart on a different network to a neighbouring station and visit station 1 legally later in the challenge.

So what is the actual Waterloo station that is in the R15 draw LU of NR?

Re: Random 15 Championship 2019/20: Round 1

Posted: 21 Aug 2019, 10:49
by tangy
Going Underground wrote: 21 Aug 2019, 09:01 So what is the actual Waterloo station that is in the R15 draw LU of NR?
Waterloo (LU) will be the "start station" for R15 generator purposes and be one of the 15 challengers would need to visit.

Re: Random 15 Championship 2019/20: Round 1

Posted: 21 Aug 2019, 15:52
by michael_churchill
tangy wrote: 21 Aug 2019, 10:49
Going Underground wrote: 21 Aug 2019, 09:01 So what is the actual Waterloo station that is in the R15 draw LU of NR?
Waterloo (LU) will be the "start station" for R15 generator purposes and be one of the 15 challengers would need to visit.
What are the chances that Waterloo will turn out to be the ONLY station south of the river in the 15?
That's a rhetorical question - don't bother doing the probability maths!

I can foresee some preparation, drawing all the bridges (/tunnels/ferries) onto the tube map, with bus route numbers!

Stations that are boundary zone 2/3 could come out couldn't they? In which case...

If DLR stations on the Lewisham branch on both sides of the river come out, the Greenwich Foot Tunnel comes into play!

If East Putney comes out, I presume you can only tick it off by heading out of zone 2, towards Southfields. You could get
there by taking the District as far as Putney Bridge, then running/walking over the Thames alongside the railway to East
Putney.
Scrub that, the Wimbleware won't be running. Shame, never done that yet.

Re: Random 15 Championship 2019/20: Round 1

Posted: 21 Aug 2019, 15:59
by michael_churchill
Attending; GU, xcooler123, michael_churchill
parkrun; Catford - GU, xcooler123
Spoons; The London & Rye, Catford - GU, xcooler123

Re: Random 15 Championship 2019/20: Round 1

Posted: 11 Sep 2019, 11:45
by Going Underground
Have a lot of the closures changed now for this date as is showing very different on TFL website?

Re: Random 15 Championship 2019/20: Round 1

Posted: 11 Sep 2019, 11:59
by tangy
Going Underground wrote: 11 Sep 2019, 11:45 Have a lot of the closures changed now for this date as is showing very different on TFL website?
Those were the closures listed on the TfL website when the initial post was made but seems it has changed and the District main line is now unaffected. It is all do with the sub surface re-signalling programme.