How many tube stations have you visited?

[tubeguru]

I came up with a set of rules for it ... let me see if I can find them somewhere.

[tubeguru]

Ah, found them.

Right ...

=====================

1. The challenge is to visit all 274 (Shoreditch is closed) London Underground stations by private transport (for which a fare is not payable).

2. To count a station as a visit you must take a picture of either:

i) a roundel showing the station name

ii) any other sign showing the station name WHICH IS ATTACHED TO THE
STATION BUILDING (street signs pointing to the station from ANY
distance away are NOT allowed).

iii) something which clearly identifies the station as being a
particular station (with no chance of ambiguity) in the absence of all
other identification (Heathrow T4, for example, may not be plastered with Underground signs on the outside).

If there is no way of identifying the station from the outside,
challengers should proceed inside the station if they can to get
photographic evidence. When such a station is closed challengers will
need to search any exterior building for positive identification of a
station. Local landmarks will only count as evidence if no other clue
to the station's identity can be found. Remember, NO SIGNS ARE ALLOWED IF THEY ARE NOT ATTACHED TO THE STATION BUILDING.

The distance you take the picture from is of no object so long as the
station can be clearly indentified. If a station cannot be identified
in a photograph then the whole challenge will be declared void. Challengers should ensure each photograph is clear and not blurred. For this reason challengers are advised to use digital cameras. Challengers
are also advised to not zoom in too far with the pictures so as to
confirm that the sign in the picture is indeed attached to the station
in question.

3. You may not use public transport in any way. Only privately-owned
transport DRIVEN BY A NOMINATED DRIVER is allowed and you must use the same vehicle for the entire challenge. If your vehicle becomes
undriveable for any reason the challenge is over. Reasons include
(but are not limited to): terminal breakdown, driving off a cliff,
being T-boned by a 20-ton truck, and taking off over speed bumps one
time too many.

To be clear, the following are forbidden: trains (all varieties),
buses (unless owned privately by the challengers and no fares taken), trams, taxis (see buses and WITHOUT the meter running), bikes (manual and powered), skateboards, space hoppers, scooters, Segways, those shop-mobile things old people drive and any other vehicle which could not feasibly be classed as a "car", "van", "truck" or similar. A photograph of the vehicle being used may be requested by the adjudicators if there is
any doubt.

To be even clearer: challengers may only use ONE vehicle throughout the challenge.

4. A number of different drivers may take turns driving the vehicle
being used for the challenge, and the amount of time you waste fannying about changing drivers is your problem.

HOWEVER, a driver may only be used during the challenge if he/she has been "nominated" before the challenge begins. A nominated driver does not have to be in the car at the start of the challenge - they may join and leave as required, and each nominated driver may drive as many "stints" as they like.

If all the nominated drivers die or suffer serious injury during the challenge then the challenge is over. Drivers other than those nominated may NOT be used once the challenge has started, no matter what the reason for a driver's removal from the challenge.

5. Whilst we do not condone bad or dangerous driving, there is no need
to stick to the speed limits - the speed you travel at is entirely up
to you but the challenge will be delayed if you are arrested for
dangerous driving or if you end up rolling sideways down an embankment
due to loss of control of your vehicle. Similarly, any speeding
tickets or parking fines picked up during the challenge will be the
responsibility of the registered owner of the vehicle being used, or
the person driving at the time (whichever the law deems to be
responsible).

6. There is no strict requirement to supply evidence of the route you
have taken to visit all the stations as you will be submitting photos
of all of the stations anyway. Photos should possess a date stamp to
prove they were all taken on the same day (although in the case of a
challenge starting on one day and finishing on another, the dates
would need to be consecutive. In such cases evidence of your route
between 11pm and 1am would help prove your whereabouts when the day changes).

7. At no time shall anyone in the vehicle say "are we nearly there yet?"

8. At the start of the challenge a picture will be taken of the first
station. The timer will start AT THE EXACT POINT this picture is
taken. A master stopwatch may also be used by someone not involved in
the challenge, who may act as an independent witness if required.
This person will need to be present at both the start AND the finish
stations and may NOT drive the vehicle at any point.

The master stopwatch holder may NOT be a nominated driver and vice versa.

9. The challenge ends AT THE EXACT MOMENT that a picture is taken of
the 275th and final station. Challengers should not be temped to rush
this last shot by taking a picture from several hundred yards away.
Please remember that each station must be CLEARLY IDENTIFIABLE (see
rule 2).

10. Should any challenger or nominated driver be arrested under the Prevention of Terrorism Act for taking pictures of stations, they may NOT be replaced (see rule 4). Bonus points are awarded if a member of LU staff mentions "the current climate" when pictures are being taken.

CLOSED STATIONS
=============

Stations that are closed for ANY reason still have to be visited. If it's on the Underground network, and has reasonable access must be photographed. In the case of Heathrow T4, challengers should drive there and venture in the station for the picture (see rule 2).

JUST BECAUSE THE STATION IS CLOSED TO THE TUBE TRAINS, DOESN'T MEAN YOU CAN'T GET TO IT BY CAR. Only stations which are physically impossible to get within photographic range of are deemed to be unnecessary for the challenge (and I can't think of any off the top of my head).

Shoreditch is no longer a London Underground station and does NOT have to be visited and photographed.

That'll do for now ...

[Starkey7]

You can do about 40 a day. I started in July 2001 and finished in February 2005. I guess it must have been about four to five visits to London.

What do you do at each station? Do you whizz out of the station and then back in immediately, or do you take some time to explore the local area? For example, at Kenton you might want to go and spend some time in the local Sainsbury's supermarket, or at Latimer Road you could spend an enjoyable half hour admiring the many 1960s-style blocks of flats.

I feel another alternative challenge coming on here.

Don't give him ideas, Beary...

[Going Underground]

Not a very comprehensive set of rules then Neil.......

[geofftech]

I did have a plan to do this this year. But then America came calling, dammit. Otherwise it would have happened.

I think the rules we came up with were:

Must observe speed limits at all times.
To 'do' a station, you must a picture of the outside of the station, with the roundel or name of the station clearly visible.

Er, that's it.

Shoreditch would have to be done, natch ...

[tubeguru]

Shoreditch would have to be done, natch ...

But not now

[Sillert, V.I.]

Trying to work out what consitiutes a "visit" is a nightmare.

Here's one simple idea. A station may only be counted as "visited" if the following two conditions have been met.


1. You arrived at and/or departed from the station on a train

AND

2. If you arrived by train, you did not depart from the station on the same train.

[Starkey7]

So, let's suppose that I'm coming along the Piccadilly line from Rayners Lane. Then I realise that I've left my bag at home. I'm approaching Knightsbridge, so I get out there and get the next westbound Piccadilly line home.
I've met those two conditions, but have I really visited Knightsbridge?

[Sillert, V.I.]

As I said, it's a nightmare once you start to think about it.

In that example, you've at least got out of the train & walked between the platforms, so it seems to me that's more than a simple pass through. But you haven't used the escalators, gone through the barriers, or ventured above ground, so there's still lots more of the station you could have visited.

So - just how much of the station do you need to have visited before it counts as a 'visit'.

To illustrate how silly this can get, if we have to visit ALL the areas of the station normally accessible to the public, do we have to do BOTH toilets?

[Starkey7]

I'd suggest passing through the ticket barriers once and only once. That constitutes a visit.

[Sillert, V.I.]

so - if I take a train to Knightsbridge, exit through the barriers, & go shopping in Harrods - then I have to start my return journey from a different station, or my visit doesn't count?

[Beary]

What do you do at each station? Do you whizz out of the station and then back in immediately, or do you take some time to explore the local area? For example, at Kenton you might want to go and spend some time in the local Sainsbury's supermarket, or at Latimer Road you could spend an enjoyable half hour admiring the many 1960s-style blocks of flats.

That depends, sometimes I have a look around the area (especially when I'm hungry), but most of the time it's just going out the barriers, take some pictures of the station building, go back inside, take pictures of the platforms and anything that might be interesting such as the bronze uplighters at Southgate or old signs or whatever and off to the next station.

[Starkey7]

Well, you must have quite a collection of pictures, then! I am most impressed that you've visited all 275 of them. May I ask what the picture that you have as your "avatar" is of?

(Hmmm that sentence sounds seriously clumsy but I can't word it any other way!)

My revised definition of "visiting a station": getting off or getting on a train there, and passing through the barriers at least once, and standing outside (ie outside the barriers and also not under some roof), all in three minutes.

The time limit is there just in case some bloody-minded person went to Covent Garden by train, went out of the barriers and immediately back in again, took the train to Leicester Square and walked from there back to the outside of Covent Garden station!

[Dr Who]

My revised definition of "visiting a station": getting off or getting on a train there, and passing through the barriers at least once, and standing outside (ie outside the barriers and also not under some roof), all in three minutes.

The time limit is there just in case some bloody-minded person went to Covent Garden by train, went out of the barriers and immediately back in again, took the train to Leicester Square and walked from there back to the outside of Covent Garden station!

What is the time limit after exiting a station before you can re-enter again?
On a recent Z1 I left Earls Court to get some water, spent a few minutes outside and then was denied platform access at the barriers...

[Going Underground]

I had a similiar "timed out" incident at Lancaster Gate on a Z1, is Starkey saying that you cannot re-enter the same station barriers within 3 mins?

I was sure that it seemed longer than 3 mins at Lancaster Gate