Summary of attempt no.9 on Wed 14 Aug 2024

[Alan White]

To keep the forum up to date, here's a brief summary of my latest FNC attempt.

This was my fourth successful completion.
Started Upminster 05:08:52, finished Amersham at 23:56:44 for a time of 18:47:52.

After three successes starting at Heathrow I wanted to try something different and, following a passing reference on this forum and working out how to get to Upminster for an early start, I thought this route was worth a try. This gets the long, boring District line out of the way early, saves the c2c trip and the reverse at Richmond, but at the expense of having to get from Richmond and then round Heathrow.

All in all, the route worked well and could have been near my personal best were it not for the Piccadilly line failing to run two consecutive trains to T4 and the next being 5 minutes late resulting in no trains to T4 for 30 minutes. I improvised by going to T5 first, arriving back at Hatton Cross just in time for the rare T4 train. I was pleasantly surprised at how little extra time that detour cost me: because the T4 train was late arriving but left more or less on time then the usual ~8 minutes dwell didn't happen.

Similarly, there was a curious absence of trains at Uxbridge, the one I'd arrived on now out of service, so I tried the U1 bus from just outside the station direct to West Ruislip. This worked well and of course saves the usual walk from Ickenham.

Later, I missed a Watford train by seconds at North Harrow, losing the 15 minutes I'd gained during the day.

I'll try this route again, as soon as my foot recovers from an attack of gout I picked up since this challenge attempt.

Cheers & good luck to all.

[mango]

Hi Alan,

Great write up. How was the transfer from Richmond to Heathrow? The out-and-back to Richmond never seemed too bad to me, especially if you get out at Gunnersbury and hot foot it to Chiswick, but if it's conveinent/fast to get to Heathrow from Richmond then it opens up more possibilies.

[Alan White]

Hi mango,

The transfer from Richmond isn't great, to be honest. Because of the infrequent SWR trains the arrival at Richmond needs to be carefully timed to avoid a long wait; then you have to be lucky with the buses. On my recent trip SWR was 5 minutes late, then I waited 5 minutes for a bus (I walked up to the next stop because it gives more options).

Arriving at Hatton Cross, there's then the option of bussing to T4 if you've just missed a Pic as you can catch it at T4 during the long dwell time. And use the conveniently-located loo at T4 as you pass.

For me, the reversal at Richmond always costs me time. First there's the wait for the District/LO out. Then I can't run to Chiswick Park in time to catch the annoyingly timed Ealing Broadway District so I always end up waiting there or Turnham Green for ~8 minutes. It's for this reason that I wanted to try Richmond-Feltham-Hatton Cross.

All in all, swings and roundabouts, I think.

[SlimZaidi]

Hi Alan,

Thanks for sharing your experience—this was a great read! I’m new to the tube challenge community, and I’m hoping you can point me in the right direction for a couple of things.

Firstly, you mentioned starting at Heathrow, but I haven’t been able to find any routes beginning there. All I found was that Telegraph article, which doesn’t even mention White City, let alone Nine Elms or Battersea Power Station. Could you recommend any resources for a Heathrow-based route?

Secondly, I’ve read that many people plan their specific trains in advance by using a schedule. However, I can’t seem to find a schedule to use for planning. Could you let me know where I might find one for a particular day?

Thanks so much for any help! I’m excited to dive deeper into tube challenges.

[Alan White]

Hi, SlimZaidi, and welcome to the community.

While there are some published routes for the challenge (e.g. the Labyrinth), a big part of the fun is working out a route which suits your own preferences and ability.

Heathrow is a common starting point, as is Chesham or Amersham, because they're long dead-ends. As is Upminster, which is why I wanted to try starting there. There are also some commonly-used parts such as the bus from Canons Park to Edgware, and West Ruislip to Ickenham. The important thing is that you learn the way around and test it out.

The answer to your second question is a little easier: the working timetables are at
https://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/publicatio ... timetables
These are invaluable for seeing where trains are supposed to be, especially at the beginning and end of the day when timing might be critical.

Do be aware that the Met and Pic are currently running the leaf-fall timetable. Wait until January when the usual timetables are reinstated on the website.

Hope that helps. Good luck!

[Golf]

UPMINSTER is probably the most earliest start of all the end of lines unless you go for a weird one at 04:40

echo the wtt the reason most people start at HEATHROW T4 is quite simply KENSINGTON OLYMPIA.

its funny how we dont hear about more attempts these days seeing as there seems to be a new wave of tube challengers?

[SlimZaidi]

Thanks a lot Alan! I definitely plan on exploring and seeing what works best for me. What I'm trying to figure out is a starting point though. I've heard many people say that the Labyrinth route has been published, I'm not sure what they are referring to (maybe I just haven't been able to find it) so could you kindly let me know where it has been published? I've scoured this forum but can't find it here.

While there are some published routes for the challenge (e.g. the Labyrinth)

[Alan White]

I use the term loosely. The easiest way to see the route is at https://art.tfl.gov.uk/labyrinth/tube-challenge/
Each plaque has its own number, listed at https://art.tfl.gov.uk/labyrinth

Two things to bear in mind:
Nine Elms and Battersea Power Station do now have labyrinth art but obviously not in a meaningful sequence;
the service to Olympia no longer enables the route taken in 2009 so you'll need to modify accordingly.