New Challenge Idea - Escalator Challenge

[Iain]

This is a bit mad but it appeals to the completist in me. How about a challenge to ride all the escalators on the London Underground in the quickest possible time?

Does anyone have a list of all stations with escalators?

[tubeguru]

This forum is descending into farce.

[RobbieM]

Hmmm - appeals to my mad side. A few questions:

• Does this only apply to escalators which are within the barriers, or do escalators down to the ticket halls count?
  
  Where there are bi-directional escalators, do they have to be travelled both ways?
  
  Is it acceptable to run down an 'up' escalator or vice versa?

Then we can extend it to lifts - perhaps you don't have to travel the whole length of each shaft, but must start, terminate, or stop at every floor on each lift on the system...

I like it!

[tubeguru]

What happens at a station where an escalator is out of service for maintenance? Why am I even ASKING this?

[Iain]

I'm open to whatever people think would make a good set of rules, but FWIW here's my thoughts:

- I was originally thinking just escalators within the barriers
- travelling both directions on a bi-directional escaltor could get tricky, so perhaps just whatever you can do when you visit that station (rather than coming back later to do the reverse). What if an escalator is switched off in quieter periods so there's just one up and one down? - I'd suggest just doing what's there to do - maybe it's good planning (or all paqrt of the luck) to get there at a time when you have only two to do instead of three
- while it wouldn't be quite even handed, I suspect the number of escalators out of use for maintenance is small compared to the total number so wouldn't have a huge effect on the overall time. It sounds easier than having a run spoilt because an escalator suddenly goes out of use

[Sam]

Oh my god...

[greatkingrat]

I believe it is booked for your next day off.

[tractakid]

I can't see myself going for this one, haha.

[Cheshire Cat]

There are apparently 115 escalators on the Jubilee extension alone, which I understand to be a little under a third of the total on the whole system. I don't know what the total figure is, or how many lie outside the gate line.

Riding up and down escalators, or transferring from one platform to another without actually getting on a train, seems likely to attract some unwelcome official attention. Maybe the aim of the challenge should be to see how many escalators you can ride before being arrested?

[Rhys1995]

This sounds hilarious! Count me in and Neil, lighten up will you?

[Going Underground]

I will have to pass on this one, my knee feels twinges on escalators during normal challenges so a whole one devoted to this wouldn't be great for that!

[tractakid]

For me, escalators and stairs are a necessary evil when challenging!

[The Raven]

I used to be a Tube-challenger like you but then I took an escalator to the knee!

[Iain]

My orthopaedic doc warned me off cycling uphill so he probably wouldn't be keen on this!

I don't think I'd want to get arrested; not sure what I could be charged with exactly