101 things to do on the tube before you die

[al]

You can't avoid the shopping centre at Hammersmith though, whereas the Boots/University examples are optional to save time. You'll start counting the terminal buildings at T4 or T5 next!

[tubeguru]

Do a run between Tube stations that involves going through another building.

As Hammersmith (Piccadilly) station is within a shopping centre, does a run between the two Hammersmiths count?

How about between the two Paddingtons? Not a run I've (yet) done but I'm guessing it involves going through the main line station.

Yep - along platform 8.

[michael_churchill]

Do a run between Tube stations that involves going through another building.

As Hammersmith (Piccadilly) station is within a shopping centre, does a run between the two Hammersmiths count?

How about between the two Paddingtons? Not a run I've (yet) done but I'm guessing it involves going through the main line station.

Yep - along platform 8.

Huh! Platform 8? How?
What have I been missing?

I've always gone round the outside - through the taxi area, down the escalator, past the lost property and, if you want the Bakerloo, in the underground entrance just before the bottom of the access road ramp.

Are there no ticket barriers on Platform 8?

[stepneygreen05]

I think so if I am not mistaken, but they may have installed them

[Steeevooo]

I appreciate that it may not necessarily be up to date, but here is a plan of Paddington station: https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/stations ... ation-plan

[michael_churchill]

Ah, via the bridge. I've never explored that because I assumed I'd face ticket barriers. If you want the District line, and the entrance in front of the "Lawn", that may be more direct, possibly less crowded. You could say that Paddington effectively has three underground stations, as shown by three blobs on the tube map, with only the H&C blob in the middle considered separate for challenge purposes.

[tubeguru]

Do a run between Tube stations that involves going through another building.

As Hammersmith (Piccadilly) station is within a shopping centre, does a run between the two Hammersmiths count?

How about between the two Paddingtons? Not a run I've (yet) done but I'm guessing it involves going through the main line station.

Yep - along platform 8.

Huh! Platform 8? How?
What have I been missing?

I've always gone round the outside - through the taxi area, down the escalator, past the lost property and, if you want the Bakerloo, in the underground entrance just before the bottom of the access road ramp.

Are there no ticket barriers on Platform 8?

I am at Paddington station regularly, and so far as I know there are no barriers between the exit from the tube into the mainline station and platform 8. Nor are there any at the top of the ramp leading up from the platform to the H&C access.

Having said that, there may be barriers that I don't know about towards the H&C station. I haven't been around that part of the station for a couple of years now.

[EastActionWoman]

Definitely no barriers on platform 8 - I've used this route a few times in R15 and zone 1 challenges (pre-Covid).

Last year they closed the Bakerloo line entrance at the bottom of the access ramp at weekends as they're building a new ticket hall. I don't know if they completed the work as I can't find anything online about it. When it was closed I did the taxi rank route, but instead of going down the escalator, carried on straight outside along London Street to the Praed Street entrance.

[tubeguru]

Definitely no barriers on platform 8

I knew I wasn't going mad. I drove a train into platform 8 the other week, and I certainly saw people walking freely in and out of the end of it.

[RJSRdg]

Definitely no barriers on platform 8 - I've used this route a few times in R15 and zone 1 challenges (pre-Covid).

Last year they closed the Bakerloo line entrance at the bottom of the access ramp at weekends as they're building a new ticket hall. I don't know if they completed the work as I can't find anything online about it. When it was closed I did the taxi rank route, but instead of going down the escalator, carried on straight outside along London Street to the Praed Street entrance.

Just spotted that exit now and thought I'd found something new

I reckon depending on time of day that might be quicker than going through the subway under the hotel, especially if heading for the southbound District platforms.


Of course, there was the famous time on a Z1 challenge when two challengers did the same route as far as Edgware Road (Bakerloo), and both ran to Edgware Road subsurface. One caught a District Line train to Praed Street, the other a H&C to Bishop's Road. They then ran through the main line station passing each other by Burger King, caught trains back to Edgware Road (subsurface) then travelled together for the rest of the Challenge!

[tangy]

One that immediately springs to mind:

Ride a Walthamstow bound train through Seven Sisters platform 4.

Platform 4 is usually used for terminating Seven Sisters trains from the south and there are a few early morning departures (despite the signage to the contrary) towards Walthamstow.

However what is rare is being on a through Brixton- Walthamstow train routed via platform 4, there are none officially scheduled to do this but the facility exists to do so if needed. I have done so when a previous Walthamstow train had technical issues in platform 3 (believe a faulty set of doors) and thus subsequent Walthamstow trains (one of which I was on) were routed via platform 4 to overtake!

[tangy]

How about being on a train that traverses the Woodford loop (I do not mean the Woodford via Hainault trains but the piece of track these trains usually reverse on just south of Woodford station- road 21 in LU parlance).

It is not a siding as there are crossovers at both ends for it to be used as a loop (as intended) rather than just a turnback facility for the Woodford- Hainault shuttle.

Any train to/from Woodford bay platform 1 has to traverse the loop as that is the only way into and out of it (there is currently one late night train scheduled to do this). However it is possible to do the full loop from the main running lines.

If engineering works close the line north of Woodford towards Epping, passenger trains reverse in platforms 1 (as above) and platform 3. Due to signalling constraints, any departure south from platform 3 has to cross from the N/B line to the S/B line then travel through the loop (21 road) to regain the S/B line by Broadmead Road overbridge!

[tangy]

Another two I thought of:

--A Piccadilly line train to Ealing Broadway (it has been done when the District has been closed for works plus the current stock does have Ealing Broadway programmed in on the destination blind and on the tannoy announcements).

--Ride a Piccadilly line train on the eastbound slow/local line between Northfields and Acton Town (this is often used as a test track but is available for normal passengers trains to use)

[RobbieM]

One from me:

Have your FNC attempt thwarted by having to stop en-route to give emergency first aid to a member of the public.

This is what almost happened to me on my on-and-only FNC many years back. It was a double-back at Barbican (in the rush hour - why?!) Whilst we were about to run over the bridge, a member of the public had collapsed nearby. We hesitated for a few moments, wondering if it would fall to us to do something, but fortunately, someone else was quickly on scene, equipped to deal with the incident, so we could continue.

We lost about 30 seconds due to this, which meant we missed the intended train to Baker St. We caught the next one 2 minutes later, but when I calculate the knock-on effect of this delay, (including trouble at Olympia later), I think it probably added about half an hour to our final time. (But at least we completed, which is all we were hoping for on that occasion!)

[The Orange One]

Get a direct train from Baker Street to Ealing Common.