tubechallenge.com

I see Geoff has now come up with a new mini-Challenge:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSr_-I1mPrU&t

Seems a nice one as it stays well clear of Zone 1 (indeed of being 'Underground' at all) so hopefully less crowded trains and stations.

Might think of giving this one a go, especially since Geoff got caught out!

Definitely one for the East Act(i)on Woman!

So - I made even more of a mess of it than Geoff did! I struggled to even get to my starting station, then got lost on an OSI that resulted in my missing not one but two Overground trains. To cap it all, I forgot to stop the watch at the final station. Watch stopped on 1:16:29 although I was probably in reality under 1:15 and had I not got lost could possibly have managed it in under 45 minutes.

Some horrible pelican crossings and getting held up at a level crossing didn't help either!

I'd been hoping that we got East Acton in an R15 while the platform work was carrying on. Though it might catch a few people out

Stress fracture in my foot has (finally) healed, so looking for a few gentle challenges to do to start getting back into things. This one looks perfect for me! Will try to avoid the Acton Central level crossing (got stuck there a number of times when cycling).

48:07 yesterday lunchtime from East Acton to Acton Town - third time lucky after a couple of recent attempts either side of the hour.

Work commitments necessitated a lunchtime attempt, which fortunately allowed earlier Overground problems to clear. After checking live data for Central, TfL Rail, Overground and District services, and gazing across at the dismantled eastbound platform, I started from East Acton [1] at 121754.

A straightforward run stopping at North Acton [2] and West Acton [3] got me to Ealing Broadway with five minutes to stroll across to the adjacent platform - suboptimal timing but it saved any worrying and was the last option for that half hourly slot anyway. This gave me time to walk along the platform, although walkthrough carriages don't make this vital. The Paddington train arrived slightly early and the doors closed 30 seconds before departure at 1231,

A short fast run to Acton Main Line [4] saw me positioned perfectly for the modern staircase and exit and then it was over the zebra crossing and my trademark brisk walk following a simple zigzag route to Acton Central [5]. Knowing I had about three minutes contingency made the 12 minute walk quite enjoyable and I especially liked the final stretch with the station and level crossing lights/traffic in sight. A northbound Overground service cleared the crossing with perfect timing enabling me to cross on the flat and comfortably walk up to the front of the southbound platform ready for the 1248 to Richmond.

A northbound freight train provided passing interest on the two minute run to South Acton [6], where positioning at the front saw an easy exit ready for a brisk walk to Chiswick Park. On a previous attempt, I had briefly been unnerved about how far the station must be when a train sped across the bridge near CP ... until I had realised that it was on the Piccadilly line. I reached the westbound platform at Chiswick Park within ten minutes, with a five minute wait for the District line service to Ealing Broadway, arriving at Acton Town [7] at 130601.

I'm very happy with that. A tighter connection at Ealing Broadway is obviously possible if you're willing to wait around (potentially for hours) before starting, and to a certain extent the exact Chiswick Park timing is in the lap of the gods when starting three quarters of an hour earlier. South Acton to Acton Town is a slightly longer option, but would give three potential connections for one stop to a nearby station. I'm not sure how much buses would have helped in practice for my route. Plus there is also the option to run rather than merely walk briskly...

Nice time and run DavidC! That's the route I would have used too. I'm not sure if it's possible to get a quicker change at Ealing Broadway unless you can wait for a slightly delayed Central Line train. I'll have to keep an eye on the departure boards if I want to beat it

Its interesting that the original video was such a fail good to know even the famous get it wrong in the words of nelson muntz haw haw!

Golf wrote: ↑31 Oct 2021, 21:20 Its interesting that the original video was such a fail good to know even the famous get it wrong in the words of nelson muntz haw haw!

Yeah, I can't figure out if he already knew that the eastbound platform was out of action and hammed it up for the video or if he genuinely failed. It's pretty clear on the TfL site that there's a problem with East Acton station at the moment, so I would have thought he'd have done his research.

Or he realised his mistake off camera, and had to do record his reaction again so the narrative of the story made sense.

Sent from my SM-A530F using Tapatalk

Checked the WTT for the Central Line and found a train arriving at Ealing Broadway platform 5 this morning at 9.00. Perfect for a quick interchange. Just checked TfL Rail and realised that on Sundays the Acton Main Line stop is only served after 10.00. And as a special treat for today, the Ealing to Paddington service is departing from platform 2 (not 4), so would involve crossing over the bridge. Thought about doing it anyway but with a train giving a couple of minutes interchange time, then found this note on the TfL page:

TFL RAIL: Sunday 7 November, a reduced frequency, four trains an hour, operates all day between Paddington and Hayes & Harlington. Trains will not call at Acton Main Line...

So, I shall give up today and try tomorrow as it's my day off. I think there's a 6.51 from East Acton which would give me a couple of minutes to change at Ealing Broadway. The walks between Acton Main Line/Acton Central and South Acton/Chiswick Park will be tight but will be a good test of how well my physio has been going.

Edit: Found a better option for my current state of fitness:

East Acton d. 9.51ish
Ealing Broadway a. 9.58 (and 1/4) d. 10.01
Acton Main Line a. 10.04
Acton Central d. 10.20 (on my recce it took me 14 1/2 minutes to do the interchange, so this makes it comfortable)
South Acton a. 10.23
Chiswick Park d. 10.32
Acton Town a. 10.34

Also means I don't have to get up at the crack of dawn

Look forward to hearing how it went - I now know that my normal level of fitness is similar to someone with a recently-healed stress fracture!

Screwed by the District Line

Everything went as scheduled but the District Line train at 10.32 didn't exist. I'll check if I read the WTT wrong. According to the indicator board, there was one due at 10.38 which would have meant finishing in 52 minutes (as the train from East Acton ran a couple of minutes early). Unfortunately, that train just went straight through Chiswick Park without stopping. Even the guy who worked in the station was surprised - said there hadn't been anything on the radio about it. This is the point I gave up and headed east to Earls Court instead for an appointment.

David - I think your brisk walk is still quicker than my brisk limp However, the TfL service does seem to run a little early so I think that maybe I can make the Acton Central connection for the trains that normally call there at x.17. Will have to try another day.

The district line has been up the wall all day so many Dagenham East terminators not going all the way to Upminster due to late running

Looks like I need to add this challenge onto Explorer Ticket/Top Times!!

tangy wrote: ↑14 Nov 2021, 17:35 Looks like I need to add this challenge onto Explorer Ticket/Top Times!!

Yes please!