Random 15 Championship 2022/23: Round 4

[hopeful traveller]

Well, that was fun.

Upon starting at Vauxhall I went down the escalator, saw Oval and Pimlico on the list, and opted for Oval first. That might have worked a treat had I not had to wait 2 minutes at Vauxhall and a further 3 at Stockwell. As a Surrey member this is a journey I do regularly and I know there's no point running Vauxhall to Oval. Change back up to Victoria, where I saw Tangy, and change onto... well, I was hoping for a District Line, but a Circle Line came instead, so I swapped to the Piccadilly at South Kensington. I could have changed trains at Barons Court but it didn't make much of a difference as I got out at Hammersmith and on to the 295 bus at the bus station.

Which, thanks to QPR vs Watford, crawled around the Shepherd's Bush green and I eventually alighted at Shepherd's Bush station (Central) and went along to Notting Hill Gate. Change for the outer rail but fall behind Tangy and Team Ian, although I don't lose a train as a result. At Paddington the down escalator isn't working so we plonk down the stairs and get a nice change to Warwick Avenue but we have to wait five minutes for a train going back the other way. It's properly rammed, 9/10 on the busy-ness scale, and eventually I change at Piccadilly Circus where I see an indicator board that says "1 Cockfosters 2 mins // 2 Cockfosters 13 mins // 3 Arnos Grove 14 mins". Not sure what that service pattern is about, but it means Tangy and I force ourselves onto the Piccadilly Line, before making another change at Leicester Square with a 3-minute wait for a wrong-branch Northern Line train. I have to endure a crying baby all the way up to Camden Town before changing platform - slightly unnecessarily, as it happens, because the High Barnet train we got on was ex Charing Cross so I might as well have waited at Mornington Crescent instead. One change at Archway later and we (Team Ian re-emerged too) caught a "Kennington via Bank" train, that's a new one for me, and then it's changing at Bank for the eastbound District line. At Mile End there is a Central Line pulling in and in a bit of gamesmanship all three teams end up swapping to the Central Line, before making the change at Stratford for a Jubilee Line train to finish at West Ham.

[tangy]

The results of round 4 of the 2022/23 Random 15 Championship held on Saturday 11th March 2023.

This was a normal round with 15 LU stations to be visited with zones 1 and 2.

The stations were:
--Vauxhall (LU) (meet up/start)
--Mile End
--Warwick Avenue
--Stratford
--Barons Court
--Hammersmith (D&P)
--West Ham
--Oval
--Shepherd's Bush (LU)
--Piccadilly Circus
--Leicester Square
--Goodge Street
--Archway
--Pimlico
--Monument

There was 12 challengers split into 9 teams:

=1st: Peter Smyth- 02:37:34 at Warwick Avenue.
=1st: Andrew Baker and Kevin Brown- 02:37:34 at Warwick Avenue.
=1st: Vincent Karthaus- 02:37:34 at Warwick Avenue.
=1st: Andrew Chilcraft- 02:37:34 at Warwick Avenue.
=5th: Rhys Benjamin- 02:41:46 at West Ham.
=5th: Tangy- 02:41:46 at West Ham.
=5th: Ian McIntyre, Ian Imrie and Michaela Mrockova- 02:41:46 at West Ham.
DSQ: Rob Lomas (14 stations).
DSQ: James Ramsbottom (14 stations).

Both challengers who got DSQ initially declared a time of 02:47:07 finishing at Archway but upon judging their routes I picked up that they did not visit West Ham on a LU train as they arrived on c2c (National Rail) and departed by DLR.

The league table after round 4 looks like this:

1st: Andrew Baker (37 points) [4 rounds attended]
2nd: Kevin Brown (35) [4]
3rd: Andrew Chilcraft (31) [4]
4th: Jenny Sherman (26) [3]
5th: James Ramsbottom (24) [3]
=6th: Vincent Karthaus (23) [3]
=6th: Peter Smyth (23) [3]
8th: Tangy (19) [4]
9th: Rhys Benjamin (16) [2]
=10th: Ian McIntyre (14) [3]
=10th: Ian Imrie (14) [2]
12th: Das Stevens (10) [1]
13th: Richard Standing (9) [2]
14th: Matthew Cook (8) [1]
=15th: Damian Cook (6) [1]
=15th: Izzy Cook (6) [1]
=15th: Katrina (6) [1]
=15th: Eric (6) [1]
=15th: Michaela Mrockova (6) [1]
=20th: Andy JS (5) [2]
=20th: Roland Karthaus (5) [1]
=22nd: Rhys Jackson (3) [1]
=22nd: Nick Gardner (3) [1]
24th: David JS (2) [1]
=25th. Richard Graham (0) [1]
=25th: Robin (0) [1]
=25th: Beau (0) [1]
=25th: Rob Lomas (0) [1]

The next round is scheduled for Saturday 22nd April 2023.

Tangy
The BERC

[Capelblue]

We competed as a team of three, and having seen that Pimlico was on the list we headed down the escalator to catch a northbound train only to see the doors close just as we got there and the train containing a large number of challengers left without us. So we quickly ran to the southbound platform and caught a train to Stockwell along with Tangy and Rhys, where we changed to the Northern Line to Oval, and after considering going straight through to Bank we decided to double back to Stockwell and change back to the Victoria line where we picked up Pimlico and changed at Victoria to the district line, this was where we thought we had parted ways with Tangy and Rhys. The train was held for 3 minutes at Earl's Court to allow trains to even up, this station never seems to be kind ! We quickly picked up Baron's Court and Hammersmith where we headed for the bus station (after a couple of wrong turns, and almost getting on a 220 going the wrong way), and caught a 220 up to Shepherd's Bush Green, and headed to Shepherd's Bush station where we bumped into Tangy and Rhys again, and caught an eastbound Central Line train, and changed to the Circle line at Notting Hill Gate, changing to the Bakerloo line at Paddington and doubling back at Warwick Avenue. We caught the same train as Tangy and Rhys, but in different carriages so surmised correctly that we had different plans and surmised wrongly that we wouldn't see them again until the pub. We passed through Piccadilly Circus and changed at Charing Cross to the Northern Line (big mistake, it's a long change). The Northern Line of course gave us an Edgware train so we waited for the High Barnet train 2 minutes behind and passed through Leicester Square and Goodge Street and headed up to Archway and ran across to the southbound platform bumping into Tangy and Rhys again ! We all took the Kennington via Bank train that came in and ran through to Monument and caught a District line train. As we approached Mile End we decided that if a Central line train was there we would change to try and create some separation, of course there was one there, and all of us did the same thing, so changed to the Jubilee line at Stratford and all completed at West Ham in a time of 2:41:46. I did feel sorry for Tangy because he was easily the fastest running for the changes, but never got the break on the platform to get away from us.

[RJSRdg]

DSQ for Rob and James seems harsh - I would have suggested regarding their 14 stations as "failure to complete" rather than DSQ and giving them joint 8th (and therefore points scoring positions).

[RJSRdg]

Well, that was fun.

Upon starting at Vauxhall I went down the escalator, saw Oval and Pimlico on the list, and opted for Oval first. That might have worked a treat had I not had to wait 2 minutes at Vauxhall and a further 3 at Stockwell. As a Surrey member this is a journey I do regularly and I know there's no point running Vauxhall to Oval.

Running Vauxhall to Oval would have made Vauxhall an invalid visit.

[roblo97]

At the start, I decided to get to the bottom of the escalator at Vauxhall before opening my envelope. I, therefore, decided that a quick trip to Pimlico would be in order to tick that one off. I, along with Kev, A2, Andrew, James, Peter, and Vincent all doubled back to change at Stockwell. After ticking off Oval, Kev and A2 departed us leaving us all making the run from Bank to Monument. From here it was one stop to Tower Hill where Andrew, James and I had a bit of a job trying to get out of the station to go to Fenchurch Street.

Upon getting to Fenchurch Street, there were 4 minutes until the 1300 departure, with there being another at 1307, but there was no platform for the 1300. Andrew decided to run back to Tower Hill, whilst James and I stayed on the train. We then got to West Ham and made the run to the Jubilee Line only to see the next train was in… 8 minutes! Oh, and then we saw Andrew on the DLR platform so ran over to join him on the DLR to Stratford. You can probably see what has gone wrong here!

Anyways, we all ran for the Central Line where we got on a train and then split up, James bailing at Holborn whilst I stayed on to Shepherd’s Bush. After a run for the bus stop over the road, where there was a decent police presence as QPR were playing Watford at home, I got the 295 down to Hammersmith, although given how long the bus took, I think I could’ve run it in about the same time! Still, at least it wasn’t too long to wait for a District Line service to Earl’s Court before changing to another District Line service to Paddington.

After the carnage at Paddington due to the broken escalator and massive crowds, I was pretty lucky to get on a train to Warwick Avenue and double back to Piccadilly Circus, where I had to wait for a train as I wasn’t going to be able to get down the platform in time. I then changed at Leicester Square before making the jaunt up to Archway via Goodge Street as the first Northern Line service was an Edgeware terminator so I changed at Goodge Street only to end up seeing James there as well!

We then went back to Baker Street for a couple of pre-darts beers and I sent the time off to Tangy, only to then find out that neither of us had visited West Ham by Tube… and it was a Tube only round… whoops! It was a very fun day though!!

[Lunaticonthegrass]

DSQ for Rob and James seems harsh - I would have suggested regarding their 14 stations as "failure to complete" rather than DSQ and giving them joint 8th (and therefore points scoring positions).

Seconded, naturally.

Rhys Jackson made exactly the same mistake at Whitechapel in Round 1 of this season, yet still ended up with points. Why is the decision different here?

[EastActionWoman]

DSQ for Rob and James seems harsh - I would have suggested regarding their 14 stations as "failure to complete" rather than DSQ and giving them joint 8th (and therefore points scoring positions).

Agreed, it's an honest mistake not an attempt to cheat. Justice for the West Ham Two!

[hopeful traveller]

Well, that was fun.

Upon starting at Vauxhall I went down the escalator, saw Oval and Pimlico on the list, and opted for Oval first. That might have worked a treat had I not had to wait 2 minutes at Vauxhall and a further 3 at Stockwell. As a Surrey member this is a journey I do regularly and I know there's no point running Vauxhall to Oval.

Running Vauxhall to Oval would have made Vauxhall an invalid visit.

Not if you pick up Vauxhall on the way back, which is what I did. Tangy actually did that run and because we went back up the Victoria he visited Vauxhall fine.

[Capelblue]

DSQ for Rob and James seems harsh - I would have suggested regarding their 14 stations as "failure to complete" rather than DSQ and giving them joint 8th (and therefore points scoring positions).

I agree, it does seem harsh, why not bring in a time penalty for errors such as this and don't disqualify ?

[roblo97]

DSQ for Rob and James seems harsh - I would have suggested regarding their 14 stations as "failure to complete" rather than DSQ and giving them joint 8th (and therefore points scoring positions).

Seconded, naturally.

Rhys Jackson made exactly the same mistake at Whitechapel in Round 1 of this season, yet still ended up with points. Why is the decision different here?

Thirded, also naturally.

I noticed this as well, meaning there has already been a precedent set this season. Not to mention the fact that Rhys had declared what he thought was the second fastest time in Round 1, whereas James and I had set the slowest time of all the participating teams!

[Lunaticonthegrass]

Matters of disqualification aside for a moment, this is what I got up to on Saturday.

The clock in Vauxhall station was running fast, so we waited until it showed 12:32 before starting. I chose envelope first. Should Battersea Power Station and/or Nine Elms come out I wanted to run there from Vauxhall and knock them out first. They didn't come out, so it was through the barriers and down to platforms. Roblo has already covered the next section for me, including the invalid West Ham Gambit. What he didn't mention was that it took the pair of us nearly 25 minutes to get between Tower Hill and West Ham via Fenchurch Street. This might explain why we came last anyway.

Anyway, with VAUXHALL, PIMLICO, OVAL, MONUMENT, WEST HAM and STRATFORD ticked off (or so I thought), we take up the action at Holborn, where I force myself onto a rammed Piccadilly train westbound. The crowds were bad all day, but this train was the worst of the lot. Fortunately it got a little quieter over then next few stops as I passed through PICCADILLY CIRCUS and LEICESTER SQUARE.

At around South Kensington a group of 3 lads, probably late 20's were stood right in front of me and one of them mentioned that there was a record for visiting all the stations on the London Underground. Naturally, I joined the conversation after a while, telling them about my own FNC attempt and what I was doing at that precise moment. I even told about the forum. Lads, if you're reading this - hello!

We kept talking through BARONS COURT until I had to leave them at HAMMERSMITH (D&P). Like everyone else, I then caught a bus (295) to Shepherd's Bush and, like everyone else, it crawled though heavy traffic. It took 15 minutes for me to travel between the 2 stations. I could have almost WALKED it in that time! Finally made it to SHEPHERD'S BUSH and headed east. Changed to the Edgware Road branch at Notting Hill Gate, then to the Bakerloo at Paddington (Praed Street). I did comtemplate the run from Lancaster Gate but decided against it.

A combitation of crowds and the broken down down down escalator at Paddington caused me to miss a train by about 2 seconds. Then a few minutes worrying because no trains were showing on the departure board. But a train turned up after 2 minutes and then I had a near-perfect double back at WARWICK AVENUE. As I hadn't done a proper out-of-station run yet this R15 I decided that I need to do at least one, so ran from Regent's Park to Warren Street and was greeted with a southbound northern train pulling in as I arrived at the platform. Then down one stop to GOODGE STREET where I met Roblo again and we went to finish at ARCHWAY.

My final route was Vauxhall Pimlico Stockwell Bonk/Manument Tower Hill (run) Fenchurch Street (c2c) West Ham (DLR) Stratford Holborn Hammersmith (D&P) (bus) Shepherd's Bush NHG Paddington (Praed Street) Warwick Avenue Regent's Park (Run) Warren Street Goodge Street Archway

He then conviced me to join him in the 'spoons at Baker Street for pre-drinks, so I headed then before we went to the Bricklayers. Then we found out about the mistake we both made and marked our self-defeat with shots at the bar.

[RJSRdg]

DSQ for Rob and James seems harsh - I would have suggested regarding their 14 stations as "failure to complete" rather than DSQ and giving them joint 8th (and therefore points scoring positions).

I agree, it does seem harsh, why not bring in a time penalty for errors such as this and don't disqualify ?

I'm not even sure a penalty is needed - they just count as having completed 14 stations rather than 15.

So anyone who has visited all 15 stations finishes ahead of them, and they compete for places with anyone who only completed 14 before running out of time.

Making an invalid visit is really no different to confusing two stations with similar names.

Of course, if an error is spotted after the competitor arrives at the Bricklayers' but before the four hours is up, they can if they wish to, attempt to complete the visit in the time remaining - I have done this at least once!

[roblo97]

Roblo has already covered the next section for me, including the invalid West Ham Gambit. What he didn't mention was that it took the pair of us nearly 25 minutes to get between Tower Hill and West Ham via Fenchurch Street. This might explain why we came last anyway.

This! It's not like we even gained any time at all! Normally I keep a digital note log of how it's gone on on the day but I forgot to and I'm fairly sure the West Ham Gambit cost us some positions!

He then conviced me to join him in the 'spoons at Baker Street for pre-drinks, so I headed then before we went to the Bricklayers. Then we found out about the mistake we both made and marked our self-defeat with shots at the bar.

Ah yes, the double vodkas of doom

[EastActionWoman]

I've just set up voice recognition on my computer. Hopefully this will be a lot quicker than to trying to type with one hand …

Like many others I would have gone up to Pimlico first, and then doubled back to Stockwell. From there I would take the northern line to London Bridge and then changed to the jubilee line up to Stratford. Central line to mile end and change to the district to monument. Then northern all the way up to archway then back down on the charing cross branch to Leicester Square. A quick change on to the Piccadilly across to Piccadilly circus and then Bakerloo up to Warwick avenue. Another double back to Paddington and change on to circle or district line to notting hill gate. Central line again across to shepherd's bush and a bus down to Hammersmith. And then district or Piccadilly to Baron's Court and finish.

On paper and allowing 15 minutes for the bus journey based on what others have said about the traffic it looks like that would take about 2 1/2 hours. Obviously there's no way of knowing if that would have worked in practice it was fun to try to work it out.