Rail challenges

[Andy1066]

Anyone know of any railway challenges such as Pilning Scramble and Slam Dunk , or world record travelling the tube or that kinda thing?

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Anyone know of any railway challenges such as Pilning Scramble and Slam Dunk , or world record travelling the tube or that kinda thing?

The Tube Challenge is well established: travelling the whole tube map, calling at (but not necessarily alighting at) all stations. Geoff Marshall of All The Stations fame has held the record multiple times, I believe.

 

[Requeststop]

In my very lonely rail-less world out here in PNG, I look at some fantasy challenges such as:
Covering all Cornish lines passenger lines from Plymouth - Gunnislake down to Penzance including Looe, Newquay, Falmouth and St. Ives branches, in the fastest time.

Penzance - Wick - Penzance (avoiding London) also in the fastest time. The Equivalent by rail of Lands End-John O'Groats and back, or vice versa. In the early 2000's it was possible to do Penzance-Wick in a day. routing was Penzance-Birmingham New Street-Inverness-Wick. The Brum-Inverness run was via Mossend diversion. The return Wick-Penzance has never been possible within a day as far as I have ever been able to work out.

 

[37038]

As far as I can tell, it's only southbound WCK-PNZ that can be done within a 24 hour period and not necessarily within the same day

 

[WessexBus Info]

The Tube Challenge is well established: travelling the whole tube map, calling at (but not necessarily alighting at) all stations. Geoff Marshall of All The Stations fame has held the record multiple times, I believe.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

In my very lonely rail-less world out here in PNG, I look at some fantasy challenges such as:
Covering all Cornish lines passenger lines from Plymouth - Gunnislake down to Penzance including Looe, Newquay, Falmouth and St. Ives branches, in the fastest time.

Penzance - Wick - Penzance (avoiding London) also in the fastest time. The Equivalent by rail of Lands End-John O'Groats and back, or vice versa. In the early 2000's it was possible to do Penzance-Wick in a day. routing was Penzance-Birmingham New Street-Inverness-Wick. The Brum-Inverness run was via Mossend diversion. The return Wick-Penzance has never been possible within a day as far as I have ever been able to work out.

In June 2010 I did Land's End to John O'Groats and back by train via London in 49 hours and 49 minutes, with taxis for the non-rail bits. That timing is measured from the gate at Land's End to the signpost at Groats and back to the gate at Land's End.

My time can be beaten if anyone wants to try it via Birmingham as that would allow a later departure from Penzance - and hence from Land's End - on the way out and an earlier arrival on the way back. It would, however, mean two nights on the trot with less sleep as it would mean connecting at Crewe on and off the Inverness Sleeper instead of being able to board and disembark at Euston.

So that's one thing you could try.


In September 2014, I did the Sleeper Train Challenge - this involves doing all six Sleeper destinations from London on consecutive nights, so it's rather more awkward to plan. As far as I am aware, nobody has yet done this the other way round, i.e. doing all the Sleepers to London on consecutive nights, so that's something you could try - doing it in reverse I would advise starting from Fort William for the same reasons that I did that last when doing it on the from London direction... namely that it's the most awkward one to make the connections with.

http://www.epsomguardian.co.uk/news...s_all_over_the_country_for_charity_challenge/

A train and transport enthusiast has travelled 5,500 miles all over the country - the distance from the UK to Asia - in a week to raise money for charity.

Peter Mugridge, from Epsom, had the idea of completing the Sleeper Challenge, which had not previously been done for charity, and pitched it to the train companies involved.

Over seven days last month, Mr Mugridge, who became deaf at the age of five, completed the trip on all six British sleeper services - trains which accommodate all passengers in beds for overnight journeys.

The journeys saw Mr Mugridge travelling to Penzance, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Fort William, Inverness and Aberdeen.

After each outward journey by sleeper, the first of which started from Epsom, he raced back to London on a day-time train to complete another sleeper service the following evening.

 

[Kite159]

In September 2014, I did the Sleeper Train Challenge - this involves doing all six Sleeper destinations from London on consecutive nights, so it's rather more awkward to plan. As far as I am aware, nobody has yet done this the other way round, i.e. doing all the Sleepers to London on consecutive nights, so that's something you could try - doing it in reverse I would advise starting from Fort William for the same reasons that I did that last when doing it on the from London direction... namely that it's the most awkward one to make the connections with.

Agreed with starting from Fort William, the only way I can see someone can reach Fort William (by train) is catching the 07:30 Euston - Glasgow Central, which gives an unofficial 22 minute connection to get across to Queen Street for the 12:21 West Highland Line service. And to use the 07:30 you would have needed to been on the Lowlander and hope it isn't delayed [as that is only 23 minutes].

If I was planning something like that I would probably do something like (using the morning peak restrictions on an ALR)

Fort William - Euston - Inverness (10:00 Aberdeen HST, changing at Edinburgh for a Perth service then for an Inverness service, gives a more comfortable connection at Inverness compared to the direct HST) - Euston - Aberdeen (10:00 Kings Cross - Aberdeen HST) - Euston - Glasgow/Edinburgh - Euston - Glasgow/Edinburgh - Euston - Paddington - Penzance - Paddington.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

Agreed with starting from Fort William, the only way I can see someone can reach Fort William (by train) is catching the 07:30 Euston - Glasgow Central, which gives an unofficial 22 minute connection to get across to Queen Street for the 12:21 West Highland Line service. And to use the 07:30 you would have needed to been on the Lowlander and hope it isn't delayed [as that is only 23 minutes].

Indeed, and as the challenge would be to do all the Sleepers into London consecutively, the other advantage of a Fort William start would be that you could travel up there a couple of days earlier and enjoy the area as well as giving yourself a strong timing margin for that first Sleeper of the plan.

The key to the whole thing would be to ensure that you don't have any tight connections into any of the Sleepers.

 

[Kite159]

Indeed, and as the challenge would be to do all the Sleepers into London consecutively, the other advantage of a Fort William start would be that you could travel up there a couple of days earlier and enjoy the area as well as giving yourself a strong timing margin for that first Sleeper of the plan.

The key to the whole thing would be to ensure that you don't have any tight connections into any of the Sleepers.

And not collapsing at the end of it due to lack of sleep (not sure if any "by the hour" hotels exist in London, as you could probably use one on the days where you only have to travel to Glasgow or Edinburgh for the lowlander. Certainly an interesting idea using an ALR

 

[Peter Mugridge]

And not collapsing at the end of it due to lack of sleep (not sure if any "by the hour" hotels exist in London, as you could probably use one on the days where you only have to travel to Glasgow or Edinburgh for the lowlander. Certainly an interesting idea using an ALR

Believe me, when I did it on the Sleepers from London I was getting more sleep and higher quality sleep for those six nights than I normally do at home. Finished the week thoroughly relaxed. Didn't nod off once on any of the daytime trains back to London.

 

[Kite159]

Believe me, when I did it on the Sleepers from London I was getting more sleep and higher quality sleep for those six nights than I normally do at home. Finished the week thoroughly relaxed. Didn't nod off once on any of the daytime trains back to London.

I guess it depends how well you can sleep on a sleeper. I'm guessing it was a time when berths were more reasonable priced or did you go in the seats?

 

[Peter Mugridge]

I guess it depends how well you can sleep on a sleeper. I'm guessing it was a time when berths were more reasonable priced or did you go in the seats?

Berths of course! There is no way I would use the seated portion... the seated bit would guarantee a sleepless night.

 

[Kite159]

Berths of course! There is no way I would use the seated portion... the seated bit would guarantee a sleepless night.

I dread to think how much something like that will cost these days with Serco prices for the berths!

 

[Peter Mugridge]

I dread to think how much something like that will cost these days with Serco prices for the berths!

Of course, if one were to do it for charity... ( read the news report I linked to... )

 

[Requeststop]

Well out here in Norailland, it may not have been icy snowy and wind blowy - It reached 28C here today but it rained all day - so I looked at my Wick - Penzance challenge to see how I would do today if weather permitted it. Actually I'd do fairly well if only the TOC's looked properly at their timetables, and of course there was no engineering work shutting down the lines west of Truro.
Start with:
06:18 Wick to Inverness 10:35 (2H60)
10:45 Inverness to Edinburgh 14:25 (1B22)
14:52 Edinburgh to Birmingham New Street 19:05 (9M86)
19:12 Birmingham New Street to Plymouth 22:45 (1V66)
only to see that the last train to the west of Plymouth departed three minutes before we arrived.
The silly thing is that 2C54 has no connections to meet for the Cornish branches!
Today and for this week no service west of Truro, so bus/taxi service down to Penzance, and of course, snowed in lines, possible flooding at Cowley Bridge, or Taunton, The Channel is under a force 5 wind and the Cross County service daren't travel anything more and half an inch beyond Dawlish.
Let's be honest though, even if GWR saw sense and re-timed 2C54 for ten minutes later to connect with the 1V66 the chances of an undisturbed run from Wick to Penzance within the day is highly unlikely. The nice thing is that you can sit at home, even here in Norailland, and follow the journey via Realtime trains.

 

[Andy1066]

In June 2010 I did Land's End to John O'Groats and back by train via London in 49 hours and 49 minutes, with taxis for the non-rail bits. That timing is measured from the gate at Land's End to the signpost at Groats and back to the gate at Land's End.

My time can be beaten if anyone wants to try it via Birmingham as that would allow a later departure from Penzance - and hence from Land's End - on the way out and an earlier arrival on the way back. It would, however, mean two nights on the trot with less sleep as it would mean connecting at Crewe on and off the Inverness Sleeper instead of being able to board and disembark at Euston.

So that's one thing you could try.


In September 2014, I did the Sleeper Train Challenge - this involves doing all six Sleeper destinations from London on consecutive nights, so it's rather more awkward to plan. As far as I am aware, nobody has yet done this the other way round, i.e. doing all the Sleepers to London on consecutive nights, so that's something you could try - doing it in reverse I would advise starting from Fort William for the same reasons that I did that last when doing it on the from London direction... namely that it's the most awkward one to make the connections with.

http://www.epsomguardian.co.uk/news...s_all_over_the_country_for_charity_challenge/

Indeed, and as the challenge would be to do all the Sleepers into London consecutively, the other advantage of a Fort William start would be that you could travel up there a couple of days earlier and enjoy the area as well as giving yourself a strong timing margin for that first Sleeper of the plan.

The key to the whole thing would be to ensure that you don't have any tight connections into any of the Sleepers.

Wow That sounds amazing yet exhausting

 

[30907]

even if GWR saw sense and re-timed 2C54 for ten minutes later to connect with the 1V66...

...they would have complaints from the passengers off the 1903 Paddington.
BTW a 7 minute connection in Brum isn't valid so sadly it's not do-able.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

Wow That sounds amazing yet exhausting

They were both quite an experience, and the planning for both was a lot of effort; more so the second one obviously - but most certainly both worth it.

So... you asked for challenges, and you've been given in total about half a dozen possibilities from various people... are you now going to try any of them?