Hi Nick, the reason the platforms at Waterloo East are letters rather than numbers is so that passengers don't get confused between Waterloo and Waterloo East. Great video anyway!
One of my old guidebooks, I forget which one, writes about Waterloo being confusing. This was probably prior to one of the rebuilds in the last century.
@@traintobeckton262this, and (before it closed) King’s Cross Mainline and King’s Cross Thameslink (as the same staff during the NSE days worked both stations), hence why the Thameslink platforms at St Pancras are still A and B.
7:52 I believe the reasoning behind the lettered platforms, is to avoid confusion from the numbered platforms at London Waterloo main, same goes at New Cross to avoid confusion to New Cross Gate
@@NickBadleynick Can u do point to Point Chesterfield-Derby-Birmingham New Street-Nottingham-Leicester-Chesterfield Make it order from Chesterfield So put in a wheel Derby Birmingham New Street Nottingham Leicester And rate chesterfield Train Station out of 10 please
This video kind of appeared as a suggestion for me and I clicked. Two of the most geeky people, clearly made for each other, took me on the most random journey for nearly 15 minutes and my tea went cold. Am I secret nerd? Should I be worried? Do I subscribe? Should I call my GP even? So many questions that need answers. I'll just watch a few more of their videos while I think about it all. Maybe you should too and use whatever excuse you like if you get caught 🙂
Maybe add a rule that if you arrive at a junction station, you have to randomise what direction you take the remaining number of stops in? So for example when you were travelling away from Syon Lane, you would to a randomisation at Barnes to either continue or go down the branch towards Richmond, and if you continued, your remaining 3 stops could either be continuing to Waterloo, to Kensignton Olympia, to Victoria were you would have to randomise whether your remaining stop is to Brixton or Denmark Hill, to Raynes Park, to Micham Eastfields, to Streatham Hill, or to Streatham Common. Or maybe, randomise a number of stops between 1 and 6, then at each junction point, randomise the direction you go in, where you only double-back on yourself if you are at the Zone 6 boundary or the end of a line with no other way to go.
It's only temporary for the time being! Next summer is when I live in the South East properly. Still, I'll try to avoid becoming London-based rail channel number 5 billion. We've already got enough of those!
@@NickBadley Ah I thought you were moving this summer! We have a lot of London based UA-camrs but your videos are different and original enough to be good regardless where they are!
Next time you do this challenge, if you're at a terminus station in central London, make any Nation Rail station you can reach with one tube line a possibility.
Any individuality that stations may have had was lost during the early 1980s, Nick, when British Rail demolished just about every station building that ever was, other than at major terminals... While many were already semi-derelict, not a few still used their original ticket offices and windows, and had cheery, coal-fired waiting rooms to help raise your spirits as you as you arrived on cold winter mornings; and of course, everywhere had ladies and gents toilets available - including many stations on the Underground, in fact. What's more, many sported running in boards and totem signs in the relvant shades of the 1923 Groupings, while the busier ones had newspaper stalls and there were even a few station or sometimes, platform buffets! Alas, somebody seemed to have convinced them round about 1981 that we'd all prefer to give up all these facilities and stand like sardines in freeezing, basic glass and aluminium-sided bus shelters instead - or indeed outside if you arrived after it was full. If you needed the toilet - tough; and all signage was exchanged for the standard plain-white background with black-lettering corporate image that BR used at that time....
Been to Vauxhall and stayed at the Travelodge there. It was also our starting point when we went to join the mad crowd (which included a brief chat with Jen On The Move) for the Bond Street Elizabeth Line opening - we went via the back way and became the first passengers through onto the platform! That Travelodge was also where I first watched one of Nick's videos - again on the Bond Street opening.
Great video, Nick and Natt. You've given us a great idea for what we want to do on our next trip to London. Next stop to find the randomiser you used and figure out how to set it up.
Syon Lane had a london transport museum at one time, I think they moved the exhibits to The National Railway Museum many years ago if I'm remembering correctly
If you want to ensure you get to all parts of London you’d have to allow for tube travel because the only cross river connecting services are Overground or the hourly Southern service from East Croydon to Watford Junction. But you can randomise it by uploading the London termini and once you reach one of them, randomly choose which one your next journey on national rail begins from.
fun idea: when you spin the wheel, screen record it, and then put it on screen so we can see it without all the reflections, and with the phone just for fun
Video ideas: 1 visit the Cambridge guided busway by train and get the bus B from Cambridge north towards hinchinbrook and get off in Huntington as the busway is really interesting. Second idea do a randomly generated journey of east anglia!
An interesting video, thanks. Interestingly, the only day you can get a train from Waterloo to Woking via Staines is a Sunday! Monday to Saturday, after Addlestone, the trains go to Weybridge. Weird.
The last train of the day on that route runs to Woking rather than Weybridge. Its also (bizarrely) run by a 444 rather than a 450/455/458 like you might expect. I caught this service home a few weeks ago and I can tell you they are not designed for suburban services as there are no grab handles and that journey in particular (being the last one of the night) was full and standing.
Personally I would always go from Guildford to working via Guildford London road to Leatherhead when I was in 6th from college. It was always easier for me to get a godalming or shalford train for me directly to Waterloo if ever wanted to go that way
Out of every train, the class 707 is the kind of service where they never would have fitted first class in, particularly in 2017 when Souty West trains ordered them on their deathbed (just before SWR took over)
I think you should start from Sutton (or East Croydon) so that you can get thameslink from the south to the north :) However much of the network in the north is disjointed (if Elizabeth line is not included) and chance of getting GWR/C2C/GA etc is next to zero
Probably the moat obvious type of randomised journey would be to combine tube and national rail, as well as tube, dlr, elizabeth line, overground and tram (probably not cable car, as that shouldnt be on the tube map). You could also do a system where the number of stops is identified before deciding a service, so services with a greater number of stops have a more likey chance of being chosen, thus preventing double backs into london terminals
Rather than randomize route choices then number of stops… just take a list of all tube, tram, dlr, natl rail, eliz etc stations and pick one at random. May need to make transfers but whatever. Could bounce all over!
How about a non-random, planned trip around London with Z1-6 travelcards where you try to maximise how many National Rail only TOCs and lines you use in a day. What's the most that you can possibly squeeze in through cunning route planning?
You would have given yourself a lit more options had you included the Underground in your randomisations. This would have given you more routes at Vaixhall, Waterloo, and Charing Cross and made getting to North London far more likely.
It might be fun for you to do this challenge again but starting at a different station like maybe Liverpool Street or one of the other termini north of the river and see how that changes things.
try putting all london stations in a wheel and spin 3 or 4 times and go towards those stations as fast as possible, almos like a speedrun thing so it feels like a little more of a challenge and not just riding trains
hi nick, since you spent the travelcard in the south of London, maybe you should do it again do it in ths north like on the ECML, WCML and MML as we had none of those operators
Woking via Staines? I know you went on to say as much but judging by the light level alone I knew you must have filmed this on a Sunday. Also, yes that service is half hourly any other day of the week.
10:49 pls don’t brag on my opinion but I think class 376’s are the worst trains. No air con, metal thing in middle of seat, stuffy, and sandy. Why sandy? Smack the seat and find out! I regularly commute on them and I’m depressed when one comes. They also are quite loud. And no toilets. Oh well, I could go on forever at this rate, good vid, I’ve subbed to u.
Syon lane usually gets 3 trains an hour in each direction so if you had to wait 1 hour for a train at that station it might be because of delays or the fact that your filming on a Sunday, im not a local to Syon lane but i do come there alot anyway nice video 👍👍👍👍
Could maybe try this on southeastern starting at Gravesend heading towards thenKent coast or Paddock wood and trying to get to the other line so if it sends you towards Ramsgate or Dover you have to find a way to Paddock wood before getting back to Gravesend or London
Have you done the three Victoria's yet, Southend to Manchester via London. If not it would make an interesting challenge if you tried to do it without using the underground.
Change to Crossrail at Stratford, Thameslink at Farringdon, change to Southern at East Croydon to get to Victoria, then reverse that last move to get back on to Thameslink to St Pancras, then ride north to Leeds or York to catch a Northern or TPE service to Manchester Victoria.
Soon lane pretty random. End3d up there once after a rail awards. I was on a Woking Via Stanees. Ment to get of at Brentford so wasn't too bad. Could have been a nightmare if I had dentist woken untill Woking. As it was the last
Hi Nick, the reason the platforms at Waterloo East are letters rather than numbers is so that passengers don't get confused between Waterloo and Waterloo East. Great video anyway!
One of my old guidebooks, I forget which one, writes about Waterloo being confusing. This was probably prior to one of the rebuilds in the last century.
same at new cross and new cross gate i believe
@@traintobeckton262this, and (before it closed) King’s Cross Mainline and King’s Cross Thameslink (as the same staff during the NSE days worked both stations), hence why the Thameslink platforms at St Pancras are still A and B.
Thanks, I was wondering that
^
7:52 I believe the reasoning behind the lettered platforms, is to avoid confusion from the numbered platforms at London Waterloo main, same goes at New Cross to avoid confusion to New Cross Gate
Learned this myself from a video Jen made not too long ago. Unfortunately that came out after this was filmed!
@@NickBadleynick
Can u do point to Point
Chesterfield-Derby-Birmingham New Street-Nottingham-Leicester-Chesterfield
Make it order from Chesterfield
So put in a wheel
Derby
Birmingham New Street
Nottingham
Leicester
And rate chesterfield Train Station out of 10 please
This video kind of appeared as a suggestion for me and I clicked. Two of the most geeky people, clearly made for each other, took me on the most random journey for nearly 15 minutes and my tea went cold. Am I secret nerd? Should I be worried? Do I subscribe? Should I call my GP even? So many questions that need answers. I'll just watch a few more of their videos while I think about it all. Maybe you should too and use whatever excuse you like if you get caught 🙂
Glad to have you here regardless! Welcome, welcome
Brentford to Brentwood can be point to point
Maybe add a rule that if you arrive at a junction station, you have to randomise what direction you take the remaining number of stops in?
So for example when you were travelling away from Syon Lane, you would to a randomisation at Barnes to either continue or go down the branch towards Richmond, and if you continued, your remaining 3 stops could either be continuing to Waterloo, to Kensignton Olympia, to Victoria were you would have to randomise whether your remaining stop is to Brixton or Denmark Hill, to Raynes Park, to Micham Eastfields, to Streatham Hill, or to Streatham Common.
Or maybe, randomise a number of stops between 1 and 6, then at each junction point, randomise the direction you go in, where you only double-back on yourself if you are at the Zone 6 boundary or the end of a line with no other way to go.
Point to Point idea: Mill Hill (London) - Mill Hill (Blackburn) via Mills Hill (Greater Manchester)
05:29 Waterloo. Couldn't escape it if you wanted to.
I can't lie I am pretty hyped for the increase in London videos Nick! Lots of cool videos to be made :D
It's only temporary for the time being! Next summer is when I live in the South East properly.
Still, I'll try to avoid becoming London-based rail channel number 5 billion. We've already got enough of those!
@@NickBadley Ah I thought you were moving this summer! We have a lot of London based UA-camrs but your videos are different and original enough to be good regardless where they are!
8:22 in tsw i drive often the gravesand one (every 30 min) and there are networkers, that was exceptional
Next time you do this challenge, if you're at a terminus station in central London, make any Nation Rail station you can reach with one tube line a possibility.
Any individuality that stations may have had was lost during the early 1980s, Nick, when British Rail demolished just about every station building that ever was, other than at major terminals... While many were already semi-derelict, not a few still used their original ticket offices and windows, and had cheery, coal-fired waiting rooms to help raise your spirits as you as you arrived on cold winter mornings; and of course, everywhere had ladies and gents toilets available - including many stations on the Underground, in fact. What's more, many sported running in boards and totem signs in the relvant shades of the 1923 Groupings, while the busier ones had newspaper stalls and there were even a few station or sometimes, platform buffets! Alas, somebody seemed to have convinced them round about 1981 that we'd all prefer to give up all these facilities and stand like sardines in freeezing, basic glass and aluminium-sided bus shelters instead - or indeed outside if you arrived after it was full. If you needed the toilet - tough; and all signage was exchanged for the standard plain-white background with black-lettering corporate image that BR used at that time....
So happy to see London vids! Love my city so much fr fr
I love London ❤
Been to Vauxhall and stayed at the Travelodge there. It was also our starting point when we went to join the mad crowd (which included a brief chat with Jen On The Move) for the Bond Street Elizabeth Line opening - we went via the back way and became the first passengers through onto the platform! That Travelodge was also where I first watched one of Nick's videos - again on the Bond Street opening.
Awesome video Nick, would love to see more of this challenge, some of my favourite videos from you i think!
Thanks very much!
Great video, Nick and Natt. You've given us a great idea for what we want to do on our next trip to London. Next stop to find the randomiser you used and figure out how to set it up.
Ashford (Surrey) - Ashford (Kent) would be a good idea! Great video man ❤
Fantastic video! You keep me entertained with fantastic content! Keep it up!
Hello Nick! Just used a UK train for the first time yesterday! (And funnily enough got a GWR before this video) Got overbooked on the first train lol
Syon Lane had a london transport museum at one time, I think they moved the exhibits to The National Railway Museum many years ago if I'm remembering correctly
The London Transport Museum is now at Covent Garden, with the reserve collection at Acton Town. There are no London Transport items in the NRM.
Excellent video as always you two!
Maybe a platform roulette kinda thing might be fun
Nick you could do random generated Trams in London that would be interesting.
If you want to ensure you get to all parts of London you’d have to allow for tube travel because the only cross river connecting services are Overground or the hourly Southern service from East Croydon to Watford Junction. But you can randomise it by uploading the London termini and once you reach one of them, randomly choose which one your next journey on national rail begins from.
There’s also Thameslink
@@mediocrelogarithm5538 how did I forget Thameslink!!
fun idea: when you spin the wheel, screen record it, and then put it on screen so we can see it without all the reflections, and with the phone just for fun
Video ideas: 1 visit the Cambridge guided busway by train and get the bus B from Cambridge north towards hinchinbrook and get off in Huntington as the busway is really interesting. Second idea do a randomly generated journey of east anglia!
"We've gone nowhere"
If only you'd been on a Class 180.....
An interesting video, thanks.
Interestingly, the only day you can get a train from Waterloo to Woking via Staines is a Sunday! Monday to Saturday, after Addlestone, the trains go to Weybridge. Weird.
The last train of the day on that route runs to Woking rather than Weybridge. Its also (bizarrely) run by a 444 rather than a 450/455/458 like you might expect. I caught this service home a few weeks ago and I can tell you they are not designed for suburban services as there are no grab handles and that journey in particular (being the last one of the night) was full and standing.
Personally I would always go from Guildford to working via Guildford London road to Leatherhead when I was in 6th from college. It was always easier for me to get a godalming or shalford train for me directly to Waterloo if ever wanted to go that way
I wish that South Western Railway would start introducing the Class 701s with most of the Class 455s heading for scrap.
Next time, I’d probably start at London Bridge as you have much greater scope for travel.
What a awesome video love it
Another interesting quirky trip. Day Rover/Ranger tickets in Manchester/Leeds/Birmingham could be a possibility depending on service frequency though.
Waterloo East’s platforms are letters so that passengers don’t confuse them with the numbered platforms at Waterloo
So you just go to the stations, but don't actually do anything when you're there? Seems like a missed opportunity to visit a few pubs.
The seating in the 707 is a declassified area. Glad to see you took advantage of that.
Are you sure? They were definitely standard class only on SWT/SWR, the section with 2+1 was to allow more space for standing passengers.
Out of every train, the class 707 is the kind of service where they never would have fitted first class in, particularly in 2017 when Souty West trains ordered them on their deathbed (just before SWR took over)
Great Video! I recommend starting at a place like London Paddington, (to not get stuck on SWR)
A random zone 1 to 6 only on the Elizabeth lines, seeing how many stations you can visit in 3 or 4 hours
respect for visiting a station on the hounslow loop 🫡
I think you should start from Sutton (or East Croydon) so that you can get thameslink from the south to the north :)
However much of the network in the north is disjointed (if Elizabeth line is not included) and chance of getting GWR/C2C/GA etc is next to zero
Probably the moat obvious type of randomised journey would be to combine tube and national rail, as well as tube, dlr, elizabeth line, overground and tram (probably not cable car, as that shouldnt be on the tube map). You could also do a system where the number of stops is identified before deciding a service, so services with a greater number of stops have a more likey chance of being chosen, thus preventing double backs into london terminals
Rather than randomize route choices then number of stops… just take a list of all tube, tram, dlr, natl rail, eliz etc stations and pick one at random. May need to make transfers but whatever. Could bounce all over!
Me at 6:15 "LET'S DO THE TIME WARP AGAIN!"
I thought of doing a TfL random journey in London but now I different plans now I will add lines into my journey
Brilliant video Nick, it's good you were both able to escape South West London. Shame you didn't get to North London though lol.
Just as I leave Clapham junction you appear, I wish I would’ve stayed longer
fun fact syon lane station is the station u get off at if u work at sky studios (the pay tv company)
You could do the Elizabeth line and just get it to randomise where you go to
I love this video its awsome keep it cup on these awesome video
How about a non-random, planned trip around London with Z1-6 travelcards where you try to maximise how many National Rail only TOCs and lines you use in a day. What's the most that you can possibly squeeze in through cunning route planning?
Aah, New Eltham, takes me back. Within walking distance of one of the Greenwich university campuses, made the walk many a time to see my partner
You would have given yourself a lit more options had you included the Underground in your randomisations. This would have given you more routes at Vaixhall, Waterloo, and Charing Cross and made getting to North London far more likely.
Maybe you could do some races across London whether it's National Rail vs Underground or Elizabeth Line vs Underground.
The platforms are letters to avoid confusion with Waterloo..
Hi Nick
Great video again.
Csn you tell me how you create the randomjser wheel.
Thanks
It might be fun for you to do this challenge again but starting at a different station like maybe Liverpool Street or one of the other termini north of the river and see how that changes things.
Pointless journey Waterloo to Waterloo east
Northern Line to Charing Cross then SouthEastern back. Not enough to fill a video
@Nosregni national rail only could make it more interesting?
@@NosregniWaterloo - CLJ - (Queens Road Peckham) - London Bridge - Waterloo East
() - could be done directly from CLJ
Class 165 2 cars have 1x1 seating as well by the toilets!
A P2P idea Harlington to Hayes via Hayes & Harlington
Hi Nick, great Video (as always!), keep up the good work! :)
try putting all london stations in a wheel and spin 3 or 4 times and go towards those stations as fast as possible, almos like a speedrun thing so it feels like a little more of a challenge and not just riding trains
hi nick, since you spent the travelcard in the south of London, maybe you should do it again do it in ths north like on the ECML, WCML and MML as we had none of those operators
Woking via Staines? I know you went on to say as much but judging by the light level alone I knew you must have filmed this on a Sunday. Also, yes that service is half hourly any other day of the week.
If you do this again you should start at London Bridge because it has southern, thameslink and south eastern
More interesting would be a no double back constraint
Maybe starting at a Thameslink station would have given more variance?
Sounds like you need a Brentford to Brentwood Point to Point!
Because To Not Confuse People Of The Platform Numbering At Waterloo
brilliant vlog
would be cool if you included the tube, but interchange stations only
Random generatod london journey but you can only use trains and tube stock with an odd last number
What is the software you use to work out where you are going next?
10:49 pls don’t brag on my opinion but I think class 376’s are the worst trains. No air con, metal thing in middle of seat, stuffy, and sandy. Why sandy? Smack the seat and find out! I regularly commute on them and I’m depressed when one comes. They also are quite loud. And no toilets. Oh well, I could go on forever at this rate, good vid, I’ve subbed to u.
How about starting from West Hampstead where there are three stations all in close proximity on the same street..
Nick can you do st Margarets Greater anglia to st Margarets SWR
Nick in London? He just like me frfr
SAME !!
Point to point video: West Midlands using N Network starting at Birmingham New Street and using the random generator
Syon lane usually gets 3 trains an hour in each direction so if you had to wait 1 hour for a train at that station it might be because of delays or the fact that your filming on a Sunday, im not a local to Syon lane but i do come there alot anyway nice video 👍👍👍👍
We were filming it on a Sunday yes :)
great vid
possibly start at K+ or StP as there are trains going NSEW from these....
Point to Point or Pointless journey Pets Wood to Abby Wood. Just an idea for you Nick.
Could maybe try this on southeastern starting at Gravesend heading towards thenKent coast or Paddock wood and trying to get to the other line so if it sends you towards Ramsgate or Dover you have to find a way to Paddock wood before getting back to Gravesend or London
Have you done the three Victoria's yet, Southend to Manchester via London. If not it would make an interesting challenge if you tried to do it without using the underground.
Change to Crossrail at Stratford, Thameslink at Farringdon, change to Southern at East Croydon to get to Victoria, then reverse that last move to get back on to Thameslink to St Pancras, then ride north to Leeds or York to catch a Northern or TPE service to Manchester Victoria.
Imagine if you did this across the entire UK 😯😯😯
The randomiser would still keep trying to send them back to London termini!
@@Eric_Hunt194 fr fr so true 😂
could do it on a 7-day all line rover (but expensive)
@@traintobeckton262 yes
randon journey around kent
Brentwood lives next door to his brother Harold wood
Networkers Do Go To Gravesend
next time you do a point to point you should do tyndrum lower to upper tyndrum >~
Hi Nick! Nice video! By the way, did you ho to the Taylor Swift Eras Tour?
P.S. The Overground is part of TfL.
It occurs to me there's an all the platform As trip you need to do.
did swr change their announcments?
Hi my name is Craig
Why don't you try to go from king Cross to Edinburgh on the LNER. Its about 8 hours you will enjoy
Hi nick!
Are 465’s staying for a while?
Nick could U do this in Merseyside Liverpool
Only SWR at Vauxhall? What about the Victoria Line?
If you did not hear or pay attention, he said national rail only at the start
I live in Woking
The outcomes were interesting and love to see this in different cities or Day Rangers. Great video
Soon lane pretty random. End3d up there once after a rail awards. I was on a Woking Via Stanees. Ment to get of at Brentford so wasn't too bad. Could have been a nightmare if I had dentist woken untill Woking. As it was the last
What about Mottingham to Nottingham.
I'm pretty sure he's already done this
already done
Could always add a trip to Cottingham on the end...
Thank you, Why not do an alphabetical? First Station begins with A and so on?
let your companion finish her sentences for god's sake