Playing with station names - letters and numbers

[Deleted]

The 22 stations on the Met Line from Amersham to Liverpool Street all have a letter r in them. This sequence can be extended to 23 by changing at Liverpool Street to the Central Line and going to Bethnal Green.

Is there a longer sequence of stations that all have at least one common letter either

a) all on the same line

or

b) by changing to another line and continuing the sequence.

[norbitonflyer]

Aug 11, 2016 9:34:42 GMT @mathgrad said:

The 22 stations on the Met Line from Amersham to Liverpool Street all have a letter r in them. This sequence can be extended to 23 by changing at Liverpool Street to the Central Line and going to Bethnal Green.

Is there a longer sequence of stations that all have at least one common letter either

a) all on the same line

or

b) by changing to another line and continuing the sequence.

If you include the (former) Metropolitan stations at Wendover and Great Missenden, you can extend that to 25.

What about the 34 T's from Knightsbridge, round the Heathrow Loop, and back again (including Turnham Green) ?

[Deleted]

If you start from Knightsbridge and go round the Heathrow loop to South Kensington that is 33 stations. If you then change to the District Line you can go back to Turnham Green which adds another seven stations to make 40.
Four of the seven stations are also on the Piccadilly Line but West Kensington, Ravenscourt Park and Stamford Brook are just on the District Line.

Any other long sequences that do not involve loops.

[Chris M]

Ruislip Manor to Barbican on the Met is 15 stations with an A in them, if you alight and King's Cross and head north on the Picc to Manor House you can make it 19.

[Deleted]

I don't think my list of stations is 100% accurate but it looks like the letter R wins with 36 stations (If you're allowing changing lines - quite a lot) There is a few different routes, but this looks the best!

NORTH GREENWICH, CANARY WHARF, CANADA WATER, BERMONDSEY, LONDON BRIDGE, SOUTHWARK, WATERLOO, WESTMINSTER, ST JAMES PARK, VICTORIA, GREEN PARK, PICCADILLY CIRCUS, CHARING CROSS, LEICESTER SQUARE, COVENT GARDEN, HOLBORN, TOTTENHAM COURT ROAD, GOODGE STREET, WARREN STREET, OXFORD CIRCUS, REGENTS PARK, BAKER STREET, FINCHLEY ROAD, WEMBLEY PARK, PRESTON ROAD, NORTHWICK PARK, HARROW-ON-THE-HILL, NORTH HARROW, PINNER, NORTHWOOD HILLS, NORTHWOOD, MOOR PARK, RICKMANSWORTH, CHORLEYWOOD, CHALFONT & LATIMER, AMERSHAM

From this list I have the other letters have these lengths
A - 28
B - 4
C - 6
D - 4
E - 24
F - 3
G - 5
H - 6
I - 7
J - 1
K - 4
L - 8
M - 4
N - 11
O - 16
P - 3
Q - 1
R - 36
S - 10
T - 20
U - 5
V - 2
W - 7
X - 1
Y - 4
Z - 1

Edit: This doesn't take into account going to same station more than once

[Jerome H]

diamondgeezer has written an article citing this thread, if anyone hasn't seen it today!

<<rincew1nd: Link to article added, only fair to promote each other!>>

[Deleted]

Nice article. It is a bit odd that R is so far ahead, but R is the second most used letter in station names. Still surprising that A and E run out of routes!

Letter Stations Total
E 191 301
R 189 257
A 176 244
N 173 235
O 164 241
T 154 209
S 141 183
L 120 155
I 110 130
H 107 136
D 90 100
W 82 87
G 78 85
C 77 90
U 71 80
B 66 69
K 63 66
P 62 65
M 61 69
Y 46 48
F 24 24
V 13 13
Q 8 8
X 5 5
J 3 3
Z 1 1

[theblackferret]

Is anyone up for calculating how far you can go collecting consecutive letters of the alphabet on Tube journeys?

So, it would have to be that A is in the first, B in the 2nd, C in the 3rd, but not A AND B in 1st or B AND C in the 2nd, in other words you can only collect the next letter in the sequence at a station, but not the next two. If you go through anywhere that contains later letters, that's fine, but you can't count them there, you have to pick them up later.

For example, if you start on Moorgate for A, no use going to Barbican next, as that contains both B & C, but Bank, with only B is fine.

Though that would be where that journey breaks down!

I reckon you'll be pushed to get to four stations.

[Chris M]

I've found a 5-station journey
A: Clapham South
B: Balham
C: Tooting Bec
D: Tooting Broadway
E: Colliers Wood

I think that might be the only one. If you were more relaxed about allowing stations with consecutively later letters, as long as that letter wasn't skipped then more would be possible. A large proportions of stations with B also contain C, and similarly having both D and E is common.

[theblackferret]

Sept 30, 2016 0:50:49 GMT Chris M said:

I've found a 5-station journey
A: Clapham South
B: Balham
C: Tooting Bec
D: Tooting Broadway
E: Colliers Wood

I think that might be the only one. If you were more relaxed about allowing stations with consecutively later letters, as long as that letter wasn't skipped then more would be possible. A large proportions of stations with B also contain C, and similarly having both D and E is common.

Consecutive later letters are fine, but only if neither were the next letter due.

However- it would be interesting to see how many more you could get if the rule was relaxed, so coming on to B & C, you take the B, and then the C from the next station.

Or if you start part-way through the alphabet, like with L.

Another thought-I bet no other station name has as many consecutive letters as Knightsbridge, with a two and a three in it.

[norbitonflyer]

Sept 30, 2016 8:50:55 GMT theblackferret said:

Another thought-I bet no other station name has as many consecutive letters as Knightsbridge, with a two and a three in it.

kniGHTSBRidge also has six consecutive consonents

[Chris M]

Using the more relaxed rules, the longest starting at A gets you to I:
Longest starting at A
A Chancery Lane
B Holborn
C Tottenham Court Road
D Goodge Street
E Warren Street
F Oxford Cirucs
G Green Park
H Hyde Park Corner
I Knightsbridge

The longest overall though is K-U:
K Southwark/Kennington
L Waterloo
M Westminster
N Embankment
O Charing Cross
P Piccadilly Cirucs
Q Leicester Square
R Tottenham Court Road
S Goodge Street
T Warren Street
U Euston

the limiting factor is that J-K-L-M and T-U-V-W are not possible anywhere.

[norbitonflyer]

Not surprising that J is the sticking point given that there are only three stations with a J on the entire network (St James Park, St Johns Wood, and Willesden Junction - although two of them have a neighbour with a K

YZ is obviously impossible since neither of Belsize Park's neighbours have a Y in their name.

[trc666]

On the Piccadilly line you have a run of 18 with an R or 21 if you count the disused stations (marked in strikeout):

Arnos Grove
Bounds Green
Wood Green
Turnpike Lane
Manor House
Finsbury Park
Arsenal (Gillespie Road)
Holloway Road
Caledonian Road
York Road
King's Cross St. Pancras
Russell Square
Holborn
Covent Garden
Leicester Square
Piccadilly Circus
Green Park (Dover Street)
Down Street
Hyde Park Corner
Knightsbridge
Brompton Road

[theblackferret]

Sept 30, 2016 11:16:36 GMT Chris M said:

Using the more relaxed rules, the longest starting at A gets you to I:
Longest starting at A
A Chancery Lane
B Holborn
C Tottenham Court Road
D Goodge Street
E Warren Street
F Oxford Cirucs
G Green Park
H Hyde Park Corner
I Knightsbridge

The longest overall though is K-U:
K Southwark/Kennington
L Waterloo
M Westminster
N Embankment
O Charing Cross
P Piccadilly Cirucs
Q Leicester Square
R Tottenham Court Road
S Goodge Street
T Warren Street
U Euston

the limiting factor is that J-K-L-M and T-U-V-W are not possible anywhere.

That's a significant improvement and 9 & 11 are good sequences.

I've just thought of another idea, but will leave it a day or two to see if anybody else can beat your efforts, though I doubt it.

[theblackferret]

Sept 30, 2016 12:53:22 GMT norbitonflyer said:

Not surprising that J is the sticking point given that there are only three stations with a J on the entire network (St James Park, St Johns Wood, and Willesden Junction - although two of them have a neighbour with a K

YZ is obviously impossible since neither of Belsize Park's neighbours have a Y in their name.

Never mind, this might be more interesting, especially re L & M:


Right, we could now move on to consecutive stations & numbers.

No, not the 8 in Aldgate, buf if the Romans had done Tubes……………

I = 1
V=5
X=10
L=50
C=100
D=100
M=1000

Are the basic building blocks for this game.


So, how many consecutive stations with numbers representing Roman numerals are there?


Additionally, what’s the highest total for consecutive stations if you only use one of the numbers above from each station name, and it can be the same choice of number every time?

Finally, what’s the highest total for consecutive stations using all the numbers in every name as often as they occur in the best order, remembering:

Romans
 

[Deleted]

Sept 30, 2016 11:16:36 GMT Chris M said:

Using the more relaxed rules, the longest starting at A gets you to I:
Longest starting at A
A Chancery Lane
B Holborn
C Tottenham Court Road
D Goodge Street
E Warren Street
F Oxford Cirucs
G Green Park
H Hyde Park Corner
I Knightsbridge

The longest overall though is K-U:
K Southwark/Kennington
L Waterloo
M Westminster
N Embankment
O Charing Cross
P Piccadilly Cirucs
Q Leicester Square
R Tottenham Court Road
S Goodge Street
T Warren Street
U Euston

the limiting factor is that J-K-L-M and T-U-V-W are not possible anywhere.

11 is definitely the longest for consecutive letters (From K), and there are a few ways of doing it another completely different way is

BANK, LIVERPOOL STREET, MOORGATE, BARBICAN, FARRINGDON, KINGS CROSS ST PANCRAS, EUSTON SQUARE, GREAT PORTLAND STREET, BAKER STREET, REGENTS PARK, OXFORD CIRCUS

For starting at A, you could also start at Covent Garden or Russel Square to get the same route.

[Deleted]

Sept 30, 2016 19:43:15 GMT theblackferret said:

...

I = 1
V=5
X=10
L=50
C=100
D=100
M=1000
...

 

The longest containing Roman numerals (Without going to the same place twice) is 72, I'll leave someone else to work out the maximum score using the values!

(WEST RUISLIP to LANCASTER GATE)
WEST RUISLIP, RUISLIP GARDENS, SOUTH RUISLIP, NORTHOLT, GREENFORD, PERIVALE, HANGER LANE, NORTH ACTON, WEST ACTON, EALING BROADWAY, EALING COMMON, ACTON TOWN, CHISWICK PARK, TURNHAM GREEN, STAMFORD BROOK, RAVENSCOURT PARK, HAMMERSMITH, GOLDHAWK ROAD, SHEPHERDS BUSH, HOLLAND PARK, NOTTING HILL GATE, HIGH STREET KENSINGTON, EARLS COURT, GLOUCESTER ROAD, SOUTH KENSINGTON, SLOANE SQUARE, VICTORIA, PIMLICO, VAUXHALL, STOCKWELL, OVAL, KENNINGTON, ELEPHANT & CASTLE, LAMBETH NORTH, WATERLOO, WESTMINSTER, EMBANKMENT, TEMPLE, BLACKFRIARS, MANSION HOUSE, CANNON STREET, MONUMENT, TOWER HILL, ALDGATE EAST, WHITECHAPEL, SHADWELL, WAPPING, ROTHERHITHE, CANADA WATER, CANARY WHARF, NORTH GREENWICH, CANNING TOWN, WEST HAM, BROMLEY BY BOW, BOW ROAD, MILE END, BETHNAL GREEN, LIVERPOOL STREET, MOORGATE, OLD STREET, ANGEL, KINGS CROSS, RUSSELL SQUARE, HOLBORN, TOTTENHAM COURT ROAD, LEICESTER SQUARE, CHARING CROSS, PICCADILLY CIRCUS, OXFORD CIRCUS, BOND STREET, MARBLE ARCH, LANCASTER GATE

[gantshill]

Any MM is two thousand, so Hammersmith and any Common will push the total up. If you just ignore letters that are not roman numerals then Hammersmith will score 3001.

[Chris M]

The top 10 highest value TfL stations in Roman numerals are:
Clapham Common 3250
Hammersmith 3001
Leyton Midland Road 2601
Pudding Mill Lane 2152
Ealing Common 2151
Camden Road 2100
Amersham 2000
Embankment 2000
Monument 2000

This is just summing all Ms as 1000, all Cs as 100, all Ls as 50, etc. regardless of whether they are a valid Roman numeral or not. The top 10 is identical if only valid Roman numerals are considered, but the values are lower.

[norbitonflyer]

Oct 1, 2016 9:56:14 GMT @ellis said:

Sept 30, 2016 19:43:15 GMT theblackferret said:

...

I = 1
V=5
X=10
L=50
C=100
D=100
M=1000
...

 

The longest containing Roman numerals (Without going to the same place twice) is 72, I'll leave someone else to work out the maximum score using the values!

(WEST RUISLIP to LANCASTER GATE)
........ GOLDHAWK ROAD, SHEPHERDS BUSH, HOLLAND PARK, ,...... WHITECHAPEL, SHADWELL, WAPPING, ROTHERHITHE, CANADA WATER, ,......

Goldhawk Road to Holland Park can't be done without walking between the two Shepherds Bush stations or using the advertised interchange at Wood Lane/White City. The latter adds three to the count.
Whitechapel to Canada Water is on the Overground rather than the Tube

[theblackferret]

Oct 1, 2016 18:49:19 GMT norbitonflyer said:

Oct 1, 2016 9:56:14 GMT @ellis said:

The longest containing Roman numerals (Without going to the same place twice) is 72, I'll leave someone else to work out the maximum score using the values!

(WEST RUISLIP to LANCASTER GATE)
........ GOLDHAWK ROAD, SHEPHERDS BUSH, HOLLAND PARK, ,...... WHITECHAPEL, SHADWELL, WAPPING, ROTHERHITHE, CANADA WATER, ,......

Goldhawk Road to Holland Park can't be done without walking between the two Shepherds Bush stations or using the advertised interchange at Wood Lane/White City. The latter adds three to the count.
Whitechapel to Canada Water is on the Overground rather than the Tube

If that's done in reverse order, though, Bermondsey & London Bridge(Jubilee) come after Canada Water, then across to Monument, meaning Aldgate East, Tower Hill & the other four fall out.

The Goldhawk Road conundrum in reverse direction needs more thought, but could be solvable.

[norbitonflyer]

Goldhawk Road is easy to solve, as Shepherds Bush Market, Wood Lane and White City all qualify (scoring 500, 550 and 102 respectively)

[theblackferret]

Oct 1, 2016 19:50:03 GMT norbitonflyer said:

Goldhawk Road is easy to solve, as Shepherds Bush Market, Wood Lane and White City all qualify (scoring 500, 550 and 102 respectively)

Yep, sorry, trying to do Sonic the Hedgehog at the same time as the last post!

That adds three, plus the two I mentioned on the Jubilee, and loses the 6 from Aldgate East to Shadwell inclusive, so that is now 71-which is still mighty impressive!