The 2016 London Reconnections Christmas Quiz

On By In Christmas Quiz

It’s that time of year again. 2016 has been quite a busy year transport-wise with plenty of opportunities for questions.

In case some are new to the Christmas quiz here is a bit of background:

The Christmas Quiz is intended to test not only your transport knowledge but also your ability to think laterally. Questions are intended to vary between easy and very difficult but not impossible – or at least not impossible to have a plausible guess at (perhaps with a bit of creative searching).

We try not to ask trick questions, but won’t hesitate to put you off the scent occasionally. For once there is not a single question about Metropolitan Railway locomotives – either steam or electric – and if it were not for this comment Sarah Siddons wouldn’t get a mention. Equally, we often try to include subtle cryptic clues. Regular participants will know that the filename of a picture will give a bit of a clue to an answer.

Prizes on offer so far include several copies of the magnificent high specification reproduction of the iconic British Rail Corporate Identity Manual. This is an absolute work of art, and we’re very grateful to Wallace Henning for volunteering a few copies from his limited print run as prizes. We’re also on the lookout for more prizes, so if you, or your company, wishes to donate to the prize pot then just email us.

As always though, the real prize is the opportunity to demonstrate your superiority over the LR Towers brain trust and your fellow readers. For this reason, please be aware that any answers (or clues we think are too obvious) will be deleted from the comments.

The closing time and date is 23:59 on New Year’s Eve. We aim to publish the answers at 00:01 on New Years Day. Rest assured we will not be relying on the time taken from the London Reconnections website, which in St Pancras Clock railway tradition, is always slightly fast. Sometime after that but, not too long we hope, we will publish the winners, identified by a suitable pseudonym agreeable to them, and an analysis of how people, in general, got on – in a break from previous years this will be done by myself, so that it doesn’t get lost in the editorial mix.

Each question or part of a question normally carries one mark, although some questions are worth two. It is relatively obvious where this is the case. Please send your answers to [email protected] with the word “quiz” in the subject line.

Side note: If you’re looking to run an office or Christmas party quiz this year, we’ve put together a pack containing a “best of” selection of questions and answers from earlier years. Simply email us at [email protected] and we’ll send you a copy free of charge.

As always, thank you all again for reading throughout the year. Without you all, writing LR would be a far less enjoyable experience. So from all of us here at LR Towers…

…Merry Christmas!

Now Let’s begin with an easy question…

Question 1

In 2016 two long-prepared timetables finally came into use in London.

The coming to fruition of which project enabled this to happen?

Question 2

In 2014 we posed a question about a coat of arms. For 2016, here is the coat of arms of The Duke of Burgundy (courtesy Wikipedia).

cross-of-burgundy

Coat of Arms of the Duke of Burgundy

Why should the Duke of Burgundy be grateful to Network Rail for the East-West rail project?

Question 3

Time for a really hard question.

almostawhiskey

What is the link between the address shown in the picture and the railways?

(and it is nothing to do with Crossrail)

Question 4

On which TfL service can you pay with Oystercard but not with any other form of contactless payment?

Question 5

What have the following all got in common?

  • The mandatory overrun section between the final stop light and the buffers at Bank station on the Waterloo & City line platforms
  • The crossover tunnel just north of Aldwych station used to enable trains to transfer from one running tunnel to the other at the terminus
  • The train heaters on the Victoria line

Question 6

The classic ‘guess the station’ question: What is this station called and where is it?

youwish

Question 7

This sign correctly points in the direction of Westminster Abbey and the Houses of Parliament, although the quickest route you can actually take to these locations is not as direct as the sign suggests.

If a gentleman was so inclined, where might he find this sign?

fields

Question 8

On an annualised basis, Diamond Geezer reports that Sudbury and Harrow Road station is the least used National Rail station in London. What constitutes a “least used” station is based on annual statistics for each National Rail station.

If the statistics were compiled on a monthly basis, however, then one station would probably stand out this year for one particular month as being the least used – because trains only called at it for 2 days out of the entire month.

Name the station and the month?

Question 9

Which two, two-word Underground or underground stations could you reasonably associate with this?

amberandgreen

Question 10

This is a slightly unusual challenge. We are going to provide the answer and it is up to you to provide a plausible question. So, please provide a question for which the answer is:

17 miles 528 yards

Question 11

Regulars will know we have a bit of an obsession with tunnelling shields and Tunnel Boring Machines when it comes to quiz questions.

It is possible to see the cutting edges of a tunnelling shield at Rotherhithe. But to be specific, where would we have to go to take a picture of this?

Question 12

Who or what connected London and Greenwich and is immortalised in connecting SELCHP Energy Recovery Facility (by Bermondsey Diveunder) and Silwood Sidings?

Question 13

If we include all forms of road, rail and light rail services, and if we treat all Overground lines as separate services, then on how many TfL services MUST you push a button once the vehicle has stopped in order to alight?

Question 14

Most of London Overground’s East London Line operations are based at New Cross Gate. But a team member (or three) bridge the gap between Overground and other services elsewhere. On an average working day, Where will you find the permanent ELL operations staff based furthest from New Cross Gate?

Question 15

prambutton

Where might you find the button in the picture? Why might you legitimately push it?

Question 16

What transport item might you relate to two contenders for the America’s Cup in the 19th Century, a pub at Rotherhithe and, very indirectly, to the musical “My Fair Lady”? For the opera buffs amongst you, a musical work by Handel can be substituted for the latter.

Question 17

What were the first stations on the Underground (or its predecessors) to have driver-only-operated trains?

Question 18

P was rather anxious for T’s wife to meet R. As recalled by P:

Then I noticed J (P’s wife) talking to T who had characteristically turned up to the party self-propelled, or to be precise, in an experienced-looking station waggon loaded with his golf kit. ‘He’ll take us,’ J called to me, and I saw her helping to make room by swinging a suitcase off the back seat which was covered in not-very-new tufted nylon. T … sped through the formal checkpoints and manoeuvred nimbly through the string of black limos which had been slowed to the pace of dignified hippos. He rounded the awkward driveway … ‘Told you I’d do it for you,’ he said to me, tossing the keys at an amazed commissionaire, and so he had.

a) Who is T?
b) Who is R?

Question 19

Betjeman called me an expression of blighted hope. Certainly by the time he visited I was well out of the League. Even Barry left me in the end, although a little piece of him will always remain. They all thought me terminal but they were wrong. Today I’m more popular than ever.

Which station am I?

Question 20

Apart from (potentially) stopping a train, what is so important about the buffer stops at Ongar?

Question 21

A pair of platform questions to terminate with: Which London terminus has a platform zero, and from which terminus are trains sometimes shown as departing from platform A at that station – even though there is no such platform there?

Thanks to those who have contributed with questions or ideas. For the moment they shall remain nameless.

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90 comments

  2. Oh wow. This year I can answer precisely half of one question on the first read through.

  3. I’ve got about 3 or 4 possible answers. As for the rest – not a clue. Seems more difficult this year than previously or else my brain has decayed more than I thought. 😉

  5. I got one on first read through. Going by previous experience, that’ll be all!

  6. And I thought the answer was “Mornington Crescent”, oh well… Back to the drawing board!

    11 is way to easy though!

  7. I can proudly claim to be reasonably certain of 2 1/2 answers. A new record for me.

  8. First quick pass, one answer (Q20) appears to be obvious. The rest will doubtless prove to be the usual mystery.

    One observation on Q32 however. I previously understood that the East West Rail project is outside the L-R zone. Does this question mean that it’s now in?

  10. Did we ever learn how many people got them all right last year – or, if none, what the highest score was?

  11. From memory: five people got them all correct last year and I ended up doing a mini-draw for the prizes.

    One of the reasons Pedantic’s in charge of answers this year is to make sure you guys get a post about the winners, as I’ll hold my hands up and admit it tends to fall off my radar the moment I’ve done the actual marking/notifications.

  13. Reasonably confident of 9 1/2 at first run through, and maybe a 10th – surprised myself on comparing with other people’s estimates. Haven’t a clue (yet) about the remainder, though.

  14. Southern Heights (Light Railway) 1 December 2016 at 13:11

    When “the answer was “Mornington Crescent”,” you’d get a prize for working out the question.

  15. I was getting worried that I’d got only a couple of wild guesses on my first read through (and certainly I seem more clueless on them this year), then I got to 20 and 21, and I’m at least fairly certain that I’ve got those.

  16. I have six or seven at first glance (Q3 I’m fairly certain about.) I have been caught out by Q4 on a recent journey, and am not like to forget it.

  17. Hmm. On a first read through, I believe I have the answers to Q10, 20 and 21 with vague ideas about a couple of others. The rest? Well…

  20. I’m up to a fairly confident nine so far…Though Number 1 isn’t one of them.

  21. Greg Tingey,

    Not quite sure to be honest. I suspect John Bull did not think that someone would identify the specific painting. I believe the intention was to allude to the direction of one of the answers. The quiz is littered with subtle clues that I suspect no-one has yet picked up on – or maybe one comment has.

  23. I now have answers for 11 and 17 with a fairly good idea about 5. However, something tells me I’m going to struggle to get more than half the questions right! (Even that might be a stretch…)

  25. Hallelujah. Two answers on first read through. But a strong suspicion that I’ll still be at two answers on New Years Eve….

  26. Nope – you need to tell us where you’d go to take a picture of the object described.

  27. Well up to the usual (impossible) standard!

    Question of detail: in Q16, does “Americas Cup” refer to the America’s Cup yachting challenge, or is the absence of the apostrophe deliberate?

    [Apologies. Apostrophe now added. Yes it does refer to the yachting challenge PoP]

  28. From my point of view, this year’s is a real swine.

    I’ve never managed a fully-correct set, but I usually manage 15 or 16 correct.
    This year – oh dear.
    I’ll have a go, but I’m not hopeful.

    3 I can probably deduce, ditto 13 &16.
    I think I have 12, 17, 20, 21.
    Um, err …..

  29. Greg Tingey,

    Well there is at least one question that I am fairly sure you have the answer for you available not far from you when you are by your computer.

    And I am impressed if you have number 12.

  30. 21 seems so easy that even I can answer it. Which means I probably have misunderstood something

  31. DH,

    There is a mix of easy and very hard questions. Trust your instinct. There is no “trick”. If you think you have the right answer then you probably have.

    The only other advice I would give at this stage is don’t be downhearted if you can’t get some or a lot of the questions. It is well-known by psychologists that if people can’t answer a few questions and then have an easy question they often can’t answer that as they have subconsciously developed a defeatist attitude.

    With a lot of questions it can be hard just knowing where to start so maybe leaving them and going back later with a different approach might help. You might read something into the question you missed before – or not read into the question something that misled you before.

  32. @PoP: Q 12 took me two minutes flat…. 😉 And that was from scratch….

  33. Right so that makes 8 and a half so far, best yet I think!

  34. Southern Heights,

    Which shows how difficult it can be to judge as to which will be the easy questions and which the difficult ones. Maybe 12 isn’t so hard.

    By the way that question was a classic example of a team effort. Someone provided the original idea and someone else added something to make it a good question. I merely put together the final wording.

  35. Q13 – I assume that the thing you are travelling on is going to stop there anyway, as opposed to not stopping unless someone presses a button in the first place?, or are both counted?

  36. Anonymous 12:06

    As I understand it (not my question), both are counted. That is if at some point, before or after the vehicle has stopped, you or someone else some other passenger needs to press a button of any kind to get off then it counts.

    I also take it to mean that for services with distinct advertised lines with a line name, as opposed to anything else, each line is treated separately.

  37. So PoP: Chingford is distinct from Enfield Town? And do we include the mythical beast line?

  38. Working only on the first eight at the moment.

    No idea about No 1. Has any significant project completed this year – specially one which affects two timetables?

    2-6 I’ve got – at least I think I’ve got No 5. No 6 took a while.

    Currently worrying at No 7.

    No 8 – I’ll get there, I’m sure, but just to clarify – we are looking for a station which meets the same DG criteria? (NR, and in Greater London)

    Q21 is a little ambiguous, as I can think of at least four stations that meet that definition. But one of them is rather different from the others.

  39. About Q13, it says “how many TfL services MUST you push a button in order to alight?” so do we disregard services where you have to push a button at some places but not at others, or are you not being that strict? Also I would like to reiterate the point made by SH(LR) about how finely do we divide up services into lines?

  40. @poP
    “That is if at some point, before or after the vehicle has stopped, you OR SOMEONE ELSE needs to press a button of any kind to get off then it counts.”

    Other than an open-platform bus or the cable car, that surely applies to all modes of public transport? I assume the question relates to passenger operation.

  41. I’ve found a station that was only open for one day in a certain calendar month, but I don’t think it’s the one you are looking for.

  42. Southern Heights,

    So PoP: Chingford is distinct from Enfield Town? And do we include the mythical beast line?

    In case of doubt, suggest you list the answers so that credit can be given if you have got what happens on each line correct.

    timbeau 12:47

    Q1: I have now very slightly reworded this. I do not think this makes a practical difference but could overcome a technical objection – no, I am not saying what I changed.

    Regardless, as with other questions, read the question carefully.

    Q8: we are looking for a station which meets the same DG criteria? (NR, and in Greater London)
    Yes.

    Q21: London Terminus is taken as major zone 1 terminus. Irrelevant but it is taken to include London Bridge and Blackfriars. I didn’t think that I would have to clarify this. So no, New Cross is not an answer. To be further clear, there isn’t a platform A at the station in question. Oh, and Waterloo East isn’t a terminus either.

    timbeau 14:22

    Changed to OR SOME OTHER PASSENGER

    timbeau 14:48

    If you can find a station only served by trains for one day in a month and give evidence then we will give you the mark. My suspicion is that you actually have the correct station but have overlooked a second day on which trains stopped there.

  43. I have also found a station that was only open for one day of a month. Definitely not a second day.

  44. @pop
    thanks for the clarifications
    ” Waterloo East isn’t a terminus either.”
    The Waterloo and St Pancras complexes both include terminal platforms and a (through) platform A, but I think I know the answer and it isn’t either of them.

    14:48
    “My suspicion is that you actually have the correct station but have overlooked a second day ”
    No, the station I found can’t be the right one as it does not meet the DG criteria.

  45. London Waterloo and Waterloo East are two separate stations. As are St Pancras International and St Pancras Thameslink.

    As I have made it clear that the station in question does not actually have a platform A I will amend the question to make this clear to everybody.

  46. I was quite pleased to get number 6 on my first pass, but I suspect it’ll be one of those “you either know it or you don’t” because I haven’t the foggiest how anyone is going to research it!

  47. James: oddly enough, I just researched #6 despite having no idea, and eventually got the answer. Took a while!

  48. The station in question 8 is explicitly from the wording of the paragraph an NR station rather than a LU station, isn’t it?

  49. St Pancras is actually one station – Thameslink trains call at St Pancras International according to train indicator boards.

  50. @Johnb78
    If it’s the one I think it is, then yes, Although I would need information that no longer seems to be available to confirm that it was indeed open for only two days, rather than the four that one might have expected from the evidence I have gathered so far.

  51. ChrisMitch: I think whether St Pancras (or other places) is actually one or two stations is perhaps more nuanced than you imply – it probably depends on why you are asking. But PoP’s comment clearly indicated that for the purposes of this quiz question (at least) it is to be considered as two.

  52. Curious – One of the clues to one of the questions is almost identical to a clue in a question in the quiz a few years ago, but the rest of the clues this time don’t fit the answer from last time at all – but would fit somewhere not far away.

  54. I think I’ve got fifteen – no ideas (or too many!) for Nos 1, 7, 9, 13, 15 or 18

  55. I have further very slightly amended the wording of question 21 so that it cannot be argued that you can see trains departing from platform A at Waterloo East on a departure board located on the Waterloo concourse.

    To be clear, sometimes a train is shown as departing from platform A but never platform B or any other lettered platform at this London terminus.

  56. timbeau (and others),

    I would have thought question 1 was easy and if you are having a problem with it then you are probably thinking too much (or too little). Read the current wording just in case the original wording confused you – it has hardly changed but is different in a very subtle way.

    Pleased if you got question 3 – I was worried that it might be too hard for anyone.

  57. In Q11 “where would we have to go to take a picture of this?” the wording is a little suspect (of the ‘Constantinople is a very long word, how would you spell it?” from school days), specifically the “this”. Do you mean the cutting edges or is something awol from the question?

  59. I’ve just noticed a minor typo in Q17: “or it predecessors”.
    [I have just corrected it. PoP]

  60. I’ve just found the Platform A answer with some (not particularly creative) googling. I was recently at the station with a Platform 0, so that’s an answer to one question so far! I doubt the others will be so easy to find…

  61. Well, I now have answers to 10 questions but I suspect that 2 of them are wrong. Still, it’s better to have some answer than no answer.

    Since it may have been lost amongst other comments, I would just like to repeat a question I brought up earlier (having slightly rephrased it):

    About Q13, it says “how many TfL services MUST you push a button in order to alight?” so do we disregard services where you (or another passenger) have to push a button some of the time but there are certain exceptions when you don’t have to? Or are you not being that strict?

  62. Anon. E. Mouse,

    I take it as follows:

    If you can envisage a situation where you are the only person on the service and there exists a location at which you want to alight then if you MUST push a button in order to do so (either to make the vehicle stop or to open the doors or both) then it counts.

    If I end up marking the question then, having established details of the answer, I will be pretty generous if you spell out which services you think this does (and, if necessary, does not) apply to. Think of it as “new math”. It doesn’t matter too much if you get the right answer so long as your working out is sound.

    If I don’t end up marking it then I cannot say what the criteria will be.

  63. If you can envisage a situation where you are the only person on the service and there exists a location at which you want to alight then if you MUST push a button in order to do so (either to make the vehicle stop or to open the doors or both) then it counts.

    Close. My definition (as the person who set the question) would be:

    If you can envisage a situation where you are the only person on the service and there exists a location at which you want to alight then if you MUST push a button in order to open the door once the vehicle has stopped then it counts.

    So basically no need to list out every single bus route as buses don’t count.

    But yeah, ultimately there’s an element of ‘new math’ to this – show your workings out and you’re unlikely to be marked wrong if you’ve interpretted the question slightly badly.

  64. I have changed the wording to:
    then on how many TfL services MUST you push a button once the vehicle has stopped in order to alight?

    (Italics not in the original)

  65. Just to say how enjoyable this is, as every year.

    I’ve four left to get; a couple will require some judicious searching, one needs a break to think laterally, and one must be obvious to many but not to me. Guess you’ve seen it or you haven’t.

    Was Betjeman a cut and paste writer? As Timbeau says, his description has appeared in an earlier quiz elsewhere.

  66. I think this year is the furthest I’ve gotten… Only 7 left!

  68. Fantastic – the Christmas Quiz! Whilst researching the answer to one of the questions I noticed it had come up in a previous LR Quiz. Saying no more….

  69. @Simeon B: The Duke of Burgundy turned up some interesting links…. Perhaps that question should have had an ‘R’ rating?

    😉

  70. @SH(LR)
    Yes. I was left mildly disturbed after I naively typed “Duke of Burgundy” into Google…

  71. Re SHLR and Anon E. Mouse,

    Completely accidentally the film does have a big clue to the answer…

  72. I always associate the Duke of Burgundy with “Passport to Pimlico”, but even without googling him I guess it’s not that film you have in mind.

  74. Interesting that some are finding it (relatively) easy this year. I’ve looked at the questions and it’s not clicking with me at all this year. Even ones where I thought I might have an answer have been disproved by comments / clarifications further up. 🙁 Not minded to even compile an entry this year I’m afraid.

  76. Anonyminibus
    Two separate stations, as I know what the answer to the “zero” part is, but not the spurious platform “A”.

    [Correct. Two separate answers – and they happen to be different stations. PoP]

  77. Personally, I wouldn’t describe it as spurious in the popular meaning of that word.

  78. Great quiz again. I thought I was doing well this year but Q7, Q15 and Q18 have got me completely stumped (and I work exactly where you might expect Q7 to be and can’t find it so I suspect all is not as it seems). On the positive side I think I must now be one of the world’s leading authorities on pram buttons on public transport!

  79. Question 14 is perhaps not the best set of wording as the members of staff in question are neither solely permanent ELL staff, nor normally based at New Cross Gate, so the geographical element may as well have chosen any numbers of locations to be based furthest from

  80. 1,2,3(part), 4, 7, 8?, 9, 10, 12, 14, 17, 19, 20, & half of 21.
    Which is pathetic, actually.

  81. How subtle are the clues? I wonder if I’m reading too much into the wording and filename of 7.
    15 and 18 are driving me crazy. No idea how to get even close to the answer for 18!

  82. I’m with Anonymous Tortoise on no. 7, but having just wandered around the area I’ve noticed that the type of sign despite looking typically tourist area-ish isn’t actually used around Westminster. Maybe it’s south of the river, though the bridge was too crowded today to check, but then why would there be a sign which needed you to swim to follow it? Unlike MR Ed, I do think the clue is in the wording and filename. Maybe it’s not pointing to the real buildings at all?

  83. Andrew S,

    I’ve noticed that the type of sign despite looking typically tourist area-ish isn’t actually used around Westminster.

    Well clearly it is since the sign in the question is just that!

  84. @poP
    I think it’s fair to say that most signs in the area use a different typeface. I haven’t managed to identify any signs in the area using that typeface but, unless there is more subterfuge going on than I realise, there must be at least one!

  85. I may not even bother to send my entries in, as this year is simply impossible
    ( Eleven & two half-questions answered )

  86. Greg: That’s up to you, but I don’t think anyone has reported a higher number. And if the quiz does turn out to have a lower average score than in previous years, that is all to the good, in many ways – the winner will have displayed more skill (or persistence, or mental flexibility, or some other good-sounding attribute) rather than just got lucky.

    When I used to do the quiz, I scored very low numbers, but still felt that my efforts had been worthwhile. Someone has to come last!

  87. Go for it Greg – you won’t be last if you get that many correct. I’ve sent my entry in to ensure that!

  89. To be honest, I think the quiz this year has defeated me and I probably won’t be submitting my meagre attempt. I do know the answers to a few of them but for some of the others I only have guesses for while there are a number where I don’t even have the foggiest. Still, it’s been fun trying to find all of the answers and for that alone I would say it was worth taking part.

  90. It’s occupied me for new years eve. I submitted about 15 answers. I reckon I’m convinced by 4 or 5.

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