All posts tagged: 5 stars

Submission – A Vision for the Faroe Islands by Renno Hokwerda

comment 1
Filed Under:
Fantasy Maps, Future Maps

Submitted by Renno, who says: The lockdowns have given many people ample opportunities to put their creativity to the test. For me – a lover of public transport, maps and our planet’s northern fringes – it was only a matter of time before the Faroe Islands would pop up once again. A tantalisingly beautiful place with an equally beautiful public transport system. A system of simplicity in a geography so gorgeous. This map is a […]

Historical Map/Infographic: History of the Kaiser Ferdinands-Nordbahn, 1838–1853

comment 1
Filed Under:
Historical Maps, Visualizations

Every so often, I unexpectedly come across something that’s almost magical in its awesomeness, and this astounding data visualization/map from 1855 is one of those things. I mean, just look at how gorgeous these sample plates are: Designed by Joseph Stummer, these pages chart the history of the Kaiser Ferdinands-Nordbahn from its foundation in 1838 through to 1853. Each lithographic plate documents two years in astounding detail, with data shown for just about every aspect […]

Historical Map: European Rail Connections from Frankfurt, 1928

Leave a comment
Filed Under:
Historical Maps, Visualizations

Here’s a superb visualization of the fastest travel times by rail to major European cities from Frankfurt am Main (here rendered in its obsolete English form of “Frankfort”) in 1928. The striking time bands – a form of isochrone – are rendered in bold alternating concentric “target” circles around the city itself, represented by a modernist “F” logo. For the most part, the cities seem to placed along correct headings relative to Frankfurt, although the […]

Historical Maps: Das F-Netz in Der Brieftasche, 1969

Leave a comment
Filed Under:
Historical Maps

A pair of wonderful diagrammatic pocket maps showing the F-Zug or “Long-Distance Train” intercity services (in blue) and the Trans-Europe Express (TEE) services (in red) of West Germany in the summer of 1969. The first diagram shows southbound routes, while the second shows northbound. Each diagram also serves as a schedule, with arrival and departure times denoted clearly along each route line. A few non-standard angles don’t detract from the excellent draftsmanship on display here: […]

Historical Map: Sydney Tramways, 1921

Leave a comment
Filed Under:
Historical Maps

This is one of those maps where I’m not entirely sure if it’s the brainchild of a genius or the work of a madman. It’s an insanely detailed map-slash-diagram of tram routes in Sydney from 1921 by an unknown author that also attempts to indicate almost every major cross-street along the way. Intersections that are also designated as tram stops get a marker and increasingly larger labels to indicate their relative importance. Five different line […]

Historical Map: Imperial Airways Diagram by H.C. Beck, 1935

Leave a comment
Filed Under:
Historical Maps

Maxwell Roberts just posted about this on Twitter, and I have to share. A bit of poking around on the Internet found a slightly better image than his, so enjoy! This is a diagram of the routes of Imperial Airways in 1935 by none other than Henry Charles Beck (yes, that H.C. Beck). I had no idea that he’d created such a diagram up until now, but it clearly bears many of the hallmarks of […]

Historical Map: Trolleybus and Tram Routes of London, 1947

comment 1
Filed Under:
Historical Maps

Here’s an absolute gem, a surprisingly modern-looking diagram of trolleybus and tram routes in post-war London. Drawn by cartographer Fred J.H. Elston, the map employs 30-degree angles and radically straightened roads to great effect. All roads are clearly labelled, as are the different neighbourhoods of London, so orientation isn’t a problem. I also really like the way all the bridges are shown crossing the Thames: another effective orientation method. Underground and main line stations are […]

Historical Map: Map Showing Indianapolis as a Steam Railroad and Interurban Center, 1907

Leave a comment
Filed Under:
Historical Maps, Prints Available

Here’s an absolutely wonderful diagram of rail in Indianapolis in 1907 that pares everything down to the absolute minimum required to tell the story. 43 completely evenly-spaced railroad lines (representing 18 steam lines and 25 interurbans, according to the source) enter the city, which is encircled by the aptly named Belt Railroad. The names of those 43 outer destinations spiral dramatically around the edge of the map, though the flow is perhaps broken a bit […]

Submission – Unofficial Map: Minsk Metro, Belarus by Ilya Birman, Ivan Zviahin and Konstantin Evstratenko

Leave a comment
Filed Under:
Unofficial Maps

If you ever do a Google image search for the map of the Minsk Metro, you’ll quickly find out that there are a lot of dreary, hackneyed and downright terrible versions of it – both official and unofficial. Despite the simplicity of its X-shaped two-line system (with a third in the works), it just doesn’t seem to inspire good design work. Until now.  Ilya Birman – whom Transit Maps has featured a number of times […]

Historical Map: Manchester Ship Canal, England, c. 1928?

Leave a comment
Filed Under:
Historical Maps

Not a “traditional” transit map, but it does show an important transportation network in a simplified strip map form, so that’s good enough for me!  This absolutely gorgeous two-colour map straightens out all the kinks in the eponymous canal, presenting it as a dead straight line from one end to the other. The variable scale is indicated by the mile markers on either side of the map: the less interesting parts of the canal get […]