Submitted by Florian, who says:
I submit this map because first of all, I live there and I was thrilled to learn there is a blog about transit maps design. And I love old maps, which I was also thrilled to see they are welcome here.
This map dates from 1954, merely 4 years before the end of the first Bordeaux’s tramway. The network was quite extensive, much more than today. However, these lines were integrated within the traffic and were not given priority. It means that as cars became more common (and the 60s were THE decade where cars became big in France), the tramway was seen as quaint, outdated.
One interesting part is that in this period, some maps of Bordeaux were oriented with the North to the right. One can compare it with the current map. As the right-bank of the river was not developed as today, it was not considered useful to put in on the map as there was nothing relevant – well, except the people living there obviously. Hence, it is quite logical to put it at the bottom and make the network “flows” from the inner city to the suburbs.
I find amusing that some, but not all, lines are named by the city they go to (P for Pessac, Br for Bruges etc.) and also that the stops are numbered – which is actually quite useful to know the length of a line and gauge the position of a stop. However it is a bit busy in some places and I am also confused as to how some lines worked, especially the P line and its 5 (?) terminus.
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Transit Maps says:
What a lovely map (and it really is one, as there’s a detailed scale in the bottom right-hand corner underneath the awesome “CTB” monogram)! This is what makes things a bit cramped in parts, as the map is trying to be geographically faithful, even though everything is very simplified.
It’s important to note that the map only shows the suburban tram routes – what in the U.S. would have been called “interurbans.” There were another twenty-odd city tramways in addition to these routes: a few of them can be seen on this map as thin numbered lines leaving the Commune de Bordeaux denoting “urban lines penetrating into the suburbs.” Tram lines contained wholly within the commune are not shown at all on this map. And if I’m reading things right, the numbers along the lines aren’t exactly numbering stops, but fare sections: I would imagine that tram lines of this length would have many more actual stops than could be shown on an overview map like this.
And as for how the lines actually worked. let’s just hope that the trams themselves had headboards or roll signs that told prospective riders where they were actually going to!
Our final word: A great slice of history showing the last days of an extensive tram system. I love it!