Month: September 2013

Historical Map: Street Railways, City of Washington, D.C., 1891

September 24, 2013
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As the first segment of the new DC Streetcar on H Street and Benning Road nears completion, here’s a look back at what existed a long, long time ago. As can be seen at this time, no fewer than ten streetcar companies operated in the District. By 1895, Congress authorised consolidation of the companies and the larger, more successful systems bought out the smaller ones. The map itself is very handsome, with the distinctive grid of […]

Updated: Aerial Photo Transit Map of Portland, Oregon – Now with Bus Routes!

September 23, 2013
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Taylor Gibson’s aerial photo map of Portland’s rail and streetcar routes is one of the most popular posts ever on Transit Maps, so I thought I’d pass on this update to it, which now shows the bus network as well. The colours used match the official TriMet system map, although Taylor hasn’t shown peak hour-only services like the 51 up through Council Crest. What this view really shows to effect is Portland’s grid-like bus network, […]

Photo – Official Map: Rhätische Bahn, Switzerland, 2013

September 23, 2013
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The Rhätishe Bahn (or Rhaetian Railway) is a publically-owned Swiss railway, serving the huge and mountainous canton of Graübunden. The Swiss Federal Railways extend only a few kilometres over the cantonal border to the capital at Chur, as seen at the top of this interesting little map. Placed underneath the window on trains, between facing rows of seats, this map features something I’ve never seen on a diagrammatic map before: elevation contours. Four colours — green, […]

Future Map: Paris Métro, RER and Tram Expansion Plans to 2030

September 21, 2013
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Once hemmed in by old city walls, then by the Boulevard Périphérique, the Paris Métro has rarely ventured outside the city proper into the suburbs. That is about to change with the ambitious “Le Grand Paris” plans shown here. Extensions of the existing Métro Lines 11 and 14 will take them far out into the Île-de-France, while new Lines 15, 16, 17 and 18 will encircle the region with orbital routes. Extensions to the RER E […]

Historical Map: Tramways System of Perth, Australia, 1920

September 20, 2013
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An absolutely lovely official government map of Perth’s burgeoning tram network in 1920. The Western Australian state government had taken over the system from private operators just a few years prior to this. The alternating colours along the routes would seem to indicate fare segments, at a penny per segment. Five pence fare to Nedlands! The map is beautifully drawn, and has two cleverly integrated insets to show the longer routes out to Osborne Park […]

Historical Fantasy Map: The Gospel Temperance Railroad Map, 1908

September 20, 2013
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Starting from the city of “Decisionville” in the “State of Accountability”, our commuter must make up his mind (Decisionville, get it?) as to which line to take: the “Great Celestial Route” to salvation, the “Way That Seemeth Right” that totally isn’t, or the ominous “Great Destruction Route” leading – predictably – to “The City of Destruction”. Scenic detours can be had through charmingly named towns like Grumblemore, Lewd Castle, Crap Hollow and Treasondale. Perhaps a […]

Historical Map: Liverpool Overhead Railway, c. 1935

September 19, 2013
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The Liverpool Overhead Railway operated from 1893 to 1956, and was a unique example of an American-style elevated railway in the United Kingdom. It was the world’s first electric elevated railway and the first to use automatic signalling and electric signal lights. Serving Liverpool’s then thriving docks, it quickly earned the affectionate nickname, “The Dockers’ Umbrella”, as the elevated structure sheltered dock workers from the rain as they moved from dock to dock. This attractive […]

Future Map: Greater Sydney Intercity Trains Network

September 19, 2013
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With the removal of intercity train routes from the new Sydney Trains map, the question is – where did they go? The answer: onto a new map of their very own! Aesthetically, it’s very similar to the Sydney map, part of what I understand is a major effort to unify all transit services that Transport for NSW provides. The layout of the lines is very clear and easy to understand, and having separate maps makes […]

Future Map – Possible Sydney Trains Network Map for October 20th, 2013 Timetable Changes

September 18, 2013
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Sent my way by Nick Stylianou, this is supposedly the new Sydney Trains system map that will be released concurrently with a whole slew of timetable changes on October 20th. I’ll reserve my judgement until I see the final map – this may be a working draft with final amendments still to be made – but there are certainly some radical changes from the current map (Sep. 2012, 3.5 stars), not the least of which […]

Historical Map: Original 1967 Boston MBTA “Spider” Map with 1980s Additions

September 18, 2013
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What we have here is a 100-percent original 1967 Boston MBTA “spider map” as designed by Cambridge 7 Associates, but with some very unofficial later additions. The minor additions are the lengthening of two names on the Red Line to later versions – “Kendall” becomes “Kendall/MIT” and “Charles” is now “Charles/MGH”. No problems there. The real eye-opener is the addition of the Red Line extension past Harvard to Alewife. The sticker used has discoloured relative […]