Month: November 2016

2016 “Transit Maps” Gift Guide – Posters

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Gift Guide

Another awesome selection of prints and posters for your consideration this year. You can also look at last year’s selection of gift ideas using the “2015 Gift Guide” tag. Mini Metros by Peter Dovak. A neat idea, executed very well indeed. See if your friends can identify all 220 systems! Available in “spectrum” and “monochrome” versions from $15 on Society6 (links no longer active). Vanmaps by Andrew “Vanshnookenraggen” Lynch. A wide variety of colour-coded maps of individual lines from […]

Submission – Official Map: Schematic Transit Map for Utrecht (University area), The Netherlands by U-OV

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Official Maps

Submitted by Fabian Wegewijs, the Coordinator of Travel Information for U-OV, who says: U-OV is the operator of public transport in Utrecht, the fourth largest city in the Netherlands. We operate a fleet of more than 300 buses and 26 trams, mostly on two radial networks. The main network goes to and from the main railway station, Utrecht Central. The second radial network goes to and from De Uithof University area. Our detailed network map […]

Fantasy Map: Near-Future Boston Map (in Toronto) for “The Handmaid’s Tale”

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Fantasy Maps

Yet another variant of the new Boston MBTA rapid transit map for televisual purposes, after this recent one from The Simpsons, and this bizarre repurposing from CSI: Cyber. This one was spotted at Bay station in Toronto, and is for the upcoming Hulu original TV series “The Handmaid’s Tale”. Starring Elisabeth Moss and Joseph Fiennes, it’s based on Margaret Atwood’s 1985 novel. Set in a frighteningly plausible dystopian near-future, the series is sure to be a […]

Historical Map: 1941 London Underground Map by Hans “Zéró” Schleger

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Historical Maps

Here’s something of an increasing rarity – a London Underground map that I haven’t seen before.  It’s the 1941 edition of the Hans Schleger map, printed in brown and blue ink only due to wartime austerity measures. I’ve written about the first edition of this map previously (April 2014, 3 stars) which was notable for its use of a blue airbrushed effect to highlight the central part of the map. Its removal certainly improves the legibility […]

Historical Map: Proposed Detroit Rapid Transit System, c. 1920

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Historical Maps

A handsome aerial “birds-eye” rendering of a proposed elevated rapid transit system linking Detroit with Royal Oak, Birmingham, Pontiac and Rochester (as well as the Ford Motor Company plant and blast furnaces). The system was first proposed in 1915, with a working scale model presented to the Detroit city council (photo).  But by 1922, the company was still searching for land on which to erect one mile of test track for their unusual proprietary track system, […]

Historical Map: History of the London Underground’s Northern Line (to c. 1975)

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Historical Maps

A map showing dates of openings (and closings) for stations and segments of track along the Northern Line. King William Street station was the short-lived northern terminus of the then-City & South London Railway (C&SLR) from 1890-1900. Via: Transport for London Tumblr

Historical (Unofficial?) Map: Transit of Sofia, Bulgaria, 2009

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Historical Maps, Unofficial Maps

Well, this is a bit of a mess, isn’t it? It looks like the map’s designers have attempted to represent the network isometrically, with the city’s grand avenues surrounding the historical central core. However, the whole thing’s just so darn busy that the attempted illusion just doesn’t work. Almost every part of the map is filled with something: labels, logos, clip art, photos of landmarks, even randomly-placed pictures of trams! I’m guessing that the map […]

Submission – Fantasy Map: Future Southeast Asia Rail Map by James Clark

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Submitted by James, who says: Hi Cam, love your site! I’ve been studying future railways of Southeast Asia, in particular the Kunming to Singapore line via Laos, which will begin construction in December. I’ve created a map of every proposed railway in Southeast Asia: The details of all the proposed lines can be found on my Nomadic Notes website. Transit Maps says: This is obviously a labour of love from James, and it shows. Lots […]

Submission – Unofficial Map: New York Subway and Bus “Bullet Map” by Anthony Denaro

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Unofficial Maps

Submitted by Anthony, who says: You reviewed my map of the Long Island Rail Road a few years ago. Your critiques and your blog have helped me in pushing forward on my current project, a unified Subway and Bus Map, I’m calling it the Bullet Map, named after the nickname for the circle subway route indicators. I launched it a month ago with a Medium post explaining methodology.  What do you think of it? Transit Maps says: Anthony’s actually been keeping […]

Submission – Shannon Cave “Transit Map” Mug by deathandthepenguin

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Submitted by the author, who says: Not a transit map, but a cave map inspired by Harry Beck I made a few years ago. Transit Maps says: This is fun! This map wears its influence very much on its sleeve, with much of the Tube Map’s celebrated visual language lifted directly from the source, but this is still very nicely put together. The one obvious difference is the substitution of what looks like Avant Garde […]