All posts filed under: Historical Maps

Submission – Historical Map: Lines of the Lincoln, Nebraska Street Railway, 1892

December 16, 2017
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Submitted by Ethan, who says: Thought you might enjoy this hand-painted streetcar map of Lincoln, Nebraska from 1892 (Link to high-res PDF). I particularly enjoy the attempt at route colors and what appear to be marked stops. Transit Maps says: Oh, I definitely do enjoy this one, Ethan! From the blue background and white linework, it looks as if this may have originally been a blueprint drawing of the city that’s then been embellished by […]

Submission – Historical Map: Madrid Metro Map and Linear Diagram, 1945

December 6, 2017
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Submitted by Pablo Martin, who says: This is the Madrid metro map from 1945, I found the diagram below really interesting, as I haven’t seen a similar one for any other network. Transit Maps says: Nice find, Pablo! The geographical map is fairly clumsy and unremarkable, but the diagram beneath is very interesting. It’s what I call a “linear diagram” – each route is shown as a straight line, with interchanges indicated by a vertical joining […]

Submission – Historical Map: Original Conceptual Map for the São Paulo Metro, c. 1967

November 21, 2017
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Submitted by Frederico, who says: This is the network diagram of the first company identity ever created for the São Paulo metro by Brazillian design agency Cauduro Martino, back in the late 1960s, when the network was still being conceived – you can see several stations and line branches that didn’t succeed. Alongside with the map, they also delivered to the metro a big project of visual communications involving the logo – which is still […]

Project: Amtrak Timeline Map, 1971-2017

November 9, 2017
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Here's a fun little project: an interactive timeline of Amtrak's passenger rail routes from its inauguration in 1971 through to the current day. Using the extensive Amtrak timetable archives over at the Museum of Railway Timetables (well worth a visit!), I've created maps in five year increments -- 1971, 1976, 1981, etc. -- that show the changing face of passenger rail in the United States over the last 40-plus years. Click through to inspect the map!

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

October 28, 2017
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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: Trolleybuses of Tallinn, Estonia, c. 2000–2012

October 28, 2017
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A stylish little diagram of trolleybus routes in the Estonian capital. It’s from later than 2000, when Line 8 was abandoned, but also from before December 2012, when Line 2 was replaced by regular buses. Today, only lines 1, 3, 4, 5 and 9 remain. Can anyone date this even more precisely? Stylistically, the diagram reminds me a lot of these 1990 diagrams of trams and trolleybuses from Kaliningrad, with some interesting abstract shapes and […]

Historical Map: Trolleybus and Tram Routes of London, 1947

October 28, 2017
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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: Lines of the Utah Light & Traction Co., Salt Lake City, 1940

October 27, 2017
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A great old map of transit from Salt Lake City, showing bus lines (in green), trolleybus lines (in red, and curiously referred to as “electric coaches”, a designation that only seems to have been used here), and the one last remaining streetcar line (in blue). Even that seems to be on its last legs, as the legend says that Line 5 could be served by “street car or gas bus”. I believe the last streetcar ran in […]

Historical Advertisement: Opening of the Eastern Suburbs Railway, Sydney, June 1979

October 27, 2017
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A full-page ad in the Daily Telegraph newspaper promoting the opening of the Eastern Suburbs line. Along with the copy promoting all the benefits – modern stations, high speed escalators and automatic turnstiles amongst them – there’s a neat little diagram that shows how the line is integrated into the wider transit network. Along with the nicely stylised City Circle, there’s also lines radiating out from the new stations to show bus connections. Of interest […]

Photo: Vintage MBTA Red Line Order of Stations Sign

October 22, 2017
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Submitted by Linda, who says: MBTA Red Line Order of Stations (Harvard to Ashmont) sign on old retired Red Line car, Transit Day 2017, Seashore Trolley Museum, Kennebunkport, ME. Transit Maps says: A diagram of services along a rail line is – in its most basic form – nothing more than a list of stations served, so this sign actually works quite efficiently. It’s also similar to many railroad timetables, which read down for service […]