Submitted by Chris Coveney, who says: Pet MBTA peeve – there is NO reason that angle of the E-line standoff can’t match the D-line on the Green Line strip Map . (Now it will endlessly annoy you too!) Transit Maps says: It’s not just the mismatched angles of the branches that makes my eye twitch on this map, Chris. I can’t help but notice that all the stops on the “B” branch that were closed […]
Submitted by Shaul Picker, who says: I have a Flickr and save these images from eBay listings and elsewhere. This is from the NJ DOT, now NJ Transit. This map is from the 1970s, as indicated by the presence of the Bayonne Branch. Transit Maps says: This is a great find, Shaul – thanks for sharing! The best I can do to date this is that it’s after 1971 (the formation of Amtrak), but before […]
Submitted by Sam, who says: After finishing this map early last year I think it’s finally time to submit it!Dunedin, NZ had the second cable car system in the world (after San Francisco), as well as an extensive network of trams, with some ferries and rail as well. This is a map of the greatest extent of that old network, including historical closing dates and old line numbers. None of this infrastructure is around now […]
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 […]
Here’s a handsome map from a prospectus produced in the early 20th century to promote the exclusive new Laurelhurst addition in Portland, Oregon. Prominently shown in yellow “gold” ink are the three streetcar lines that provided service to the neighbourhood — the Rose City Park line, the Montavilla line, and the Sunnyside line. Streetcar lines to other parts of the city are also clearly shown, just not given the exclusive treatment of the other three. […]
A mid-1970s map of the LIRR, designed specifically to be given to “news media representatives who cover the Long Island Railroad (sic) and the MTA on a regular basis”, presumably to give them accurate facts at their fingertips when they wrote about the railroad. 234 miles of line! 700 scheduled trains a day! It’s a curious thing, drawn precisely in parts (see the lines out of Jamaica) and very roughly in others; the illustration of […]
Sent my way by Marcin Wichary on Twitter is this rather adorable little illustrated map. It’s from the front page of a leaflet issued to introduce new – and quite substantial – changes to routes in San Francisco, moving from a radial pattern that centred on downtown to more of a gridlike pattern covering the whole city. The changes also introduced the concept of timed transfers at some stations to eliminate long waits for transfers. The illustration […]
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: […]
There’s a child-like quality to this clearly hand-drawn and lettered map (see the crude trees in the parks), but it kind of makes me love it more.
A map showing the extent of the streetcar network in Montreal in 1893. Most of the lines at this time were horse-drawn, though electrification of the system had already begun. “The Rocket”, Montreal’s first electric streetcar, made its maiden journey in September 1892, and all lines were electrified by 1894. Source: Archives de Montreal
