Great photo of the remnants of an old Metro map. The original poster of this photo on Flickr notes that it’s normally hidden behind advertisements these days. The best I can do with dating is pre-1967, as Line 7 has yet to be split into 7 and 7bis north of Louis Blanc station, instead being branches of the same line.
Source: andrew gallix/Flickr
Submitted by long-time correspondent, Edward Russell, who says:
Finally got a chance to see the updated BART map with the Oakland Airport Connector in person (see Edward’s photo below). Unlike the online map, they do depict Coliseum station as a transfer point with circles instead of just a dash.
[Editor’s note: BART’s simpler online map has now also been updated to show the OAC transfer at the Coliseum station in the same style as this map, so at least they’re consistent now.]
However, they shade the circles slightly – compared to white for other transfer stations – and do not use a circle for the actual OAC terminus. I’m of the opinion that a transfer is a transfer and there’s no need to depict the Coliseum station a different colour than other transfer points. I also think the OAC line should have a circle as well. Thoughts?
Transit Maps says:
I totally see where Edward is coming from, but I actually think there is a difference between the two kinds of transfer stations, even if it’s only very slight and not actually explained that well on the map itself.
First off, let’s look at why certain stations are designated as transfer stations in the BART system – as all the trains stop at all the stations, you could technically transfer between the different lines at any of them. However, it’s not necessarily advantageous to do so for the rider: you might have to wait a long time for the next train, or you might have to go up to the concourse and down to another platform. As I understand it, each of the five “white” transfer stations in the BART system were specifically chosen because they’re the most convenient for riders. MacArthur and 19th St/Oakland stations even denote this reason on the map: they offer timed cross-platform transfers to other lines (in one direction at each station). Balboa Park is designated as a transfer station over Daly City because it offers better connections to Muni services. Bay Fair and San Bruno are a little less useful than the others, simply being the last stations before two routes diverge, but at least that’s pretty logical.
My theory is that as Coliseum station is not the preferred transfer station for the three “main” BART lines that pass through (Bay Fair fulfills that role) but is only for transferring to the OAC, a visual distinction is made between the two “types” of transfer to reinforce that concept. In short, “Transfer here ONLY for the OAC”.
However, I definitely agree with Edward that the Coliseum end of the OAC route line should be a “transfer circle” instead of a “terminus bar”. I guess the map could be trying to suggest that riders emerging from the OAC “choose” one of the circled main line routes, but I’d prefer consistency in the approach to iconography myself.
Side note: it’s really nice to see these newer in-station BART maps acknowledge the other rail transit options in the Bay Area – Muni Metro (even the historic F line!), Caltrain and Amtrak are all shown (but not VTA light rail or the cable cars).
Source: DearEdward/Flickr
Another great map from the New York Public Library archives. What was there before the advent of the subway? Familiar routes, perhaps, but above-grade rather than underground. As the legend says, “Except as noted, all lines are on iron viaducts over public streets.”
nyplmaps:
Manhattan railway company track map of elevated lines in Manhattan & the Bronx 1893-1903
The Electric Railroader’s Association’s 54 x 41 cm hand drawn map shows the various elevated railroad lines and rail yards that existed in Manhattan and the Bronx 1893 -1903, before the construction of NYC’s subway system.
A beautiful early example of a stylised transportation map, showing routes and departure times for steamer ferries along the Sognefjord in Norway (the third longest fjord in the world, apparently), way back in 1907. While the “crinkly bits” of the fjord itself and the locations of the ports of call are faithful to geography, the routes themselves are overlaid with little regard to reality. Instead, they travel smooth, easy to follow paths that make the route of each individual ship easy to follow. Days of service and times of departure are also clearly denoted at each stop along the way.
Our rating: A lovely model of simplicity and clarity, and also really quite beautiful. Four stars!
Source: BBB1945/Flickr
A nicely stylised and illustrated BART map/infographic illustrating the absolutely insane prices of rental properties in the Bay Area. This much. For one bedroom. Ow.
Source: RadPad Blog – link no longer active
Now that Thanksgiving is done and dusted, let’s move on to Christmas!
Submitted by Metrolley, here’s a lovely little map produced by anamea.de that shows the location of the myriad Christmas markets around Berlin in relation to the U- and S-Bahn networks. A nice amalgam of the official map’s style and form with just enough Christmas cheer added – the colour-coded market names (tied to the line they’re on) are a lovely little touch. Nicely done!
Source: An Amazing Earth (link no longer active)
Question: Dear TM, on the new Sydney rail map, Homebush station is situated on a spur all by itself. Could you perhaps explain why?
Answer: Yeah, the map doesn’t make the reasoning behind this very clear, does it?
It’s because Homebush is a terminus for all T2 “all stations” trains from the city. However, limited stops trains that are heading further west (almost) always bypass Homebush without stopping, hence the “gap” in the main line dots there.
It’s one of the few places on the map where there’s been an attempt to show a service pattern – something Sydney maps have never really done – and it’s a little weird and awkward, as there’s no other visual indicator of the station being a terminus station.
So how much do you think this little number set Motorola back? Because I wouldn’t mind this on my wall one little bit. Interior Design by Gensler, photo by Eric Laignel.
Source: Interior Design Magazine, May 2014
A page from a high school geography text book depicting the major railways and operating regions of France. Notable mainly for the eye-popping candy-striping of the regions. Although the source on Flickr says the book dates from 1958, I’m pretty certain it’s a reprinted edition of an older book, as the train moderne at the top of the page seems to be a streamlined “Pacific” 4-6-2 steam engine, popular in Europe in the late 1930s.
Source: Patricia M/Flickr
Submitted by Arne himself (and others). Arne says:
I started my own diagram of all the regular rail connections in Belgium that will be active after the schedule change coming in half December. I got the feeling there was so much noise around this schedule change (train lines being canceled or rerouted), but at no point the rail company had any nice visual representation of what the network would look like in the future. So I decided to make one myself and after a month, this is the result. I would love to know what you think about it! (you will find more background information about how my map was designed on my blog if you want to.)
Transit Maps says:
I do love a massive transit map project, and this one is a beauty! It’s definitely designed to be viewed on-screen as a PDF and zoomed in close, as the printed size would be around 28″ x 25.5″ with teeny-tiny 5-point station name labels. The labels that denote individual route numbers are even smaller, at just 2.5 points.
The first thing to notice is the huge hub of Brussels, which seems to sprawl across a huge portion of the map. While I appreciate the effort to show every route from end to end, I do wonder if there’s a workable way to compress all the routes of a particular type that stop at the same stations into one (perhaps thicker) line as it passes through the city. The main drawback of the style currently used is that some stations in Brussels that only have a few trains call at them – like Kapellekerk/Chapelle and Congres – have their dots a long way away from their labels. There’s eighteen blank route lines between Kapellekerk/Chapelle’s label and one lone dot! An approach I used on my Amtrak as Subway Map poster was to draw a thin line across the route lines that led the eye from the labels to the relevant dot.
The biggest problem I see with the map is the use of red and green as two of the four route line colours. These are almost indistinguishable from each other for colour-blind users, which presents a serious usability problem for the map. It’s ameliorated somewhat by having the service type labelled within each route line (IC versus L in this case), but as I’ve mentioned, these labels are tiny and not the easiest to read.
The only other little legibility edit that I would make would be to have all the little terminus discs that contain each route number/letter rotated so that they all read from the bottom of the map, rather than being aligned to the angle of the route. The less head-turning, the better!
Our rating: A comprehensive and attractive look at passenger rail in Belgium, although meant for close and detailed examination on screen, rather than as a printed map. Needs work to make it accessible for colour-blind users. Brings back memories of travelling Brussels-Gent-Brugge-Ieper-Brussels way back in 2003. Three-and-a-half stars.
See also: this official map from back in 2012.
Source: PDF from Arne’s project website
