All posts tagged: 1940

Historical Map: Sydney Railway Layout, 1953

September 29, 2023
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Unearthed on Twitter (It’ll always be Twitter to me, no matter what Elon says) by @crossing_lights, this is quite an extraordinary find. Long-time readers may have seen the 1939 version of this diagram (and the digital recreation that I made). Here’s the thing: the general consensus has always been that this was a one-off attempt at something in the style of H.C. Beck’s newfangled London Underground diagram. I seem to recall that one theory even […]

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 Cutaway View: Proposed State Street Subway, Chicago, c.1940

April 13, 2017
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Here’s a fantastic (if slightly idealised) view of the then still-under-construction State Street Subway from a c.1940 postcard. This view looks northward along State Street from Adams, and shows the Monroe-Adams mezzanine. Note the direct access from the mezzanine level to the basement level of businesses on either side of State Street – now long since closed. Text on the reverse side of the postcard reads: Cut-away view of Chicago’s subway in the Central Business District. […]

Historical Map: Aerial View of the Puget Sound Area, Washington, c. 1940

September 17, 2013
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An old postcard showing a colorised aerial photo of Seattle and the Puget Sound. Points of interest and the ferry routes of the era (pre-Washington State Ferries, which only commenced service in 1951) have then been added to the image. It’s these ferry routes which allow us to date this charming postcard to somewhere between 1935 and 1942. The little Fletcher Bay to Brownsville ferry route (centre left on the photo) only operated between 1924 […]

Historical Map: Diagram of Tube Services, 7:00am, September 28, 1940

September 9, 2013
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Here’s a fantastic historical document – a tube map used by engineers in London to mark out the status of services on the Underground during World War II. By the look of it, this map was updated at least daily, if not even more often, as this date falls squarely within the Blitz – a period where London was bombed for 57 consecutive nights by the Luftwaffe. The map itself looks like a modified hand-drawn […]

Historical Map: Mornington Peninsula Road and Bus Lines Map, c. 1940s

June 5, 2013
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Here’s a beautifully drawn old map created for the Peninsula Bus Lines in Victoria, Australia by Robert J. Amor. There’s no date, but the general aesthetics and the presence of “Military Camps” near Mount Martha leads me to believe the map is from around 1940-1947, after which Balcombe Camp became the Army Apprentice School. Elements to really look out for: the beautiful ornate compass rose, the olde-time scrolls enclosing town names, and the cameo pictures […]

Historical Map: Perth and Suburban Districts Showing Tramway Routes

October 26, 2012
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The extent of the tramway system in Perth, Australia in the 30s and 40s before it was all ripped up in 1958. Ironically, the State Government wants to build a new tram network over 50 years later. Transit Maps says: Sweet old school tram map, with routes simply and clearly overprinted in bold red on top of a street map. Perth certainly isn’t alone in rebuilding what once existed: this type of urban renewal through […]