All posts tagged: 5 stars

Submission – Fantasy Map: Los Angeles Metro in the Style of the 1972 New York Subway Map by Cullen McCormick

January 4, 2017
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Submitted by Cullen, who says: A few months back you answered a question of mine with some tips for preparing artwork for inkjet printing. Everything printed great, so thanks again for your help! Thought you might enjoy seeing the finished map. Transit Maps says: I always say that if you’re going to do an “in the style of” map, you should aim to replicate the source as closely as possible. That’s how you learn what made […]

Submission – Historical Map: Proposed Baghdad Metro Map, c. 1981-1984

March 25, 2016
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Submitted by peopleneedaplacetogo, who says: The Wikipedia article for “Baghdad Metro” includes this unsourced image of a proposed network map. The way the colours are used in different directions is quite unusual but I guess makes sense if each colour corresponds to a destination (e.g. if destination signs on the front of trains are coloured). Transit Maps says: Hooray for reverse image search, which eventually revealed that this absolutely beautiful diagram was drawn by Richard […]

Unofficial Map: Chicago “El” in the Style of Frank Lloyd Wright by Maxwell Roberts

November 29, 2015
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Gift Guide, Unofficial Maps
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Words cannot express just how much I love this beautiful, beautiful map by Maxwell Roberts, whose work I’ve featured on the blog many times previously. I had the privilege of seeing this map “in the flesh” at the New York Transit Museum event I attended earlier this month, and it looks even more impressive as an actual print. The map is inspired by the work of the famous architect and designer, Frank Lloyd Wright – most […]

Map/Infographic: Overnight Ferry Routes of Japan (2013)

November 8, 2014
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Well, this is pretty much the loveliest thing I’ve ever seen. An awesome map/infographic combo from Japan showing overnight ferry routes in that country. The map uses a grid of dots to define the shape of the Japanese islands, and the routes are beautifully stylised, but clear and easy to follow. The minimalist colour scheme is quite lovely and is used sensibly to enhance understanding of the information presented. Note how the blue and purple […]

Unofficial Map(s): Atlas of Italian Rail Transit by Andrea Spinosa

May 29, 2014
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Occasionally, I get in a bit of a rut with Transit Maps – I feel like I’ve seen everything there is to see, or that I’m just treading water – and then something like this comes along that just blows me away. This poster, designed by Andrea Spinosa of the CityRailways blog (in Italian), provides an incredible look at rail mass transit in Italy, and it’s simply superb. The centre of the poster gives a […]

Historical Map: Austrian Edition of Airey’s Railway Map of London, 1876

May 20, 2014
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Simply beautiful rail line and junction map from the earliest days of what would become the London Underground. Extremely notable for its use of colour-coding to differentiate between the lines of all the different operating companies. In the days of chromolithographic printing, using this many different colours would have been an expensive, highly technical and time-consuming task. The following text is taken from the raremaps.com description of this map: Extremely rare early Austrian edition of […]

Recreated Historical Map: East Berlin S-Bahn, 1980 by Maxwell Roberts

April 12, 2014
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What does noted alternate transit map designer Maxwell Roberts do when he comes across a rare postcard version of the East Berlin S-Bahn network from 1980? He takes a photo of it, and then recreates it using modern design tools, of course. Remember that the S-Bahn was still operated by the GDR even in West Berlin, although West Berliners boycotted the service for the most part, preferring their own U-Bahn network. The Staatsgrenze (state border) totally dominates […]

Submission – Unofficial Map: Metro and Suburban Rail, Milan by Dmitry Goloub

October 8, 2013
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Submitted by Dmitry, who says: It all started when in Moscow was initiated a public tender for creation of a new, modern metro map. I was really excited and made an imaginary metro map for Florence (IRL there’s no metro). But then I thought that I can do something really useful. A map for a real transport system that would be helpful, beautiful and clean. I have completely redesigned the Milan Metro Map. I have […]

Official Map: Isometric JR West System Map

October 4, 2013
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I’m not sure if I’ve ever been so completely, madly and totally in love with a transit map as I am with this. A giant, sprawling, isometric representation of much of Japan showing JR Group railway lines. The map is produced by the JR West company, and its operating area is shown in full detail within the green area (apart from the heavily urbanised areas around Osaka, Kyoto and Kobe, where – wisely – not all […]

Historical Map: Tramways and Trolleybus Routes of Shanghai, 1939

October 3, 2013
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At first glance, this appears to be a basic map outlining tram and trolleybus routes within Shanghai’s International Settlement, dated December 1939. It’s only when you read the legend that you start to realise the greater historical context of this map. The statement that accompanies the dotted route lines in the legend simply states “No service in operation at present due to circumstances beyond the company’s control” – an massive understatement of the volatile situation in Shanghai […]