Photo: The Tiniest Underground Map
Illustrating a problem with strip maps that only show stations in the direction of travel: the second-last stop on the line has a stupid-looking map. Source: jbbartram/Instagram
All posts tagged: London Underground
London Underground Map Tin in the Doctor Who Christmas Special, “The Snowmen”
It’s not very often I get to combine two of my absolute favourite things in one post: Doctor Who and transit maps! Without giving too much away (spoilers, sweetie!), the tin is presented in-story as being from 1967, and it looks like the BBC props department did a pretty decent job. The map shown on the tin is indeed Paul Garbutt’s 1964 map, which can be differentiated from the very similar 1970 map – even on-screen […]
“Storylines”: the Literary London Tube Map by Anna Burles
Storylines London’s iconic tube map is transformed into a pit-stop journey through classic styles of storytelling, with the individual tube lines turned into genres and sub genres of literature. The depths of the Northern Line are made over into the aptly named Horror Line. The Bakerloo Line coursing past Sherlock Holmes’s Baker Street becomes, of course, the Crime & Mystery Line. And the pink trajectory of the Hammersmith & City is converted to the Romance […]
TubeTable
If you’ve got a spare 1500 quid lying around, you could pick up this sweet London Tube coffee table by artist Alex Hammond for Christmas. Limited edition of 50. See also: MetroTable, a Moscow Metro-themed coffee table. Source: Alex’s website – link no longer active
Historical Map: 1949 London Underground Quad Royal Poster
This photo, shared by Flickr user IsarSteve, shows an absolutely amazing discovery. Construction work at the Knightsbridge Underground station in 1996 uncovered this stunning 1949 quad royal* poster of the Tube map. It looks as if the workers know they’ve found something wonderful as well, judging by the yellow and black warning tape surrounding the frame. For many, the 1949 tube map is the apotheosis of the Beck style, with his ruthless quest for simplification […]
Fantasy Map: London Underground Map from “The Escapist”
Here’s another transit map made as a prop for a film, but with considerably more style and skill that the weird alternate universe DC Subway map for “Leverage” featured a while ago. At first glance, this prop – made for the 2008 film, “The Escapist” – looks like an exact replica of Harry Beck’s unusual and short-lived 1941 London Underground diagram, which uses 30- and 60-degree angles and “Olympic Ring” style station interchanges. Everything is […]
Photo – London Underground, Bond Street
Note the fantastic station identification here – the roundels containing the station name are perfectly positioned to be visible to riders as the train pulls into the station. Lots of other transit systems could learn from this, not mentioning any names (*cough* BART *cough*)! And the Central Line map on the wall looks big enough to be read from the moon. Source: josericardodavid_o/Flickr
Stickers on the Central Line, London Underground
From the now sadly defunct “Stickers on the Central Line” Tumblr, are these hilarious and superbly executed “prank” stickers found on the London Underground. Matching the original strip map almost exactly, they instead insert something unexpected, pointed, or just plain funny. My favourite? Change at Tottenham Court Road for a submarine to Somalia, complete with a very plausible London Underground submarine icon. More here in this imgur album. Hat tip to Twitter user Ben Darfler.
Glorious Vintage London Underground Posters!
theoinglis: “London Transport Museum holds over 5,000 posters and artworks in its archives and, on October 4, 2012, some 300 original London Underground advertising posters from its collection will be auctioned for sale through Christie’s South Kensington saleroom. Demand at the auction is likely to be high but if you can’t afford an original, reprints of the images shown here are available through the London Transport Museum shop. You can see more of the posters for sale on […]
British Humour
engers: When it comes down to it, I still prefer an actual printed transit map in my hands, anyway. I’ve navigated London, Paris, Berlin, Boston, New York and more without an iPhone map: I think I’ll get by in the future as well.