One of the things I love about running this blog is when amateur map designers send me their work for review. The quality of these maps is often amazing, and this one of Istanbul’s rapid transit network by Istanbul native Kerim Bayer is a fantastic example. Design- and quality-wise, it far surpasses the official map (shown above for comparative purposes), which is a bit of a shambles: weird angles, muddy colours, poorly drawn and a […]
Another Really Big Map, this time from Manchester Victoria Station in England. Beautiful! Source: robertknight16/Flickr
A lovely example of British Rail’s house style of the 1960s and 70s, now residing at the East Anglian Railway Museum. This map is from between 1965 (the introduction of the “double-arrow” British Rail identity), and 1978 (when the “Eastern” component of the logo changed from sitting in an outlined box to a solid box like the British Rail text). Can anyone date it more definitively? Source: Deptford Draylons/Flickr
In St. Petersburg, Russia. Actually, now that I come to think of it, the SNCF map in the ticket hall in Gare Montparnasse in Paris is pretty damn huge, too. Source: 2 Girlz Loving Life/Flickr
Possibly the most abstract and colourful train route map I’ve ever seen. Looks like it’s from a commuter train in northern Poland (around Gdansk and Sopot). Major stations get a slightly bigger dot and their name in white. The overall effect is like a planet-heavy map of the solar system… Source: szogun000/Flickr
Following on from the previous post about Luxembourg, here’s another nationwide system map that resembles a subway map, this time for Luxembourg’s neighbour, Belgium – the land of beer, frites and Tintin! Have we been there? Yes, during my European jaunt in 2003. I caught trains from Brussels to Ghent, Ghent to Bruges, Bruges to Ypres and Ypres back to Brussels. What we like: Nice simplification of a relatively complex network. Major hubs are treated […]
I guess when your entire country is the size of a large city, you’re allowed to show your rail network in the form of a subway map. Source: davidwilson1949/Flickr
Here’s an interesting map from Nürnberg (Nuremberg) in Germany that uses 30-degree angles instead of the usual 45. There doesn’t seem to be major thematic reason as to why things have been done this way: I suspect that it’s purely to make the routes fit into the allotted space. Have we been there? Yes, in 2003. What we like: Competently done, with a visually pleasing layout and good information hierarchy – the U-Bahn and tram […]
Here’s a fantastic map out of England in the mid-60s, showing British Rail service in the Greater London area. It’s almost staggering to think that a map this well drawn was created without the use of computers. I definitely recommend clicking through to the large image on Flickr to savour all the beautiful, crisp linework: this map is technically excellent. Have we been there? Yes, and I’ve used many of the great London terminus stations, […]
I came across this map while browsing Flickr last night, and was totally blown away by it. This map of St. Petersburg’s Metro system is simply gorgeous and is far, far better than the current official map. Definitely one of my favourite maps of the year so far. Have we been there? No. What we like: So many things! The lovely pattern used for the waterways, the stylish icons for points of interest, the inclusion […]
