All posts tagged: London

Historical Map: 1949 London Underground Quad Royal Poster

November 15, 2012
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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”

November 5, 2012
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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

November 1, 2012
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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

October 8, 2012
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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!

September 27, 2012
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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 […]

Unofficial Map: A Series of Twin Tubes – A Track Diagram of London

July 21, 2012
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After my previous post about this old track layout diagram from Berlin, reader Rolando Peñate brought this awesome project to my attention – a beautiful track layout diagram of the London Underground, DLR and Overground, complete with platform layouts, disused platforms, yards and sidings. What’s really amazing about this diagram, however, is that its creator, Andrew Godwin, has essentially automated its production. He explains on his website: The map is created with an automated tool […]

Historical Map: Diagram Showing London’s Underground Railways, Power Stations, Substations, 1933

June 18, 2012
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Here’s a fascinating reworking of Harry Beck’s original 1933 Tube map that I haven’t seen before. Apparently it’s from an article in a journal from November 1933 that details the work required to upgrade the electrical services on the Underground. Apart from the stark black and white treatment and addition of the power stations and substations, what’s really interesting about this map are the little tweaks and changes that have already occurred since the first […]

Historical Map: London Metropolitan Railway and Connections, c. 1930

June 15, 2012
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A fantastic old in-car map from London’s old Metropolitan Railway: the world’s first underground railway and the precursor to the modern London Underground. Today, former Metropolitan Railway tracks and stations are used by the London Underground’s Metropolitan, Circle, District, Hammersmith & City, Piccadilly and Jubilee lines. I’m guessing this map is from around 1930 or so, as the Railway’s lines are substantially complete apart from the Stanmore extension out of Wembley Park, which opened in […]