All posts tagged: streetcar

Historical Map: San Francisco Muni Transit Routes, 1970

October 23, 2013
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For a long period of time, the San Francisco Municipal Railway, (commonly shortened to just “Muni”) used pretty much exactly the same map in their brochures. It seems that each year, they’d simply make any amendments required – addition of new routes, deletion of old ones, etc. –  and then reprint the brochure/map in a new colour combination. The earliest example I can find, from 1952, uses a sombre two-color palette of black and red, […]

Historical Map: Street Railways, City of Washington, D.C., 1891

September 24, 2013
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As the first segment of the new DC Streetcar on H Street and Benning Road nears completion, here’s a look back at what existed a long, long time ago. As can be seen at this time, no fewer than ten streetcar companies operated in the District. By 1895, Congress authorised consolidation of the companies and the larger, more successful systems bought out the smaller ones. The map itself is very handsome, with the distinctive grid of […]

Updated: Aerial Photo Transit Map of Portland, Oregon – Now with Bus Routes!

September 23, 2013
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Taylor Gibson’s aerial photo map of Portland’s rail and streetcar routes is one of the most popular posts ever on Transit Maps, so I thought I’d pass on this update to it, which now shows the bus network as well. The colours used match the official TriMet system map, although Taylor hasn’t shown peak hour-only services like the 51 up through Council Crest. What this view really shows to effect is Portland’s grid-like bus network, […]

Submission – Unofficial Map: Portland, Oregon Rail Network by Taylor Gibson

August 14, 2013
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When Taylor sent through his aerial photo map of Portland the other day, he also submitted this very interesting isometric map of the city’s rail network (MAX, WES and streetcar). Tyler is a self-proclaimed “total newbie at making transit maps”, but this is definitely a pretty solid effort. Highly reminiscent of this isometric map of Stuttgart (Oct 2011, 5 stars), the 30-degree-angled route lines allow station labels to be set horizontally without clashing with each […]

Submission – Aerial Photo Transit Map of Portland, Oregon

August 13, 2013
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Submitted to the Transit Maps Facebook page by Taylor Gibson. While nowhere near as complex as the New York system featured previously, it’s still an interesting look at a successful rail transit system. For those unfamiliar with Portland, the thicker lines (Yellow, Green, Blue and Red – shown here as pink for visual clarity, I think) are the MAX light rail, while the thinner aqua and lime green lines are the Portland Streetcar, which has […]

Photo – Historical Map: Pacific Electric Strip Map

July 22, 2013
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Submitted by Sam Huddy, who says: This is a strip map of the Santa Monica Air Line that appears on several station platforms along the Expo Line in Los Angeles. As far as I know, this idea is original to the Metro era. As a work of art, the stops are unlabeled, and typical of the PE, it’s unclear what makes some stops “major” or “minor.” Transit Maps says: This is actually a lovely little […]

Unofficial Map: Dodecalinear Amsterdam Tram Map, by Joan Zalacain

June 19, 2013
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“Dodecalinear” is fancy designer-speak for a 30-degree grid: it refers to the fact that the route lines can be laid out in twelve directions instead of the eight allowed by a standard 45-degree or octolinear map. To put it in simpler terms: imagine six lines that pass through a central point – from that point, you can now travel in any of twelve directions. Technically, you can use any combination of opposing angles and still […]

Historical Map: The City of Los Angeles Showing Railway Systems, 1906

May 13, 2013
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Here’s a great old map of Los Angeles showing the already-booming rail transit network that was found in Los Angeles in the early days of the 20th Century. Electric trolleys first ran in LA in 1877, but  the “Red Cars” of the Pacific Electric and the “Yellow Cars” of the narrow-gauge Los Angeles Railway had only appeared a mere five years before this map was produced. Their lines are represented on the map in appropriate […]

Portland, Oregon: New Motor Coaches Replace Last Street Cars, February 26, 1950

April 6, 2013
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Here’s an amazing full page ad that ran in The Oregonian on Thursday, February 23, 1950 to announce the end of an era in Portland. The last few remaining streetcar lines – to Council Crest, Willamette Heights and 23rd Avenue – were going to be replaced by “the very latest design in city transit equipment”, modern motor coaches. It’s interesting to compare the bulky, inefficient buses depicted here with their modern equivalents, especially in light […]

Historical Map: Kroll’s Standard Map of Seattle, 1914

April 2, 2013
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As Seattle continues with its expansion of light rail (East Link, University Link) and streetcar (Capitol Hill streetcar), here’s a look back at the city 99 years ago. This isn’t a transit map per se – rather, it’s a map of the city that also happens to show the transit network in no uncertain terms. The thick dark lines that traverse the city like veins are all streetcars, cable cars and interurban trains. Main line […]