All posts tagged: the Tube

Historical Map: 1896 German Map of the London Underground

August 21, 2013
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This map of the nascent London Underground and “other railways” appears in the 14th edition of Brockhaus’ Konversations-Lexikon, a respected German encylopedia that is still in business today. Now known simply as the Brockhaus Enzyklopädie, the 21st edition was published in 2006 and runs to over 24,000 pages in 30 volumes. The map itself is pretty simple and traditional, notable for being printed in three colours (black, red and a rather lovely teal blue). Production-wise, this […]

Photo: London Underground Quilt

May 30, 2013
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Made as a wedding gift for two transit nerd friends, this is beautiful work. The artist wasn’t content with just Zone 1 or a simplification: this is the whole map, including the DLR and the Overground with their distinctive white centre-stroked route lines. Click here to view the entire set of photos on Flickr, including lots of work-in-progress shots. Simply stunning!  Source: moorina/Flickr

Unofficial Map: London Underground Map Recreated Entirely in CSS

May 22, 2013
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Even though I’m mainly a print designer, I’ve done enough web design work to know how fiddly (yet also powerful) Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) can be. That’s why I’m totally in awe of this incredibly accurate rendition of the Tube Map, created with nothing but code by John Galatini. Not one image file to be seen! Johnston Sans is recreated with a web font, while the symbols for accessibility, National Rail, ferries, the Emirates Airline, […]

Photo – Historical Map: (1985?) London Tube Map

March 18, 2013
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This map has certainly seen better days! The fact that the Hammersmith & City (salmon pink) line is not shown dates this map prior to 1990: the “peak hour only” dashed line on the very light purple Metropolitan Line, combined with the black text for station names leads me to believe that this is the 1985 map. By 1987, the Metropolitan Line had become a much darker colour, and station labels were the now-familiar blue.

Photo: (Back in) Time Tunnel

March 1, 2013
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I love it when people find old transit maps still in situ at stations. This Northern Line map at Embankment dates from sometime prior to 1999 (the year that the Jubilee Line platforms at Charing Cross closed), but is still in place today – this photo was taken on February 21, 2013. Note also the beautiful 1914 green glazed tiles next to the map. Source: stavioni/Flickr

London Underground Abstract: Barbican by Nick Saltmarsh

February 15, 2013
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I’m totally loving this series of work by Nick Saltmarsh on Flickr. By zooming right in on details of the Tube Map, he makes us take another look at something that’s so familiar and ubiquitous. Check out the full set here. Some are more successful than others, but all are interesting… and some make awesome abstract art pieces.

Official Maps: In-Car Strip Maps for Loop or Circle Lines

February 13, 2013
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An anonymous follower asks: “Do you have any examples of a line map for a loop/circle line? I’m curious as to how those are implemented.” Transit Maps says: Generally, a strip map for a loop or circle line follows much the same principles as a usual one, although the available space may have to be used a little more creatively in order to fit things in. Above are a few interesting examples. London’s Circle Line: […]

Video: Making of a London Underground String Map by Dan Coffey

January 31, 2013
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Feeling creative? Why not make a string art replica of your favourite subway system as shown in this awesome video? The pro tip is definitely the taping down of the actual map before putting in the nails for guaranteed fidelity to the real thing. Source: Dan Coffey/Vimeo

Unofficial Map: Circular Tube Map by Maxwell Roberts

January 30, 2013
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Apparently, circular Tube Maps are like London buses – none come forever, then two arrive at the same time. This one is by Maxwell Roberts, an expert on the London Underground map if there ever was one. He’s personally redrawn multiple, multiple versions of the map in just about every possible configuration, just to see what works and what doesn’t. Many are featured in his excellent book, Underground Maps Unravelled, which I promise I’ll review properly […]

Historical Map: Railways of London, showing the Metropolitan and District Lines, 1889

January 10, 2013
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One last post for the Tube’s 150th birthday (it’s still the 9th of January here on the West Coast of the United States!). This is the oldest map I can find that shows what would later be known as the London Underground: an 1889 map of London’s railways – still some 26 years after the first part of the Metropolitan Line opened. Main line routes are shown in red and the newfangled “underground lines” are […]