A charmingly simple two-colour map of streetcar and interurban lines operated by the British Columbia Electric Railway Co. in 1923. Almost everything is hand-drawn and lettered apart from the map’s title, some explanatory text and some line numbers along the streets with more services (13-14-15-16 along Broadway West, for example). This last makes me wonder if this information was added to this edition of the map, either having been previously omitted or the lines servicing the street having changed.

Of interest is the way that the cartographer has made the map simpler (and easier to draw!) by only including streets within a few blocks of each line – in effect illustrating the walksheds or catchment area for this form of transit. Also, that’s a splendid north pointer at the bottom left!

Our final word: Rough around the edges, but simple and effective.

Source: City of Vancouver Archives