British Rail Eastern In-Car Map
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)
31st May 2012
Notes: 5
Rainbow Route Map
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)
Chicago “L” In-Car Map
These narrow above-door spaces are a bitch to fit an entire system map into. This really is probably the best that can be done for a big system like Chicago’s.
(Source: veryslowtimetraveler/Flickr)
In-Car Light Rail Map, Portland, Oregon
I have to say that I’m not a huge fan of these in-car maps from my town of Portland. While they serve a purpose and fit in a very awkward vertical space, they’re neither elegant or match the design of the full light rail map. I particularly dislike the station symbol, which makes every stop - regardless of importance - look like an interchange station.
(Source: localmn/Flickr)
Fantasy Map: Columbus, Ohio Light Rail by Michael Tyznik
It’s been a good week for fantasy maps here on Transit Maps. Hot on the heels of the superb Freshwater Rail map comes this beauty from Michael Tyznik of his hometown of Columbus, Ohio. There’s an undoubted Massimo Vignelli 1970s New York Subway map vibe to this - Michael told me that this project actually began as an update of that map, but then morphed into another city altogether - but it still manages to look fresh and new, thanks to some subtle touches like updating the ubiquitous “subway map” geometric sans font with Akzidenz Grotesq and Gotham Black. If you have time, I’d definitely pay a visit to the map’s project page on Michael’s website where you can see the progression of his thoughts on transit in Columbus - from a fairly generic and bland concept that looks like it could be any city in the world, through an elegant-looking light rail system that utilises existing freight-rail right-of-ways, to this (final?) considered and intelligent piece.
Have we been there? No.
What we like: Looks great! The concept also looks plausible (to the eyes of someone who has never been to Columbus, at least!), and the amount of thought put into this map really shows.
The blocking out of localities is something that could look heavy-handed and forced, but comes across quite well. It definitely gives context to the routes. The dashed line treatment for the express routes is quite beautifully done: I especially like how there’s a neat little box around stations where the dash doesn’t show. Adding street names along the streetcar routes is a nice usability touch, especially when the routes convert from light rail to streetcar, reinforcing the differences between the services offered by the two modes.
What we don’t like: I’d like to see more differentiation between local and express stations than just whether the name is set in bold or regular text. I don’t think that this is enough of a visual clue for a transit map by itself - maybe a black station dot for express, and a white one for local could work.
While I understand why individual stops on the streetcar lines aren’t shown (stops are closer together and thus “beneath” the scale of this map), I think it would be useful to indicate where transfers between light rail and streetcar can be made. Examples of this include the 2, 3 and 4 where they cross the light rail lines at Union Station, the 2 and 3 at Morse Road on the “A” line, and the 3 at Easton/Stelzer Road on the “E” line. A simple line linking the lines may be enough to indicate that a transfer can be made.
Apart from these thoughts, there’s just a couple of minor quibbles: some of the rounded edges on the localities don’t seem to nest well with the curves of the river (look at the north east corner of Franklinton, for example), the letter designation circles for the “A” line are a different blue to the line itself (C75 M33 Y1 K0 compared to C67 M35 Y2 K0), and the gaps at the directional arrows in the one-way sections of the streetcar routes area a little wide for my liking.
Our rating: Excellent. Well-considered and thought out, stylish and attractive. A couple of usability issues that can be easily corrected. Thanks for sharing your map with us, Michael. 4 stars!
(Source: Michael’s website)
How the WMATA Rush+ Maps Are Printed
Many thanks to Matt Johnson for telling me about this amazing photoset on Flickr that details the process involved in printing the new Rush+ station maps for Washington, DC’s Metro system. Click through to see the whole set!
Even as an experienced graphic designer, I was amazed to see that the maps are screen printed - each colour on the map is printed one after the other, each using a separate screen with its own spot colour ink. With a map as complex as this, that means that there are a whopping twelve different colours to print! These being: river blue, park green, National Mall green, Blue Line, Orange Line, Yellow Line, Green Line, Red Line, Silver Line, District/County border grey, Beltway grey, and finally, black.
I would have thought with the advances in digital printing and stochastic (micro) screening, that these could be produced digitally in one step instead of twelve, but maybe these are special long-lasting UV inks that will withstand many years of use without fading - an important consideration for station maps! In any case, these photos are a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at a process that many people may not even think about.
EDIT: A tweet from a Metro representative confirms that there are THIRTEEN colours used in the printing: 4 greys (Silver Line, Beltway grey, county border grey, and icon grey), 3 greens (parks, Mall, Green Line), 2 Blues (river, Blue Line), Black, Red, Yellow and Orange.
Luxembourg Rail Map, 1999
I guess when your entire country is the size of a large city, you’re allowed show your rail network in the form of a subway map.
(Source: davidwilson1949/Flickr)
Fantasy Map: Freshwater Railway, Detroit and Southeast Michigan
This map has to be part of the most convincing fantasy transit system I have ever seen. As well as this stylish and distinctive map, there’s an entire website, complete with additional bus maps, timetables and more. I’ll also note here that the website design puts most transit agencies to shame…
If you weren’t familiar with Detroit, you’d be forgiven for thinking this was real (I kind of wonder how many tourists have been tricked into thinking this system exists). It’s only when you realise that the trains “depart” from the derelict Michigan Central Station (which is also Freshwater Rail’s business address), that the elaborate hoax is revealed.
Have we been there? Yes, to visit my father-in-law. He lives in South Lyon and works at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, so he’d still have to drive to work unless the connections were remarkably good…
What we like: Attractive and distinctive map, based on 30-degree angles instead of the usual 45. It’s nice to see a map that forges its own identity and is not afraid to look different, even if it’s not real. The pastel route lines with their thick black borders are surprisingly effective, and together with the typeface chosen (Brandon Grotesque), create a lovely Art Deco feel to the whole map. Part of a greater, entirely cohesive whole - this is seriously impressive work.
What we don’t like: Not entirely in favour of the type angled up at 60 degrees, as I feel it makes the map harder to read, but acknowledge that it suits the design aesthetic of the map quite well.
Our rating: Astounding. 5 stars!
(Source: Freshwater Railway website - WARNING: EXTREMELY CONVINCING!)
Official Map: Nürnberg/Fürth, Germany
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 get the important route colours, followed by the distinctive green S-Bahn routes, and subsidiary grey Regional trains.
What we don’t like: The grey text that sits behind the map denoting the two cities is huge, overpowering and distracting. If the text has to be that large, it could be tinted back much lighter. I’m not entirely sure why its needed, as the two Hauptbahnhofs could both labelled with the relevant names.
A few poorly drawn curves, especially where the S1 and R1 lines turn north. The triple arrowhead in the southeast where the S2, S3 and R5 lines leave the map would work much better if the central arrow was extended a little further so as not to touch the other arrows. The bus interchange icons are a little visually strong, while the Park and Ride icons recede too much into the background. The U21 and tram route 6 seem unnecessarily close in colour.
Our rating: Good without being outstanding in any way. Three stars.
(Source: Official VAG website)
Official Map: Bus Routes of Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada
This map was nominated by Tumblr user Tevi as the worst transit map ever. While I don’t agree, as the map is at least competently drawn, it does have some serious shortcomings, not the least of which is knowing how much detail is too much.
Have we been there? No
What we like: The blue background behind the map is a refreshing change from white or neutral grey, and the north pointer is quite lovely (north pointers are often very generic and boring, so it’s good to see a nice one).
What we don’t like: The first infuriating thing: the lack of a legend or key that explains what the different styles of route lines represent. Why do some have a white dotted line in the middle? Why are some dashed? It was only after 20 minutes of study that I realised that the dotted route lines correspond to Minibus and Taxibus services. I’m still not entirely sure what the dashed lines represent. Peak-hour only?
To my mind, there’s too much unnecessary route detail on the map. Do users of the map really need to see the separate entry and exit ramps that the buses use to access or leave the freeway in order to get to their destination? It just adds extra visual clutter to the map and could be simplified.
The rainbow circle of routes around the Université de Sherbrooke really needs some work, and the less said about the inset of the city centre, the better - it barely shows any more detail than the main map and seems to be very confused. I still can’t work out the exact placement of the Dépot station…
Our rating: At first glance, looks quite good, but has some fatal usability flaws that make it very difficult to use. Two stars.
(Source: Official STS website)
