Taking a Look at the 1973 London Underground Map

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As I mentioned last week, I recently inherited a number of old maps from a variety of places around the world and they are now a part of my collection of maps and other transit memorabilia.  I plan to share some of the more interesting additions from this inheritance here on The Travelogue in the coming weeks.

This is a 1973 London Underground Map.  While the London Underground map design has remained fairly constant since Harry Beck’s initial diagram in 1931, there are some notable things on this map that are not the case today.  These include:

  • The Piccadilly Line to Heathrow Airport is under construction
  • The Jubilee Line is not yet open and Bakerloo Line trains operate the branch to Stanmore
  • The Hammersmith & City Line is still depicted as part of the Metropolitan Line
  • The East London Line has a partial identity of its own, but it is depicted in Metropolitan Line purple as opposed to the orange color it would have later on
  • The Docklands Light Railway is not on the map and will not exist for another 14 years

What other differences do you see?  You can click on the images to make them larger.  I apologize for any issues with the quality as the maps were scanned, converted to JPEG, and then compressed to a size manageable for sharing here on Oren’s Transit Page.

london-underground-1973-map-english-1-t

london-underground-1973-map-english-2-t london-underground-1973-map-english-3-t

 

Oren’s Reading List: London Publishes Geographically Accurate Tube Map

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LU 1992 Stock 91223
Have you ever thought to yourself while riding a train that even though the subway map seems to suggest the stations are evenly spaced, they aren’t actually so in reality?  You’re right to notice this.  Subway maps have been drawn without using a scale for a long time.  The first example of such a map is Harry Beck’s London Underground Map form 1931.  Many of the principles that Beck used in designing this map are still not only used in London but in many other cities around the world.  However, people sometimes draw scale versions of various maps to show the differences between the official map and what a scaled map would look like.

Officially, Transport for London (TfL) has not put out a geographically accurate map since Harry Beck’s diagram became the official one in 1933.  However, following a freedom of information request in 2014. TfL released such a map for the first time in many years.  Read about the FOI process and see the map for yourself in this story from The Independent.

In upcoming posts, I plan to share some old maps that I recently inherited and added to my collection, the first of which will feature maps of the Underground.  Stay tuned…

Oren’s Reading List is an occasional feature on The Travelogue in which I share articles that I’ve read that might also be of interest to the readers of this website.

Bus Photo of the Month: September 2016

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NABI 40-LFW 7051

NABI 40-LFW 7051

Location: 1st Street at Grand Avenue, Los Angeles, CA
Operator of Vehicle: Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA)
Date of Photo: July 14, 2014

Los Angeles has far more public transit than one might expect for a city with such a car-centric reputation.  In fact, it has the second largest bus fleet in the entire United States, with almost 2,500 buses!  Los Angeles is also the inspiration for at least one other city’s current paint scheme.  Since June 24, 000, LACMTA has been operating the “Metro Rapid” brand.  Metro Rapid service is limited bus service that runs in the same corridors as standard “Metro Local” routes, with some of the components found on full fledged bus rapid transit (BRT) lines.  One of the BRT features incorporated in to Metro Rapid is a special paint scheme for the limited stop buses.  In the photo above, the Metro Rapid bus is painted maroon, while the Metro Local bus is in the “standard” orange LACMTA livery.  I’m pretty sure that WMATA’s relatively new “MetroLocal” and “MetroExtra” schemes are inspired by Los Angeles’s schemes.  This theory is bolstered by the fact that the general manager of WMATA at the time those schemes were adopted was John Catoe, who spent much of his career at LACMTA.

Personally, I’m not a fan of branded buses unless the operating agency can ensure that the proper bus is almost always assigned to the proper line.  Otherwise, the branding is diluted.  However, from what I could tell during my stay there, Metro Rapid buses seem to stick to the Metro Rapid routes and the same goes for the various other paint schemes that LACMTA has employed.  What do you think of branded buses like those featured in the photo of the month this month?  Leave a comment with your opinion!

For more photos of LACMTA’s buses and their various paint schemes, please click here.

Rail Photo of the Month: September 2016

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CTA 5000 Series 5040

CTA Bombardier 5000 Series 5040

Location: Quincy/Wells, Chicago, IL
Operator of Vehicle: Chicago Transit Authority
Date of Photo: July 9, 2014

The Chicago L is one of my favorite rail systems in the United States. The mostly elevated system twists and turns its way through the Chicago skyscrapers in the Loop in a way that no other transit system does in this day and age. Right in the middle of downtown, it feels like you can just reach out and touch the passing buildings. And to top it off, at Tower 18, you have one of the busiest train junctions in the country, and it is a flat junction at that!

I have yet to ride the CTA’s newest rolling stock, the 5000 Series, pictured here. The 5000 Series introduced a number of features to Chicago for the first time, such as AC traction, which is pretty much standard on new rail vehicles these days.  However, some of the features proved to be a bit more controversial.  Gone were the colorful roll signs that identified a train’s line color and destination, replaced with amber LEDs.  That didn’t last long, as the CTA opted mid-order to have multi-color LED signs installed on cars that had not been delivered prior to the decision to switch being made.  Cars that had the amber LEDs received colored LED signs through retrofit.  Another change was a mix of transverse and longitudinal seating.  Unlike the amber LEDs, this feature was not modified, though Chicagoans might prefer otherwise.

As I said, I haven’t been on one of these trains yet, though I look forward to having the opportunity the next time I find myself in Chicago.

For more photos of CTA’s 5000 Series cars, please click here.

Oren’s Reading List: What Makes Train Travel Such an Antedote to Life’s Stresses?

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Amtrak Genesis P40 823 at Sacramento, CA, July 24, 2014

Even if this is the first time you’ve visited this site, it probably didn’t take you very long to realize I like traveling by train.  A lot.  To the point I’ve gone from Washington, DC to Seattle entirely by Amtrak.  To the point that I’ve never been in any of the airports in either Paris or Los Angeles, despite the fact most people traverse them when visiting those major cities.  To the point I’d rather spend a day on the Acela going from DC to Boston as opposed to taking a 90 minute flight between ends of the Northeast Corridor.  And I assume that chances are if you’re still reading this paragraph, you might enjoy traveling by train, too.

So what makes train travel so appealing?  After reading this article by Margarita Gokun Silver that was posted to the CityLab Facebook page recently, I thought I’d try explaining why I enjoy it so much.  For one thing, I’m six feet tall, and let’s just say whoever designed the economy class seats that you find on airlines these days must be at least six inches shorter than I am.  And I’ll save my rants about the TSA security theater for my close friends and family.  But even if flying was a more pleasant experience, there are still some things the airlines can’t offer you.

TGV Paris Sud-Est Power Car 112 at Martigny, Switzerland, March 15, 2008

First off, trains often go on routes that cars and planes simply cannot access.  For example, Amtrak’s California Zephyr traverses parts of the Rockies that are only visible from the train, unless you want to go by raft along the Colorado River.  While it is true you might be able to drive on routes that parallel a railroad route, taking your eyes off the road while crossing the Susquehanna River on I-95 is not recommended.  On the Amtrak route adjacent to the highway, it is encouraged.  Finally, on long distance trains, you aren’t just crammed in to a metal tube with a bunch of strangers all hoping your misery ends as soon as possible.  The train is a rolling community on wheels.  On an Amtrak long distance train, the lounge car is the social hub of the train, where starting up conversations with total strangers is the norm.  In Europe, unless you book an entire sleeping compartment, you’ll be sharing your accommodations with other passengers, so provided you share a language or two in common you can converse among your travel companions and make new friends.  Since when did the person in the middle seat next to you on an airplane talk to you except to ask for a share of the armrest?

Do you find train travel to be an antidote to the stresses of traveling?  And if so, why?  Share your reasons in the comments below!

Oren’s Reading List is an occasional feature on The Travelogue in which I share articles that I’ve read that might also be of interest to the readers of this website.

 

Oren’s Reading List: NYC Subway Record

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34th Street-Hudson Yards Station, December 27, 2015

I enjoy riding trains, perhaps more than most.  That said, I don’t think Matthew Ahn needs to worry about my breaking his record for fastest trip through the entire New York City Subway.  He had the Guinness World Record for the feat, but then the new 34th Street-Hudson Yards station opened on the 7 last year.  Not only did Ahn set out to make sure he would still have the record for the expanded system, he beat his original record by about 21 minutes!  Read about his 21 hour 28 minute 14 second odyssey through all 469 New York City subway stations in this article from the New York Daily News.

While I don’t have any aspirations to challenge this record, I have been to every station on the subways in Washington, DC, Toronto, Rome, Haifa, as well as the entire Jerusalem Light Rail, in a single day (and some of those were on a single fare, too).  What about you?

Oren’s Reading List is an occasional feature on The Travelogue in which I share articles that I’ve read that might also be of interest to the readers of this website.

System Review: San Juan, PR

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Siemens 25 at Sagrado Corazon, March 20, 2016

I was in Puerto Rico for a week of vacation back in March.  The reality of public transit in Puerto Rico is that outside of San Juan, whether you are a tourist or resident of the island, you really need to drive to get to where you are going.  Formal, organized public transportation is pretty much nonexistent outside of San Juan, and even intercity public transportation is often limited to “publicos”, shared vans that operate on an ad-hoc basis.  However, within San Juan itself, the transit system can be relied upon and is a less harrowing experience than trying to navigate the city streets by car.

The bus system, Autoridad Metropolitana de Autobuses de Puerto Rico, operates a mix of Orion Vs, Orion VIIs, and Gillig Advantages, equipment that you’d find pretty much anywhere else in the continental United States.  The fleet itself has about 200 buses and there are about 30 routes criscrossing the city.  Unfortunately, despite the picture you might make based on reading those statistics, the utility of the system is a bit more limited.  Service ceases to operate by 9 PM on weekdays and 8 PM on Saturdays, and only two routes have any Sunday service to speak of.  Also, bus stops have no information about what routes stop there, there are no posted schedules, and there is no real time information available for passengers, one really needs to know where he or she is going ahead of time.

Artwork at the Sagrado Corazon Station, March 20, 2016

There is one rapid transit service on the island, the Tren Urbano that serves San Juan and some of the surrounding area.  However, the line is practically useless to anyone other than people living or traveling along its single route, and I know people who are from Puerto Rico who have never set foot on it.  Unlike the bus system, Tren Urbano operates 7 days a week.  However, service is quite limited outside of rush hours.  I rode on a Sunday when the trains ran every 15 minutes, though with a slight decrease in frequency, the line could be operated with only two trainsets instead of the three that I saw in operation.  Most of the line is elevated, but there are sections with stations in open cuts as well as s short underground segment.  The trains didn’t feel especially fast, especially considering the age of the system (it opened in 2004) and how straight much of the track was.  As is often the case with new stations, each one featured artwork, and I liked some of what I saw quite a bit.  Unfortunately, the 15 minute headways deterred me from exploring any stations other than the two end of the line stations (I parked at Bayamon, rode to Sagrado Corazon, and rode back to Bayamon to return to the rental car).  The trains themselves were comfortable.  The system is operated automatically, but each train has an operator on board to control door operation and make announcements despite the presence of automated announcements as well.

Invalid Displayed Gallery

Perhaps most noteworthy in the entire Puerto Rican transit experience is that both the buses and Tren Urbano use fare media identical to New York City’s.  Same fareboxes on the buses (they don’t accept bills in Puerto Rico either) and same vending machines on the Tren Urbano, down to the graphics on the touchscreens!  I didn’t try using my Metrocard as payment, but it sure felt likely that they would have worked had I tried!

I hope to see an expansion of the Tren Urbano to make it more useful to more people in the traffic choked San Juan area and expansion of the bus system hours to make it more useful in the evenings and on Sundays.  Additional information for wayfinding would also be helpful for tourists and residents alike.  However, the system could be relied upon within San Juan itself for most of my needs while I was there..  Outside of San Juan, I was glad to have a car.

Check out all of my photos from my trip in the Puerto Rico section!

Oren’s Reading List: Subway Train or Temperature Converter?

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It’s been hot and sticky in the northeast US in the past few days.  Need to convert the temperature in Fahrenheit to Celsius?  (After all, those smaller numbers on the Celsius scale ought to be cooler, or is that just wishful thinking?)  Just take a look at the NYC Subway map!

I’m not kidding either!  A friend recently shared this article with me on Facebook, explaining how the 6 train stops on the East Side of Manhattan can also serve as a nifty Farenheit to Celsius conversion table.  Don’t believe me?  Check it out below!

Subway map or temperature conversion table? Take your pick! Image from https://twitter.com/gabor.

Oren’s Reading List is an occasional feature on The Travelogue in which I share articles that I’ve read that might also be of interest to the readers of this website.

Silverliner Sunset

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Silverliner II 9007 at North Broad, April 19, 2012

In 2012, SEPTA finally had enough of its Silverliner V cars to be able to withdraw the last of the Silverliner II and Silverliner III cars from its Regional Rail fleet.  I happened to be in Philadelphia in April and had some time in the afternoon to meet up with a local railfan who I know to chase the remaining cars at that time.  After riding a set from Center City out to Fox Chase, we came back to Temple University to photograph the start of the evening rush hour.  However, knowing where the Silverliner II and Silverliner III trainsets were and glancing through the timetables, I suggested we move up to the North Broad station to get something different.  In the Philly railfan community, North Broad is usually thought of as a morning photo spot, due to its layout relative to where the sun would be positioned.  However, being from out of town, I suggested we give it a shot.  It worked out pretty well.  Not only was the afternoon light conducive to getting decent photos, we had four Silverliner II/Silverliner III sets pass through the station in the span of about 3 minutes, probably representing the entire active fleet at that time.  This is my favorite photo of the set, if you look closely you’ll see not one but two of the four trainsets in this single photo.  Want to see more?  Check out the SEPTA Regional Rail Rolling Stock page and look for photos from April 19, 2012.

 

Oren’s Reading List: The 11 Most Beautiful Train Stations Across America

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Even if the golden age of train travel in the US is more of a memory than anything else today, its remnants are still visible to anyone who still travels by rail.  Thrillist.com has put together a list of the 11 most beautiful train stations in the United States.  I’ve been to 7 of the 11.  How many have you been to?  Which is your favorite?  Was something left off the list that you think should have been included?  Check out the list here and then answer any or all of these questions in the comments below!