Information AboutTube Map |
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The tube map is the schematic diagram that represents the lines, stations, and zones of London 's Rapid Transit Rail system, the London Underground . A Schematic Diagram rather than a map, it represents not geography but relations. It considerably distorts the actual relative positions of stations, but accurately represents their sequential and connective relations with each other along the lines and their placement within fare zones. The basic design concepts, especially that of mapping Topologically rather than geographically, have been widely adopted for other network maps around the world. HISTORY of the tube map would look if it showed the correct locations of the stations]] Early maps The first underground line in London, the Metropolitan Railway opened in 1863. However, as different lines on the Underground controlled by different companies, no official unified map was produced until 1906, when Charles Tyson Yerkes unified the railways and operated them under a combined "Underground" Brand . Early Underground maps were laid out on a geographically-correct basis, and indeed at first had maps of the streets and other local features laid on top of them. 1908 Underground map In addition, there was no consistent Colour Scheme — for example, the Central Line was blue in 1908, yellow in 1926, 1926 Underground map and orange by 1932, 1932 Underground map by which time details such as streets had been removed. The 1932 edition was the last geographically-based map to be published, before the much more familiar style of map took its place. However, the actual routes are shown as blue lines on the Transport For London bus maps. Beck's maps The first diagrammatic map of the Underground was designed by of the railway mattered. This approach is similar to that of electrical Circuit Diagram s; while these were not the inspiration for Beck's diagram, his colleagues pointed out the similarities and he once produced a joke map with the stations replaced by electrical-circuit symbols and names with terminology, such as " Bakelite " for " Bakerloo ". In fact, Beck based his diagram on a similar mapping system for underground sewage systems. To this end, he devised a vastly simplified map, consisting of stations, straight line segments connecting them, and the Thames ; lines ran only vertically, horizontally, or at 45 degrees. To make the map clearer and to emphasise connections, Beck differentiated between ordinary stations (marked with Tick Mark s) and interchanges (marked with Diamond s). The Underground was initially sceptical of his proposal — it was an uncommissioned spare-time project, and it tentatively introduced it to the public in a small pamphlet. It was immediately popular, and ever since the Underground has used topological maps to illustrate the network. Despite the complexity of making the map Beck was paid just five s, as well as altering the line colours - the Central Line from orange to red, and the Bakerloo Line from red to brown. Beck's final design, in 1960, bears a strong resemblance to modern-day maps. 1960 Underground map After Beck Beck had by 1960 fallen out with the Underground's publicity officer, ) that were black and allowed multiple lines through them, as opposed to Beck who used one circle for each line at an interchange, coloured according to the corresponding line. In 1964, the design of the map was taken over by Paul Garbutt , who like Beck had produced a map in his spare time due to his dislike of the current design. Garbutt's map restored curves and bends to the diagram, but retained Hutchinson's black interchange circles (the squares however were replaced with circles with a dot inside). Garbutt continued to produce Underground maps for at least another 20 years — Tube maps stopped bearing the designer's name in 1986, by which time the elements of the map bore a very strong resemblance to today's map. 1986 Underground map Today Alterations have been made to the map over the years. Recent designs have incorporated changes to the network, such as the Docklands Light Railway and the Jubilee Line Extension . In addition, since 2002 the Underground Ticket Zones have been added, to better help passengers judge the cost of a journey. Nevertheless the map remains true to Beck's original scheme, and many other transport systems use schematic maps to represent their services, undoubtedly inspired by Beck. A facsimile of Beck's original design is on display on the southbound platform at his local station, Finchley Central . CULTURAL REFERENCES The design has become so widely known that it is now instantly recognisable as representing London. It has been featured on T-shirts, postcards, and other memorabilia. In 2006 the design came second in a televised search for the most well known British Design Icon .http://www.icons.org.uk/theicons/collection/the-tube-map It widely cited by academics and designers as a 'design classic'http://diagrams.org/fig-pages/f00022.htmlhttp://www.designmuseum.org/design/london-transporthttp://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A673517http://www.design-technology.info/designers/page35.htm and it is due to these cultural associations that London Underground does not usually permit the design to be used or altered for any other purpose. This has only been officially sanctioned on a few occasions:
for launch of a book on subway maps]] Aspects of the London diagram (the line colours and styles, the station ticks or interchange symbols) are often used in advertising. The 'look' of the London Underground map (including 45 degree angles, evenly spaced 'stations', and some geographic distortion) has been emulated by many other subway systems.http://www.ursasoft.com/maps/index.htmhttp://books.guardian.co.uk/reviews/referenceandlanguages/0,,1101403,00.html While London Underground have been protective of their copyright they have also allowed their concepts to be shared with other transport operators ( Amsterdam 's GVB even pays tribute to them on their maphttp://www.gvb.nl/english/travellers/maps/metromap.html) and indeed some other playful references have been permitted. There are also many unofficial maps which have utilised the Beck style for their own purposes - road networkshttp://www.btinternet.com/~roads/map.pnghttp://www.motorwaymap.co.uk/pdf/Web%20v1%20custom%20614x460%20v13%20Dec%20update%20print%20only.pdf and waterwayshttp://www.systemed.net/carto/underground_map1024.jpghttp://www.systemed.net/carto/londonwaterways.gif appear popular, though others appear as purely comedichttp://www.craphound.com/images/tubemap.jpg or for wordplay. Anagram Tube Map There are now even websites and software where diagrams can be computer generated using the 'rules' of the London Underground maphttp://i11www.iti.uni-karlsruhe.de/research/geonet/projects.php?project=MM&lang=en TECHNICAL ASPECTS The designers of the map have tackled a variety of problems in showing information as clearly as possible and have sometimes adopted different solutions. Line colours |
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