Simon Rogers 

London Underground: 14 alternative Tube maps

London Underground's Tube map has been used as a metaphor for everything from the shape of the galaxy to famous footballers. Thanks to the Londonist's exhaustive list of examples, here are a few of the alternative ways to see London and its Underground railway system
  
  


Alt tube maps: decluttered
Just the basics. The Londonist reduced Tube map. Photograph: Londonist
Daily Mail outrage Tube map
The Daily Mail's map of outrage by The Poke. Says Londonist: "The Piccadilly stops, for example, are all forms of cancer, including immigrant cancer and Facebook cancer … Hammersmith and City pink, meanwhile, is reserved for blue-top favourites such as house prices, Kate Middleton and swans." Full size Photograph: The Poke
Alt tube maps: Monty Python
1974 spoof from Monty Python. Full size Photograph: Great Wen
Alt tube maps: 3D map
There have been a number of attempts to show tube stations where they really are but this map by Andy Hudson-Smith of the Digital Urban blog goes one step further by rendering landmarks too. Full size Photograph: Andy Hudson-Smith
Alt tube maps: 3d stations
London's underground labyrinths are hard to imagine from the surface, so what do they really look like? Andrew Godwin created this project based on his knowledge of the stations themselves - and while they might not be architecturally 100% correct, they do illustrate the layouts of these huge underground hubs. And it's wonderfully rendered in HTML5. Full size Photograph: Andrew Godwin
Alt tube maps: Biblical
The fleshpots of the capital given a religious makeover by James Eaglesfield, drawing on Bible references. Full size Photograph: James Eaglesfield
Alt tube maps: Doctor Who
The Tube map for Doctor Who fans by Crispian Jago. Full size Photograph: Crispian Jago
Alt tube maps: Football tube map
Map by the Football Supporters Federation. Can you find Rebecca Loos? Full size Photograph: FSF
Alt tube maps: Mackintosh tube map
Map in the style of Charles Rennie Mackintosh at the time of his death in 1928. It's by Maxwell Roberts with sets of parallel lines, squares and exaggerated right angles that are the hallmarks of the early twentieth century Scottish designer. Read more Photograph: Maxwell Roberts
Alt tube maps: Life Expectancy
UCL academic James Cheshire has found a way to make the tube map meaningful again. His Lives on the Line project takes ultra local-level life expectancy data and maps it with London's underground stations - see how it varies across the capital. Full size Photograph: James Cheshire
Alt tube maps: Milky Way
Harvard's Samuel Arbesman created this image of the Milky Way in the style of the Tube map. "Our galaxy is unimaginably vast, and we really have no idea what is out there," he says. "This map is an attempt to approach our galaxy with a bit more familiarity than usual and get people thinking about long-term possibilities in outer space." Full size Photograph: Samuel Arbesman
Alt tube maps: electric tube
What difference did adding the London Overground to the network make? This map by Oliver O'Brien shows Transport for London's network and the main intersections - all joined together. Says O'Brien: "I was also thinking about physics when creating the diagram – specifically Feynmann diagrams, bubble chamber traces, particle physics collisions, magnetic flow lines and electrical circuit diagrams. Hence why I’ve called it the Electric Tube." Full size Photograph: Oliver O'Brien
Alt tube maps: US Interstate
Eisenhower's US Interstate road system by Cameron Booth. Full size Photograph: Cameron Booth
Alt tube maps: Curvy
All the diagonals and zig-zags replaced by lovely curvy lines by Maxwell Roberts. Read more Photograph: Maxwell Roberts
 

Leave a Comment

Required fields are marked *

*

CAPTCHA

*