Kris's New Map Idea

[Chris M]

In extreme nitpicking:
1. the two interchange circles at Farringdon are not quite aligned (the lower is about 1 or 2 pixels further east).
2. Where the Circle and H&C lines run together on the Hammersmith branch, the pink ticks seem to extend further into the yellow line than yellow ticks do into the pink line. This might be an optical illusion, but if so I think it's worth compensating for. This doesn't seem to be an issue between Baker Street and Moorgate.
3. The pink tick at East Ham seems fractionally longer than those at Plaistow and Upton Park?
4. At Barbican, the Met line tick looks fractionally wider than the other two?
5. the Zone 1/2 boundary near Borough can be redrawn so that the bend occurs between London Bridge and Bermondsey, this way the boundary won't clip the boat icon at London Bridge
6. The Zone 4/5 boundary doesn't need a kink south of Richmond - it should be a straight line from Hounslow Central to the bottom of the map.
7. If possible the Zone 3/4 boundary should not have a horizontal section south of Wimbledon - run it in a straight line from South Wimbledon (which should be on the line, as it is in both zones) to the vertical section east of Richmond.
8. The Zone 2/3 boundary south of Bermondsey/west of Lewisham should not have a northwards kink - from Lewisham continue in a straight diagonal line southwest until it meets the line coming horizontally from south of Brixton.
9. Similarly, the Zone 3/4 boundary south of Canada Water-Bermondsey should not have the step - from South Wimbledon, continue horizontally until you meet the diagonal section from west of Woolwich Arsenal.
10. The Zone 3/4 boundary north of Walthamstow Central also should not have a step - after Leytonstone, continue straight northwest until you meet the horizontal line from Bounds Green.
11. Crossrail is not quite horizontal between Canary Wharf and Custom House - there is a 1px step south between the river and where it passes beneath the DLR north of Pontoon Dock.
12. If possible, the Zone 3/4 boundary should run through the tick at East Ham (which is in both zones) and then vertically direct to Manor Park (which is also in both Zones)
13. Leyton station could be moved north so it is clear it is not in the same zone as Stratford International. Possibly it should be vertically centred between the DLR and Leytonstone.
14. Zone 8 northeast of Watford doesn't need to exist.
15. The Zone 2/3 boundary south of Tottenham Hale doesn't need the step. From north of Finsbury Park, head southwest in a straight line until either you meet the vertical line from west of Pudding Mill Lane or the horizontal line from south of Stratford International, whichever looks the better aesthetically.
16. The Zone 1/2 boundary northeast of Angel and Old Street doesn't need the steps, nor does it need to get so close to Whitechapel. After passing Aldgate East, continue vertically until you meet the line heading horizontally from north of King's Cross St. Pancras, although with a diagonal section at the corner of about the same length as the current northeast-southwest diagonal west of Whitchapel.
17. The Zone 1/2 boundary near Paddington should be a different shape. From Notting Hill Gate, continue slightly further west than at present so the vertical line passes through about the "o" or "v" of "Ladbroke Grove", the diagonal northwest-southeast line should pass midway between Paddington (H&C) and Royal Oak, then verically between the "n" and "g" in "Paddington" (H&C station label), until slightly furthter north than the NR arrows at Paddington, then diagonally northeast to the current horizonal north of Edgware Road (Circle and District).
18. Make the line colour swatches in the key slightly wider so there is a em width between the first and last letters of "Emirates Air Line cable car" and the edge of the swatch.
19. Check all the line names are centred on the swatch and that they have no (or identical numbers of) leading and/or trailing spaces - it might be an optical illusion but "Circle" and "District" don't seem quite centred.
20. If possible, move the Zone 5/6 boundary west of West Drayton west slightly so the West Drayton label is clear of it.

Sorry if this looks a lot, but it is almost all completely trivial - what you have is excellent.

[kris]

I love extreme nitpicking! I’m an absolute perfectionist. In fact, I repositioned *every* label based on a triangle, so all spacing should be uniform now. That alone took 2 hours, so painstaking details are something that I don’t mind.

1. Fixed
2. I think it’s because it’s a web-export at a certain size. I believe it should look fine in the finished PDF
3. Fixed
4. Optical illusion, in fact, the H&C is 0.001 point thicker
5. Done
6. I kept it at a 45° angle, but it lost the kink
7. Done
8. Done
9. Done
10. Done
11. Very odd all these minor shifts, not sure how they started. But fixed.
12. Very possible. Done
13. Done
14. I know, I just kept that in because I liked the look of the kink and to fill out the map a little bit.
15. Done
16. Done
17. Not very easy, what do you think?
18. Done
19. Done. It wasn’t an optical illusion. Something did go wrong with the earlier aligning. I now grouped the swatches with its labels and re-aligned all.
20. Aaaaanddd .. done!

upload.krisvandesande.be/files/170117/9313198.jpeg

[MoreToJack]

Jan 16, 2017 19:21:25 GMT kris said:

I used the Station Management Overview map for the correct label colour, but I might change the odd ones later on for aesthetic reasons. (Aldgate, South Kensington etc for example).

Possibly you're using an old version of this; it changed in April last year and is now as I posted previously. Unfortunately, I can't find an external version (the FftF website has been taken down).

My previous post - outstanding ones are bold.

Jan 4, 2017 22:16:58 GMT MoreToJack said:

--Metropolitan line: Uxbridge, Ickenham, Rayners Lane, Finchley Road, King's Cross St. Pancras
--Central line: Monument(!) [Considered part of Bank & Monument complex]
--Circle and Hammersmith & City lines: Edgware Road, Great Portland Street, Euston Square, Farringdon, Barbican, Moorgate, Liverpool Street, Aldgate, Tower Hill, Bayswater. N.B. LU colour all of these pink
--Bakerloo line: Piccadilly Circus
--District line: Gloucester Road, Barons Court, Hammersmith (District) [Maybe messy to include twice, but they are two entirely separate stations]
--Jubilee line: Bond Street, Canary Wharf, Canning Town [Same justification as XR], West Ham [As prev], Stratford
--Northern line: TCR
--Victoria line: Green Park, Euston

--Arguably, Olympia is primarily an LO station (and staffed as such), as would Willesden Jnct. But as there's no LO that's probably okay

High Street, South Ken and Sloane Square have all become pink - these should be green, for the District. There could be others; you'd be best of reverting the colour changes and going with my original list.

[class411]

This is better that ever!

I notice that a lot (all?) of the anti-aliasing artefacts have now been removed.

It's currently the background on my second monitor (The background on the first is always covered), and I'm looking forward to getting a 40" print made for the wall.

[kris]

Thanks!

What do you guys think about making the zones very gradually darker? Like the further the zone, the darker it is.

[class411]

Jan 18, 2017 12:28:30 GMT kris said:

Thanks!

What do you guys think about making the zones very gradually darker? Like the further the zone, the darker it is.

Only if it's incredibly subtle.

I did think it would look best without the zones at all, but I like the way you have it at the moment, because the zones are all but invisible if you are concentrating on the lines, but the information is still there if you need it. Also, the very subtle grey helps, almost subconsciously, to fill in empty edges and corners.

The big problem I see with making outer zones darker is that it may end up, when observed as a whole, looking as if the inner zones have been left out. That would necessitate darkening the inner zones, which would probably cause the zone shading to be intrusive (which it is not at the moment.) Certainly worth a try, though.

[Jerome H]

Kris, your map looks excellent

The only qualm I have is the station names for Goodge st, Tottenham Court Rd, Russell Square, and Farrindgon.

What if you switched Russell Sqaure to be on the right side of the Picc (could also switch farringdon to the right side of the three lines), switched Goodge St to the right side of the northern and slightly higher and then Tottenham Court Road of the left, switching the connector blob. I think it's a bit odd to have two vertical stations' names horizontally.

Other than that fantastic map

[rincew1nd]

Jan 18, 2017 12:28:30 GMT kris said:

What do you guys think about making the zones very gradually darker? Like the further the zone, the darker it is.

I quite like the zones as they are, they're present but not overpowering (like they are on the official map).

[superteacher]

<<Thread split - use this one for discussion about Kris's (excellent) map idea.>>

[kris]

Thanks for splitting! I was starting to feel bad about hijacking that thread!

[class411]

Jan 18, 2017 23:28:28 GMT kris said:

Thanks for splitting! I was starting to feel bad about hijacking that thread!

LIH*

I was starting to feel bad about having my name as the starter of a thread where you'd done all the hard work!













* LIH: Laugh in head

[theblackferret]

Sorry to've come late to this thread.

This is a great map, really nice and clear compared to all the clutter LO etc brings to it.

The only thing I would personally change is to straighten out the curve on Crossrail between Taplow & Burnham & have the other stations in a straight line down:

0-0-0-0
|
0
|
0


as a rough sort of thing! Mind you, I do like straight lines, even if they don't bear the slightest resemblance to the reality of how the line is on the ground!!

[class411]

Could the Reading end of the 'E' line be extended downwards a bit to be at least slightly representative of the extreme length of this part of the line?

[Deleted]

The only objection I have is that you have included the Elizabeth Line. A current map in my view should only include currently open and operating lines.
From an aesthetic point of view I don't like the hump on the Central Line in the centre of London (required to meet the dip on the Lizzy Line), simply because the Central Line always promised what it said on the tin, an arrow straight line straight through the centre of London, now it isn't a "central" "line" anymore.
Otherwise it looks really clean and the angles are spot on.

[Deleted]

I just rejoined DD purely to say that Kris' version of the map is wondrous - great colour palette, nice to have LU/DLR-only - I myself like 'off-white' backgrounds because it makes white spots and features like the pale blue of the river stand out in an almost fluorescent way. I'm not going to nitpick over objects slightly off by one-pixel or accidentally hidden given that it's an unofficial visual 'jam' being constantly tweaked and developed.

[class411]

Jan 23, 2017 11:17:47 GMT @creamtfl said:

I'm not going to nitpick over objects slightly off by one-pixel or accidentally hidden given that it's an unofficial visual 'jam' being constantly tweaked and developed.

Kris said he welcomes that feedback as he is a perfectionist and wants to get it as near perfect as possible.

Given that, in his position, I would welcome such feedback as it save a lot of unproductive time trying to find the last few faults in something with which you are so familiar you just don't notice errors.

[brigham]

Jan 19, 2017 18:35:07 GMT @innercircle said:

The only objection I have is that you have included the Elizabeth Line. A current map in my view should only include currently open and operating lines.

You could put a note in the key 'opening soon' or 'opening 20xx' for the Lizzie. The intention is clearly to integrate it with the rest, so it does need to be on.
The same with the Aldwych branch. It could be shown dotted, like the District line to Olympia. Both could then have an eaplanation added to the key, ie: 'out of use', and 'limited service' or some such, as applicable.

[Chris W]

Jan 23, 2017 12:34:19 GMT brigham said:

Jan 19, 2017 18:35:07 GMT @innercircle said:

The only objection I have is that you have included the Elizabeth Line. A current map in my view should only include currently open and operating lines.

You could put a note in the key 'opening soon' or 'opening 20xx' for the Lizzie. The intention is clearly to integrate it with the rest, so it does need to be on.
The same with the Aldwych branch. It could be shown dotted, like the District line to Olympia. Both could then have an eaplanation added to the key, ie: 'out of use', and 'limited service' or some such, as applicable.

Kris

Following on from the above, how about adding some filters, so that visitors could activate/deactivate at will ??

• Closed stations (e.g. British Museum, original Uxbridge)

• Closed lines (e.g. Holborn to Aldwych, Epping to Ongar)

• To be opened/constructed lines/stations (e.g. Elizabeth Line / Northern Line to Battersea)
• Non-funded extensions (e.g. Croxley)

[Deleted]

Filters raises an interesting question. I remember Max Roberts criticising the Night Tube map because it was simply a 'filtered' version of the full Tube Map, and argued that it should be specifically designed just for the lines that are there.

Almost everything he ever says I agree with, but this is one spectacular instance where I think he is wrong. Would anyone else agree that whatever basic shape you arrive at for the full map, is what should remain even when lines are filtered out? Otherwise it's hard for people to correlate between versions.

Obviously, I am not including single-line diagrams/ICDs.

[brigham]

We don't need a specific map for the 'Night Tube'. It isn't a different entity; it's just some services on an existing railway that continue through the night.
There are anough confusing and pointlessly-differing 'operator' and 'network' names blighting the London rail scene, without introducing more.

[whistlekiller2000]

Feb 2, 2017 18:08:04 GMT brigham said:

We don't need a specific map for the 'Night Tube'. It isn't a different entity; it's just some services on an existing railway that continue through the night.
There are anough confusing and pointlessly-differing 'operator' and 'network' names blighting the London rail scene, without introducing more.

As much as I'd love to agree brigham I think we have to realise that the days of people working things out for themselves have almost disappeared as the vast majority have become increasingly reliant on the caring hand of the state to inform to granular level and to save them from themselves. Fortunately for me, since my retirement from the metropolis, the days of getting wound up by maps are long gone! 

[rincew1nd]

Feb 2, 2017 16:45:18 GMT @creamtfl said:

Filters raises an interesting question. I remember Max Roberts criticising the Night Tube map because it was simply a 'filtered' version of the full Tube Map, and argued that it should be specifically designed just for the lines that are there.

Almost everything he ever says I agree with, but this is one spectacular instance where I think he is wrong. Would anyone else agree that whatever basic shape you arrive at for the full map, is what should remain even when lines are filtered out? Otherwise it's hard for people to correlate between versions.

Obviously, I am not including single-line diagrams/ICDs.

I too generally agree with Max, but I think having a map of just night tube that bears no similarity to the map of conventional services will just serve to confuse people. My memory is quite visual but me recall of detail of services can be patchy; right now I can tell you that the night service on the Central doesn't go all the way to Epping, but I can't remember where it terminates. If I was to look at a night-tube only map and the east end of the Central wasn't in the top right corner it would take me longer to get the information I need - but it took me about half a second to find out it's Loughton by looking at the night-tube map that's based on the conventional one. In fact, it took longer for the map to load on my screen!

[kris]

I haven't forgotten about this project at all, but stuck with a bit move.

So, how about the planned Tube Extensions? I feel they could be added as well?

[rincew1nd]

Sounds good to me. Then you can call it "London's Underground railways of today and tomorrow", which is an excuse for including the purple line.

[kris]

Jan 23, 2017 13:52:17 GMT Chris W said:

Jan 23, 2017 12:34:19 GMT brigham said:

You could put a note in the key 'opening soon' or 'opening 20xx' for the Lizzie. The intention is clearly to integrate it with the rest, so it does need to be on.
The same with the Aldwych branch. It could be shown dotted, like the District line to Olympia. Both could then have an eaplanation added to the key, ie: 'out of use', and 'limited service' or some such, as applicable.

Kris

Following on from the above, how about adding some filters, so that visitors could activate/deactivate at will ??

• Closed stations (e.g. British Museum, original Uxbridge)

• Closed lines (e.g. Holborn to Aldwych, Epping to Ongar)

• To be opened/constructed lines/stations (e.g. Elizabeth Line / Northern Line to Battersea)
• Non-funded extensions (e.g. Croxley)

I'd *love* to have an interactive version, but unless someone with great programming skills comes along, I'm afraid it'll be just the big map as a vector. 

[kris]

Feb 21, 2017 14:25:53 GMT rincew1nd said:

Sounds good to me. Then you can call it "London's Underground railways of today and tomorrow", which is an excuse for including the purple line.

For me it always has been more of a love-letter of what was, is and will be, then a map that I'll pull out next time I'm out Zone 1. 

(And as a Pink Floyd fan, having Battersea on there would make me smile). 

[Deleted]

I am a big fan of this map! I have a couple of minor suggestions and nitpicks though, of course

I like the way street-level interchanges (e.g. Bow Road/Bow Church) are shown on Max Roberts' tube maps (such as on his Circles Tube Map), so that would my suggestion.
And my only nitpicks are that Blackfriars and Vauxhall should have connector blobs.

[brigham]

I think the 'under construction' idea dates from the days where London Transport was a well-respected unified body working for the public interest. It liked to show what major investments it was making, and rightly, in my opinion, showed 'London's Newest Tube', (the Victoria Line) as 'under construction'.
Is Blue Peter following the Crossrail project?

[mikebuzz]

This is a wonderful map, Kris, well done.

Jan 23, 2017 13:52:17 GMT Chris W said:

Jan 23, 2017 12:34:19 GMT brigham said:

You could put a note in the key 'opening soon' or 'opening 20xx' for the Lizzie. The intention is clearly to integrate it with the rest, so it does need to be on.
The same with the Aldwych branch. It could be shown dotted, like the District line to Olympia. Both could then have an eaplanation added to the key, ie: 'out of use', and 'limited service' or some such, as applicable.

Kris

Following on from the above, how about adding some filters, so that visitors could activate/deactivate at will ??

• Closed stations (e.g. British Museum, original Uxbridge)

• Closed lines (e.g. Holborn to Aldwych, Epping to Ongar)

• To be opened/constructed lines/stations (e.g. Elizabeth Line / Northern Line to Battersea)
• Non-funded extensions (e.g. Croxley)

As an enthusiasts special version perhaps.

Feb 21, 2017 13:27:19 GMT kris said:

I haven't forgotten about this project at all, but stuck with a bit move.

So, how about the planned Tube Extensions? I feel they could be added as well?

Where to start though? Its probably much more than you would ever have guessed. 'London's Lost Tube Schemes' by Antony Badsey-Ellis is a good place to start. You could have the New Cross and Waterloo Rly, the Morgan/London United Tramways tubes, Northern line up to Harpenden and District down to Sutton.

A couple of suggestions and nitpicks if you don't mind, Kris:

1. The Jubilee kink at Waterloo really should go.

2. Turn the Jub north where the Met turns west (i.e. turning north further west) and extend the line north so Stanmore can be in line with Mill Hill East.

3. Extend the Northern Edgware branch to be parallel with Mill Hill East and Stanmore (see point 2.).

4. The station spacing on the Edgware branch. There is a big gap between Brent Cross and Hendon Central in real life, and a neat pattern of 2 groups of 3 closer-spaced stations was achieved by making a gap between Burnt Oak and Edgware when geographically no such gap exists. I'd re-instate the 2 gaps but make them a little more pronounced to match the Hampstead-Golders Green gap (which might benefit from a small reduction). Should be about right to space the branch up to the latitude of Mill Hill East. Finally, the gap should be Belsize Park-Hampstead, and not Hampstead-Golders Green, but the pattern of station grouping of 3, 2, 3 and terminus should look aesthetically pleasing.

5. The lizzy line perhaps to curve north after West Drayton and end parallel to South Ruislip or even Ruislip Gradens, and maybe no further west than Amersham though I do like the almost-symmetry to the DLR.

6. The Epping-Ongar heritage line could be included a la Dangleway. Maybe move the central over to the west a bit to fit it in.

7. A london Overground version as an alternative layer but would be better as a redesign. Personally I would try and start with an oblong with rounded corners for the orbital bit of the LO and fit everything around it.

[class411]

Feb 21, 2017 14:47:11 GMT kris said:

Feb 21, 2017 14:25:53 GMT rincew1nd said:

Sounds good to me. Then you can call it "London's Underground railways of today and tomorrow", which is an excuse for including the purple line.

For me it always has been more of a love-letter of what was, is and will be, then a map that I'll pull out next time I'm out Zone 1. 

(And as a Pink Floyd fan, having Battersea on there would make me smile). 

I remember coming into Victoria the day they shot the photos for the cover.

Of course, I had no idea what the hell was going on until some time later.