Underground, Overground, Wherever We Be? - 1

Underground, overground, wherever we be

When waiting at Wimbledon, troubled are we

Trying to use all the maps that we find

Things that so easily addle the mind

Dear old fat bus bloke, he can remember the days

When he wasn't behind the times

With his map of the routes

Pick out the lines and take them to Waterloo

(well, the original "verse" doesn't scan properly either!)

Maps should be organised, work as a dream

Well drawn and tidy, a clear helpful scheme

Underground, overground, wherever we be

When waiting at Wimbledon, troubled are we

Following on from the blog on the speculative 2040 Tube Map, fbb came across a couple of cartographic delights which are worthy of consideration. But first, let us remind ourselves what led the great Harry Beck to design his, now ubiquitous, diagram.

Early Underground maps were broadly geographic in their design.

In the map above, the traditional line colours have not evolved. Here is a comparison list to assist!

Line           Then        Now

Metropolitan   red         maroon

District       green       green

Bakerloo       brown       brown

Piccadilly     yellow      blue

Central        mid blue    red

Northern       blue/black  black

Drayton Park   light brown national rail

Circle         not shown   yellow

Historically the District and Metropolitan company bosses hated each other's guts and bickered continuously about the bits of line that they both used. Both companies operated trains round the "circle", one clockwise the other, the other. Only with the formation of "The Underground" did things settle down. The line shown as "Drayton Park" in the list above was known, confusingly, as the "Northern City" line.

But even this geographical version was incomplete at Metropolitan and District lines disappeared off the mat into far-flung parts.

As the network grew, geography became impossible ...

... with the centre crushed beyond and practical use.

There is, available today, a geographical map of London''s rail system, produced by Transport for London, no less - but largely kept as a secret from the public. It is available on-line but fbb has not seen anything like it at a station, nor is there a printed version.

It is refreshingly accurate ...

... as it shows the two Watford termini in their correct place!

But the central area is, once again,  impossible.

The print size has been reduced, now too small for most eyeballs. But ...

... it does show that no sane person should travel from Queensway to Bayswater via Notting Hill Gate or ditto between Paddington and Lancaster Gate (a walk regularly walked by No 1 son on his journey from Didcot to his office at Holborn).

This is one of many misleading features of the current diagram version.

Joyously, as it is a London RAIL map, it shows Thameslink clearly in a slightly lighter maroon shade than the Metropolitan.

Thankfully, the full TfL map also includes an enlargement of the central area, so magnifying glasses are not necessary.

Whilst this semi-secret map lacks the stark simplicity of Beck's brilliant work, fbb thinks that folded printed copies of this version should be made available. Thankfully it it too big to be easily printed out, so whilst it is "on-line" it would be super smashing as a &1frac3; of A4 fold-out.

fbb would even be willing to pay for it!

If he were at Wimbledon, he would see that South Western railway would take him quickly, directly and frequently to Waterloo

But there is yet another "new" and unofficial London "Tube" diagram which had attracted the attention of some mainstream journalists.

For keen London-o-philes this is far from "new" now, having been reviewed in the long-lost "Independent" back in 2015. 

fbb missed the news which really didn't reach the wilds of woolly East Devon. But despite the Indy's adulation, the diagram did not catch the public's attention or, more significantly, that of Transport for London.

But it is worth a(norther) look.

Crossrail Beyond Belief!
See you in December 2018 says the sign.

All together now, "Oh No you won't!!"

And an extra £350 million is needed to complete the job.

Oh No it isn't!

No one is saying exactly WHEN it will open but it appears that a huge sum of money is now required to finish the job. We now hear that the £350 million was an "interim payment."

And it was only earlier this year that we were told that Crossrail was "on time and on budget".

Again, you could not make it up.

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 ADVENT CALENDAR 11 

From yesterday's posting:-

Of course some cynics, some non-believers and even some Biblical scholars would challenge the link between Isaiah's writing and the Messiahship of Jesus. One view is the Isaiah was predicting some super Robin Hood character who would save the Jews from their exile in Babylonia.

But very few of those who hold a non-Christian view would fail to accept the the similarities are remarkable.

But would the proposed Babylonian "white knight" bring about the release of the Jews by self-sacrifice?

But he endured the suffering that should have been ours,

the pain that we should have borne.

But because of our sins he was wounded,

beaten because of the evil we did.

We are healed by the punishment he suffered,

made whole by the blows he received.

All of us were like sheep that were lost,

each of us going his own way.

But the Lord made the punishment fall on him,

the punishment all of us deserved.

He was treated harshly, but endured it humbly;

he never said a word.

Like a lamb about to be slaughtered,

like a sheep about to be sheared,

he never said a word.

He was arrested and sentenced and led off to die,

and no one cared about his fate.

He was put to death for the sins of our people.

It is most definitely NOT a pretty site - but neither was the nativity of Jesus. 

As we shall see,

But the real CHRISTmas was wildly different from the fluffy nonsense (enjoyable though it be?) that fills our shops, streets and homes. But it was the start of a life changing, life giving life!

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 Next Christmas Market blog : Wednesday 12th December