• Margaret Calvert updates typeface for Network Rail wayfinding system (DesignWeek)
• Blind scientist lost in Tube shines light on TfL red tape (Standard)
• Hidden London Hangouts: Routemaster prototypes (LTMuseum)
• A 30km live public art performance for German train travellers (PriceTags)
• Newhaven Marine Parliamentary ghost station finally closes (RailFreight)
• How cities can reclaim their streets from SUVs (CityLab)
• How to measure subway map complexity, and the top rankings (CityLab)
Check out our new section:
As well as some of our other sections:
- Industry News – updated every business day except Friday
- Podcasts
And some of our most popular articles:
- Schrodinger’s Cab Firm: Uber’s Existential Crisis
- You Hacked – Cyber-security and the railways
- On Our Line Podcast #8: Talking Uber, Lyft and Mobility disruption
Feel we should read something or include in a future list? Email us at [email protected].
Comments and tweets may be monitored for quality and training purposes.
Reconnections is funded largely by its community. Like what we do? Buy us a cup of coffee or visit our shop.
The German Art field project was wonderfully silly – thank you.
Of course the complexity of metro maps also depends on which lines you include, or not.]I wonder how the full “London’s Railways” map would fare in that contests, as opposed to “Merely” the Tube map?
I wonder how many others here have actually used Newhaven Marine station?
The YouTube of Acton Depot was so cringeworthy that I gave up after a few seconds – what is it with some “presenters” that they must address their audiences as if they were ADHD children, rather than adults?
@Greg T
The Hidden London Hangouts: Routemaster prototypes episode is really good, once you get past the really short intro song snippet – details and inside prototype Routemasters, showing and explaining their design evolution.
There are a number of minor technical inaccuracies in the Routemaster video.
RM1 currently has the production grille and bonnet (hood). Originally it was much more like RM2.
They referred to it having independent suspension all round. In fact it was coil springs all round, independent at the front.
They also showed a drawing of what they said was the chassis. In fact this was three separate components: a front sub frame, the gearbox and a rear subframe, all attached independently to the body.
The comment about it being nice to drive glossed over one important feature not replicated on any other LT bus apart from the later rear engined Leyland Titan. This was the hydraulic brakes which made the driving experience much easier for a car driver than air brakes of the time (which would have frightened a car driver!). The brakes were of the same basic design as those on the contemporary Citroen DS – a hydraulic pump, and hydraulic accumulator controlled by a valve on the brake pedal.
@GregT “Of course the complexity of metro maps also depends on which lines you include, or not. I wonder how the full “London’s Railways” map would fare in that contests, as opposed to “Merely” the Tube map?”
An extreme example of this is to be found in Glasgow and its surrounding area: the Subway map is incredibly simple indeed (even allowing for it showing both directions in different colours), but other lines are available 😉
Anent the new rail typeface, I see that lower case el is just a vertical line, having an unnecessary confusion with one and capital eye. I’ve never understood this, as it’s so easy to make them different and unambiguous. So that’s a fail from me.