Beck and all

The look of London Transport, whether it's trains, buses, architecture or art has inspired some wonderful books. Claire Dobbin considers the art of the train map combining the best of Leboff and Demuth's No need to ask! Early maps of London's underground railway, 1999 and Ken Garland's excellent Mr Beck's Underground map, 1994 (both of these were published by Capital Transport).
　
What I found interesting about this book is that the author features several decorative maps. These include the underground lines but as a secondery importance to the real purpose of the map which was to reveal what was happening on the ground above the railway, all kinds of buildings, monuments and parks. The master of this sort of map was MacDonald Gill and the book has seven of his poster maps including several enlargements over a spread to show the wonderful graphics and lettering. The book moves on to Harry Beck and his inspired solution to do away with geography and just use straight lines with a mark for each station. London Transport's Underground map today is basically what Beck designed in 1933. Lots of slight variations to the basic map are illustrated, including a short-lived 2009 version that left out the River Thames.
 
If you look at each map to the late forties you'll come across stations that disappear, in central London there are eight: Wood Lane; Brompton Road; Down Street; British Museum; Dover Street; York Way; Post Office; Mark Lane. Some were demolished but others remain, one at least with everything as it was when it closed. The Underground maps of today include some surface lines that have connecting stations and in 1947 Fred Elston made a brave attempt to include bus routes which, of course, do require some geographic sign posting making the map far too complex, it's illustrated on page eighty-four.
　
The last chapter in the book: Beck and beyond, looks at the way the London Underground map has inspired maps for rail services around the world and the way the map has been used by creative folk including Tim Fishlock who managed to create an alphabet by using sections of the map (it makes a lovely looking poster).