Someone's been hard at work with a sharp object here:
As Amphalon who took the photo says "Be particularly careful if the doors are angry".
Jonanamary also spotted a similar sign
Wonder if it's the same person at work?
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Tube Photos of the Week
Stand clear of the angry doors
Someone's been hard at work with a sharp object here:
As Amphalon who took the photo says "Be particularly careful if the doors are angry".
Jonanamary also spotted a similar sign
Wonder if it's the same person at work?
Someone's been hard at work with a sharp object here:
As Amphalon who took the photo says "Be particularly careful if the doors are angry".
Jonanamary also spotted a similar sign
Wonder if it's the same person at work?
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Curvy Tube Map Re-visited
One of the most popular pictures on my Flickr stream is of map expert Maxwell Roberts'"Curvy London Underground Map". Max decided to re-visit the map in the light of the addition of the London Overground line, and has written a guest post for me:
"Thanks to all the comments on Version 1 of 'Curvy Tube Map', many suggestions have been taken into account. My station marks caused controversy before, and this time round I have tried circles, but still directional. The gradient fill was always deliberate; for people following lines, they alert the presence of a station, and give a little bit of 'lift' to the map. Plain circles look drab, standard tickmarks would be completely out of keeping.
Version 2 was quite a challenge. The risk with many lines on an all-curves map is a flailing seasick-inducing tangle. People expected to see the "tangerine octopus" added (as named by diamondgeezer) but these lines have to blend in seamlessly and not draw the eye from the most important part on the map, the centre. For Overground, with all that overpowering orange, I ended up running the lines underneath the Underground lines. This diffuses the orbital mass of colour just enough. Purists will object, but take a look at the current official map, where which line goes above or below Overground seems to be random.
The routes taken by Overground seem to flow well and adding them has not damaged the routes of the Underground network. In fact, the centre of the map has been completely reworked, and compared with Version 1, every line has a better route. The Northern Line West End branch was sacrificed in the process, but it still seems happy."
"So, does this map 'work'? With extra railways on it, the simplicity of Version 1 has been diluted, and the map needs a bit more mental effort to make sense of it (as for any complex map). I think I have shown that there may well be some mileage in designing maps in this way, but die-hard Beck fans will not be convinced. On the other hand, it's hard to know just how bad the design of the current official map has to get before they would be."
Again I think that Max has done a good job with this, particularly with the complexity created by the extra lines. As before Max is very interested in hearing your thoughts, and answered all your comments on the previous verison. If you want to see more of the whole map click from here.
"Thanks to all the comments on Version 1 of 'Curvy Tube Map', many suggestions have been taken into account. My station marks caused controversy before, and this time round I have tried circles, but still directional. The gradient fill was always deliberate; for people following lines, they alert the presence of a station, and give a little bit of 'lift' to the map. Plain circles look drab, standard tickmarks would be completely out of keeping.
Version 2 was quite a challenge. The risk with many lines on an all-curves map is a flailing seasick-inducing tangle. People expected to see the "tangerine octopus" added (as named by diamondgeezer) but these lines have to blend in seamlessly and not draw the eye from the most important part on the map, the centre. For Overground, with all that overpowering orange, I ended up running the lines underneath the Underground lines. This diffuses the orbital mass of colour just enough. Purists will object, but take a look at the current official map, where which line goes above or below Overground seems to be random.
The routes taken by Overground seem to flow well and adding them has not damaged the routes of the Underground network. In fact, the centre of the map has been completely reworked, and compared with Version 1, every line has a better route. The Northern Line West End branch was sacrificed in the process, but it still seems happy."
"So, does this map 'work'? With extra railways on it, the simplicity of Version 1 has been diluted, and the map needs a bit more mental effort to make sense of it (as for any complex map). I think I have shown that there may well be some mileage in designing maps in this way, but die-hard Beck fans will not be convinced. On the other hand, it's hard to know just how bad the design of the current official map has to get before they would be."
Again I think that Max has done a good job with this, particularly with the complexity created by the extra lines. As before Max is very interested in hearing your thoughts, and answered all your comments on the previous verison. If you want to see more of the whole map click from here.
Notes from the Underground - Issue 2 launch
If you spot some Magritte stylie bowler hatted, red neck-tied suited people on your journey soon, it's for the launch of Notes from the Underground's 2nd issue. The publication is a "literary" freesheet set up by two recent graduates and will be handed out from tomorrow and Thursday at 35 central London Underground & London mainline stations and can also be picked up at HMV, Foyles and on the Eurostar.
"In the current climate, people expect their culture to be served up for free," says Chris Vernon. "There are lots of lasting literary journals, but nothing disposable, and we want to fill the gap."
Uh, oh - "disposable". "So not another lightweight freesheet to clutter up the Tube", you may be thinking.
Well, the editors are aiming to provide quality writing that hopefully you might want to keep when you get home. The content of future issues, (the publication will move from monthly to fortnightly), will range from poems and short stories to cartoons. There's contributions from well-established names, such as Bryan Ferry and Russell Brand, to first-time writers who have sent work by email. "We want to give everyone a fair shot," says Vernon.
"In the current climate, people expect their culture to be served up for free," says Chris Vernon. "There are lots of lasting literary journals, but nothing disposable, and we want to fill the gap."
Uh, oh - "disposable". "So not another lightweight freesheet to clutter up the Tube", you may be thinking.
Well, the editors are aiming to provide quality writing that hopefully you might want to keep when you get home. The content of future issues, (the publication will move from monthly to fortnightly), will range from poems and short stories to cartoons. There's contributions from well-established names, such as Bryan Ferry and Russell Brand, to first-time writers who have sent work by email. "We want to give everyone a fair shot," says Vernon.
Monday, February 11, 2008
London Underground recruiting drivers / train operators
For the first time, in a long time, TfL are looking for new recruits as London Underground Train Operators. According to my ex-boyfriend the only way to get to be a driver in recent years was to get a "foot in the door" as a CSA (customer service assistant) or similar and then work your way up.
Looks like times have changed. The ad on RailNews says:
Job Information: Train Operators
West and North London • £38,311
Every time you pull into an underground station you'll see a platform of people, all waiting for you. Whether it's commuters, tourists, leisure travellers or people with specific needs, they all need a professional train operator to look after them. Being the face of the tube is a big responsibility, but getting people safely to their destinations is something you'll be proud to do. Whether you're an experienced driver or are new to the profession, London Underground can offer you a rewarding career. The job is challenging and expectations are high. But if you're willing to work shifts (early starts, late finishes or nights), you are punctual, you've got the concentration to work alone, obey signals and you're happy wearing a uniform, you can expect an excellent salary and great benefits, including 43 days' holiday, fantastic pension, world class training and free travel for you and your partner.
Closing date is the 28 February 2008, so if you feel you fit the bill, get in quickly as that's not a bad salary, fantastic holiday, free travel AND you get to wear a uniform. What's there not to like about this ad?
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Not on the London Underground
It's been a long time since I last uploaded pictures that you've seen of the Tube roundel not in its familiar home. So apologies to all of you who've sent them in. So, here's a bumper collection of the most obvious roundel rip-off's, from the ones I've been sent recently, starting with the UK and then moving overseas:
Spotted by Bushboy1976 outside Sleaford Station.
Continuing the snack theme, Geoff saw this in Cornwall, home of the pasty:
Steve W spotted this in Stornaway, in the Highlands of Scotland, when he was on holiday:
Moving overseas, Dan D saw Abbey Road in Korea
Stephen Karlson saw a roundel rip-off at a technology store in North Milwaukee Street, Milwaukee.
John T photographed this in Adelaide. He said "The logo was on the side of a small tractor on a road construction site. Several workers also sported the same logo on their jackets."
Jason L has recently moved from London to New Zealand. When visiting some people in Nelson, he saw the following store in a shopping mall in Richmond.
Finally, back to Europe with this from Rick G taken at the "Nederlandse Modelspoordagen" ("Dutch Model Railway days"), a major Dutch model railway fair held annually at Rijswijk, just south of The Hague, the Netherlands.
Rick said "Liliput is a registered brand of model railway products. They are a subsidiary of Bachmann Europe, producers of (among others) the "Underground Ernie" line of toy trains. The Underground Ernie toys sport a Tube roundel with the text "Underground Ernie" on the box, so I assume they’ve been granted permission from TfL to use the roundel.
"The interesting thing is that the Liliput logo on the Bachmann website is totally different from the TfL roundel shown on the package in the photo. I wonder how this one made its way into the retail market? As I would imagine that Bachmann’s license to use the roundel does not extend beyond the "Underground Ernie" line of products, and would certainly not entitle them to skew the roundel for use on other brands, as appears to have been done here."
Many thanks to all above. If you have any roundel rip-off's that you've seen on your travels, please feel free to send them to me. The best will be blogged and added to the "Not on the London Underground" Flickr set (I'll try to do it at little faster next time).
Spotted by Bushboy1976 outside Sleaford Station.
Continuing the snack theme, Geoff saw this in Cornwall, home of the pasty:
Steve W spotted this in Stornaway, in the Highlands of Scotland, when he was on holiday:
Moving overseas, Dan D saw Abbey Road in Korea
Stephen Karlson saw a roundel rip-off at a technology store in North Milwaukee Street, Milwaukee.
John T photographed this in Adelaide. He said "The logo was on the side of a small tractor on a road construction site. Several workers also sported the same logo on their jackets."
Jason L has recently moved from London to New Zealand. When visiting some people in Nelson, he saw the following store in a shopping mall in Richmond.
Finally, back to Europe with this from Rick G taken at the "Nederlandse Modelspoordagen" ("Dutch Model Railway days"), a major Dutch model railway fair held annually at Rijswijk, just south of The Hague, the Netherlands.
Rick said "Liliput is a registered brand of model railway products. They are a subsidiary of Bachmann Europe, producers of (among others) the "Underground Ernie" line of toy trains. The Underground Ernie toys sport a Tube roundel with the text "Underground Ernie" on the box, so I assume they’ve been granted permission from TfL to use the roundel.
"The interesting thing is that the Liliput logo on the Bachmann website is totally different from the TfL roundel shown on the package in the photo. I wonder how this one made its way into the retail market? As I would imagine that Bachmann’s license to use the roundel does not extend beyond the "Underground Ernie" line of products, and would certainly not entitle them to skew the roundel for use on other brands, as appears to have been done here."
Many thanks to all above. If you have any roundel rip-off's that you've seen on your travels, please feel free to send them to me. The best will be blogged and added to the "Not on the London Underground" Flickr set (I'll try to do it at little faster next time).
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