depot fun

The depot was as fun as predicted. Though Arthur wouldn't come with me. Maybe he's growing out of it.

There was a fantastic selection of old tube maps. These pre-Harry Beck models actually feel like they might be more useful than the his abstracted version. Jack pointed out, later in the day, that visitors and residents have different requirements from the tube map. If you live in London you often need to know where the stations actually, geographically are - not just how to get to them. I wondered if you could create an Open Source tube map with layers that would allow you to print only the specific bits you wanted.

One of the best things about their sprawling collection is the specificity of everything. The underground clearly had to produce many of its own components, they couldn't get much 'off the shelf'. And clearly, once they'd made something, they were reluctant to throw it away.

The models were deeply appealing, blueprints for a future passed.

Comments

[Ben]

Jealous.

[Andrea]

Oh my God. Tube maps are my porn. I'm soooooo jealous :(