Beck Exportation: London and Sydney

William Cartwright,Kenneth Field

doi:10.5194/ica-proc-1-17-2018

Abstract

Abstract. Henry (Harry) Beck’s schematic map of the London Underground is the foundation for most ‘modern’ representations of metropolitan rail systems. From its introduction in the 1930s, it has been the image of the London underground rail transportation system, and, indeed, the image of London itself. Following the launch of the schematic map in 1933 Londoners adopted his representation of the underground as the favoured transportation navigation tool, but also as a physical affirmation that they were citizens of a modern city, a city of electricity and the avant-garde. The London Underground map, as well as being the physical image of the underground rail system, became the signature of the modern city itself. It projected order, systematic transportation and commuter convenience. The map reinforced the general belief that a modern transportation system was at the very heart of what made a city a city. Building upon the success of the map, Beck, and the London Passenger Transport Board, explored how this ‘take’ on the representation of an urban transportation system might be exported to other European, and Antipodean rail networks. This paper provides a dialogue on how Beck’s concept for the ‘metromap’ was offered as an alternative navigational diagram to the, then new, Sydney underground system. It then outlines the results of an investigation about how this ‘Exportation’ of Beck’s design resulted in the 1939 Sydney metromap that was a clone of the London Underground map.

Highlights

Henry (Harry) Beck’s schematic map of the London Underground is the foundation for most ‘modern’ representations of metropolitan rail systems
In the late 1930s Beck was approached by the Paris Metro ( RATP) to apply his design principles in order to facilitate a new metro rail system diagram for Paris
This was delayed somewhat by the conflict of World War II, and it was finished after the War was over

Summary

Introduction - Harry Beck’s London Underground Map

In 1931, whilst laid-off from the London Passenger Transport Board ( Transport for London (TFL) during a time of austerity Electrical Draughtsman, Harry Beck, designed a different way to represent the London Underground. Whilst incorporating the colour coding and basic railway line demarcation, his design did something different to other maps that had been produced to depict the whole London Underground System. It ignored the geography above ground and concentrated on ‘mapping’ the lines, stations and interchanges. Whilst this had been done before for representing single lines or some multiple lines, it had not been done for the complete system.

Exporting the concept - Beck’s Paris metromap

Sydney Metropolitan railway