London Transport Museum - London by Design: The Iconic Transport Designs that Shaped Our City

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Ebury Pres s, an imprint of Ebury P ublishing,

20 V auxhall Bridge R oad,

Lon don SW1V 2SA

Ebury Publishing is p ar t of the P enguin Ra ndom House group of c ompa nies whose addres ses ca n be found at glob al.penguinra ndomhouse.c om

Copyright L ondon T ra nsport Mus eum 2016

Tr a nsport f or Lo ndon a re the owners of the intellectual proper ty of man y of the designs, photographs, cop yrights and trade ma rks featured in the publication, including but not limited to the Underground and Ov erground roundels, Oyster , New R outemaster and Underground map.

L ondon T ra nsport Mus eum has ass er ted its right to be identi ed as the author of this W ork in ac corda nce with the Copyright , Designs a nd Paten ts Act As an educational cha rity , L ondon T ra nsport Mus eum works with o ver 5, young people each yea r, equipping them with skills and c on dence to pla y a succ essful role in s ociety .

Ev ery reasonable ef for t has been made to cont act cop yright holders of material reproduced in this book. If a ny ha ve inadver tently been o verlook ed, the publishers would be glad to hear from them a nd make good in future editions a ny errors or omissions brought to their at tention.

First published by Ebury P ress in 2 www. penguin.c o.uk

A CIP catalogue rec ord for this book is a vailable from th e British Library IS BN 1473550049

CONTENTS

L ondon is the w orlds greatest city . T ra nspor t f or L ondon (T fL) is responsible for the L on don Underground network (or T ub e, as it is popularly known), buses, rail, tra m, river servic es, taxis, cyc ling and major roads throughout the metropolita n area.

TfL serves the needs of 8. 6 million people and its succ ess depends on constantl y inve sting in its networks to offe r the best trave l opportu nities for all its customers. The modernisation work on the T ub e has seen nearly 2 new S stock trains introduced to Metropolita n, Circle, District, and Hammersmith & City lines. Modern trains, signalling and track w ork on the Victoria line have resulted in a signicant increase in capa city . Substantial expan sion of some of our busiest T ub e stations will add much needed capacity and improv ed facilities. On our fully accessibl e bus network, new ve hicles are diesel-electric pow ered, which reduces emissions considerabl y. New Overground ser vices, Cy cle Superhighw ays and other improve ments across all our networks co ntinue apace.

Future de velopments include the Cros srail route (a high frequency , high capacity service , running from west to east across the city and linking 40 st ations) due to open from late 20 18, operating as the Elizabeth line. New extensions are plann ed to the Metropolitan and Northern line s. L on don Overground will progressiv ely ta ke o ver the operation of more of L on don s suburban railw ay services , and there will be more and more electric buses on L on don s streets.

FOREWORD

Central to all this activity to enhance customer experienc e is great design. Since the unified L on don T r ansport wa s formed in 3, it has been recognised that a carefull y designed en vironment is also es sential to efficient and functional operations. Not only does great design tie together every aspect of tra nsport ac ross L on don, it also should perform beautifully in e very practical an d aesthetic detail. W ith an ever more complex city and dive rse population, T r ansport fo r Lo ndon, as L on don Tr ansports succe ssor , continues to demonstrate that com mitment to superb physical and di gital design is a ke y priority . Every journey matt ers, and brilliant design matt ers too.

This book is an import ant par t of T fL s T r ansporte d by Design celebrations, and elegantl y highlights the publics choic e of their favourite tra nsport de signs from past to present. I c ommend their amazing var iety .

MIKE BR OWN M VO Commissioner , T r ansport for L on don

The great thing about L on don s public transport system is that high quality design has been applied to ke eping the city moving for more than a century . The consistent application of F rank Pick s fit for purpose design philosoph y across signage, v ehicles, architecture, maps, posters and street furniture now fo rms not only the bran d of Tr ansport for L on don, but also of L on don itself .

Many of the individual designs are regarded as iconic not precious or devotional in the s ense of religious icon s, but as wort hy of venerati on , the best examples of applied design in their field. The T ub e map, the roundel sign, the Routemasters old an d new , the Johnston font, the black cab each has iconic status, and is v enerated and emulated around the world. The title of this book reflect s how unique L on don is among world cities.

Lon don s transport design is so familiar as to be hidden in plain sight to those who use it ev ery day . But when an icon co mes under threat or is replaced, the strong emotional pride L on doners have in th eir city bubbles to the surface; the last day of the Routemaster , the disappearance of the Thames from the Underground map, or the day the Circle line stopped running in a circle!

INTRODUCTION

The T r ansported by Design festiv al cele brates how the design philosoph y established and evo lved b y Pick from earl y in the 20th c entury has formed so much that is familia r and characteristic in our city . Effec tive design demands a clear purpose and p assionate co ncern from the client about its fitness for that purpose . The commissioning of good design is crucial to both products and service s, for Oyster , the Journey Planner and the management of the L on don Olympics, as much as f or the stations of Charles Holden, the Jubilee Line Extension (JL E) or the humble bus stop. How past, pre sent and future design has formed an d moved L on don and its citizens is fe atured in a rich exhibition, named de signology , at L on don T r ansport Muse um in 20

The design icons featured in this book ha ve been vo ted upon by Lon doners to produce a top Many of these ic ons can be seen at Lon don T r ansport Muse um in the L on don by Design gallery , at the Museum Depot and out on the transport network. They are distinguished by their incredible v ariety , their effe ctiveness and, in many cases, remarkable longevity . They are the stage set a nd the enablers of this remarkable and vibrant city .