London metro map

The СХЕМА ЛИНИЙ МЕТРОПОЛИТЕНА (Map of Metro lines) was included as a fold-out sheet, size 570mm wide by 360mm, in the 1985 information booklet published with the London street plan.

However, the data evidently dates from around 1973/4, as it shows Pimlico station (opened 1972) as well as Strand station (closed 1973) and the Drayton Park to Moorgate branch (closed following the Moorgate tube disaster in 1975), but not the Piccadilly line extension from Hounslow West to Hatton Cross opened 1975. It also shows Blake Hall station (Central line), Trafalgar Square station (Bakerloo line) and the Harrow and Wealdstone to Watford Junction section of the Bakerloo line, none of which survived beyond the early 1980s.

As with Soviet street plans and topographic maps, names are rendered phonetically, but there are some inconsistencies and anomalies, such as Surrey Docks, labelled Сарри on the metro map, Сарреи on the street map and Сурреи on the topographic sheet M-30-024. Vauxhall is labelled Воксхолл (Vokskholl) although the Russian word for ‘railway station’ is возкал (vokzal) named after the 18th century Vauxhall pleasure gardens (Vauxhall became a synonym for pleasure gardens, one of which was the destination of an early Russian railway).

The map ignores the names of lines and where two lines run in parallel - such as the District and Piccadilly between Acton Town and Gloucester Road, the Metropolitan and Piccadilly between Rayners Lane and Uxbridge and the Jubilee [at that time Bakerloo] and Metropolitan between Baker Street and Wembley Park – only one line is shown. The map omits the Waterloo & City line, which although an apparent part of London’s underground network, and shown on tube maps, was owned and operated by Network South East at the time.

Several errors appear on the map, such as Pimlico and Vauxhall stations being transposed, whilst Pimlico is labelled Тимлико (Timlico) and Brixton misnamed East Brixton. The fact that these are all on the southern extension of the Victoria line (opened 1971) possibly suggests hasty amendments to an older map. The District line spur into Ealing Broadway is missing and a non-existent connecting line appears between Angel and Barbican. The Hammersmith & City line between Shepherds Bush and Latimer Road is wrongly shown as having an interchange with the Central line at White City.

If you have any comments about the map or this description, please contact me at author@redatlasbook.com