Letter line Codenames

[Eric B]

I remember seeing something on it. Maybe not a full map, ut at least a table or something of all the planned designations. Probably at the NYDERA or some other function.

[Around the Horn]

I remember seeing something on it. Maybe not a full map, ut at least a table or something of all the planned designations. Probably at the NYDERA or some other function.

There were "photoshops" of his sign proposals made and they exist somewhere. They were pictures of 161 St , 14 Street-8 Av , Euclid Av , 8th Street and 3 Av -149 St modified to show his sign proposals.

[LTA1992]

I think you are all thinking of George Salomons "Out if The Labyrinth". Sketches and renderings of his proposed Letter/Number system exist. But they are hard to find. The website http://transitmaphistory.com/metromapart/ has a sketch, but they had to go all the way to Iowa though. Here's the sketch:

 

What's interesting here is how he named the stations and especially large complexes. Fulton Street Junction and Canal Street Junction. City Hall East and West. Most stations simply name the street or avenue and cross street e.g.: Worth

Lafayette

 

And here's the signage (found somewhere on Pinterest though I got it via Google) from Out of the Labyrinth. This same set of renderings also exist in The (Mostly) True History of Helvetica and the New York City Subway (which I own):

 

[Lance]

From the same website, Max Roberts modified one of the Salomon maps to show the intended route colors.

 

[Eric B]

I think you are all thinking of George Salomons "Out if The Labyrinth". Sketches and renderings of his proposed Letter/Number system exist. But they are hard to find. The website http://transitmaphistory.com/metromapart/ has a sketch, but they had to go all the way to Iowa though. Here's the sketch:

 

What's interesting here is how he named the stations and especially large complexes. Fulton Street Junction and Canal Street Junction. City Hall East and West. Most stations simply name the street or avenue and cross street e.g.: Worth

Lafayette

 

And here's the signage (found somewhere on Pinterest though I got it via Google) from Out of the Labyrinth. This same set of renderings also exist in The (Mostly) True History of Helvetica and the New York City Subway (which I own):

 

Thanks! I don't think I've seen either of those images, but think it was rather a list of routes, but yes, those colored box bullets on the bottom are what I remember. (Perhaps it was more of those photos, but I'm not sure. From the looks of this, it's from a book, and that's probably what I saw, again, most likely at NYDERA).

 

So,

Lexington: B

Broadway: C

6th Ave. D

7th Ave: E, 

8th Ave: F

Nassau Loop: G

14th St/Canarsie: J 

Nassau/Centre: L

 

Both IRT trunks have a "_2" that ends at South Ferry, and a "_4" and "_6" that go into Brooklyn. These probably represent the two branches (Livonia and Nostrand). On the north end, it seems both "B3" and "F3" stop at 149/3rd, and these would be the and respectively, but there are no "3" designations going into Brooklyn, so the number codes are unidirectional only. (This would be good for stuff like the s to Utica, etc).

In fact, the compound routes are only used beyond where the branches begin splitting apart, heading over the river. The whole trunks have just the letter. (On the signs, what looks like a "o" or something, is some sort of bullet that always appears after the letter, whether there's a number or not).

 

So the B1 is obviously to Woodlawn, and D3 is the uptown and the F3 the uptown . (So both WPR and Concourse are the "#3" branches of their systems). B2 is either or to South Ferry.

 

Also seeing across the board, even numbers are south (downtown), while odd numbers are north/uptown. I'll bet they're also ordered left to right (West to East), and part of the letters are ordered in the opposite direction (east to west, from W4 to 34th).

[Union Tpke]

I think you are all thinking of George Salomons "Out if The Labyrinth". Sketches and renderings of his proposed Letter/Number system exist. But they are hard to find. The website http://transitmaphistory.com/metromapart/ has a sketch, but they had to go all the way to Iowa though. Here's the sketch:

 

What's interesting here is how he named the stations and especially large complexes. Fulton Street Junction and Canal Street Junction. City Hall East and West. Most stations simply name the street or avenue and cross street e.g.: Worth

Lafayette

 

And here's the signage (found somewhere on Pinterest though I got it via Google) from Out of the Labyrinth. This same set of renderings also exist in The (Mostly) True History of Helvetica and the New York City Subway (which I own):

 

 

I saw some of this at an event at the transit museum. They had a guide on it. I have pictures, but sadly, my camera I think had no battery so I only have lousy phone pictures I can't do anything with.

[MHV9218]

What's interesting here is how he named the stations and especially large complexes. Fulton Street Junction and Canal Street Junction. City Hall East and West. Most stations simply name the street or avenue and cross street e.g.: Worth

Lafayette

 

That was one of his biggest criticisms of the TA at the time--some stations with the same name were at different places (count the number of "59th St" stops, in any borough), while some stations in same place had different names (this was the era of Eastern Parkway, East New York, etc.). The 'junction' title was meant to bring some clarity.

[LTA1992]

That was one of his biggest criticisms of the TA at the time--some stations with the same name were at different places (count the number of "59th St" stops, in any borough), while some stations in same place had different names (this was the era of Eastern Parkway, East New York, etc.). The 'junction' title was meant to bring some clarity.

I hope you didn't think I needed an explanation on why he chose Junction as a connecting term. I mean, Chicago also does this an it's not a problem. I mean, in my view it helps people learn how to navigate the city. You know you need to be on 7th Avenue, you take a train to the closest 23rd Street station. If every bit of information was spoon fed, what incentive would there be for people to actually know how to get around?

[MHV9218]

I hope you didn't think I needed an explanation on why he chose Junction as a connecting term. 

 

Relax lol. Just thought it was an interesting thing when I learned about it.