Fantasy T maps

[TheRatmeister]

(That said, the original Maverick seems to be known solely for being the region’s first slave owner, one seen as cruel and sexually abusive even by his contemporaries. That name seems particularly grotesque. It is true that the square/neighborhood itself now has given that name a separate history and perhaps that is enough to justify keeping it. I think this situation is different than Ruggles or Lechmere, and I do think it’s worth having a conversation about. Not right now though — probably best to wait until the T is less broken.)

That's fair enough. I see you've called it Zipporah on your map, who/where/what did you get the name from?

 

[Riverside]

That's fair enough. I see you've called it Zipporah on your map, who/where/what did you get the name from?

The first African American to own land in Boston. (Really it should be Atkins, since that was her surname (or her original surname, Potter), but I thought that Googling “zipporah boston” would get clearer results than “atkins boston”, and so would be better "marketing" for this general idea in its early stage. If it got serious momentum, it would be worth giving careful thought to the best way to identify and recognize her.)

Another name I considered for Maverick was "Walker", after David Walker, a black abolitionist whose “Appeal to the Colored Citizens of the World” was so revolutionary that it was essentially banned in the South.

 

[TheRatmeister]

The first African American to own land in Boston. (Really it should be Atkins, since that was her surname (or her original surname, Potter), but I thought that Googling “zipporah boston” would get clearer results than “atkins boston”, and so would be better "marketing" for this general idea in its early stage. If it got serious momentum, it would be worth giving careful thought to the best way to identify and recognize her.)

Another name I considered for Maverick was "Walker", after David Walker, a black abolitionist whose “Appeal to the Colored Citizens of the World” was so revolutionary that it was essentially banned in the South.

I think these would both be good people to name things after, my only concern is that as far as I can tell they don't have any relationship to East Boston. Maybe I'm overthinking the importance of how local the names need to be, but I've always picked people from the same neighborhood if I've needed a name for a hypothetical station in Boston.

 

[Riverside]

I think these would both be good people to name things after, my only concern is that as far as I can tell they don't have any relationship to East Boston. Maybe I'm overthinking the importance of how local the names need to be, but I've always picked people from the same neighborhood if I've needed a name for a hypothetical station in Boston.

Yeah, it’s a fair point, and it touches on the larger question of “city identity and heritage” vs the neighborhood equivalent.

 

[Riverside]

I finally made a map in Illustrator! (Which is truly embarrasing to say, but still!)

There are actually three versions of this map, presented and discussed on my blog. Aesthetically, I think I like this one the best. The thick vs thin purple lines create a good visual effect delineating informal "zones" in the map, echoing and reinforcing the zones created by the Streetcar lines transitioning from Subway/El to Surface.

This version is also probably the most illustrative of Illustrator's benefits (sorry, couldn't help the pun) -- through the use of linked symbols and global edits, I was able to (very easily) transform the first version of this map into the one above, simply by selecting paths en masse and changing their width, and applying a global edit to the station icons, and then doing a little bit of cleanup. Compare that to Paint.NET, where... well, to be honest, I probably would have been able to get it done pretty fast in there as well -- I've gotten really good at making a certain style of map/diagram in Paint.NET -- but it would have taken longer, and ultimately would've taken longer to make in the first place.

From a "Fantasy Map" perspective, this is loosely an "Alternate History Map", although it isn't super rigorous. The Suburban Lines are broadly drawn from the routes and stations served in, like, the 1930s, ish? But I was also working based on "the rule of cool", re-using old station names ("Medford Steps" honestly sounds very cool), fabricating new names to replace duplicative ones (my favorite is probably "Pine Tree Brook"), going all-out on "circuit" routes... I wasn't super worried about accuracy or full-out consistency or full-out plausibility.

One fun thing I like about Fantasy Maps in general, and Alternate History Maps in particular, is that it gives you latitude to come up with ideas that are just as bad as the ones we ended up with in real life, but bad in a different way. Case in point, this map's "Revere-Lynn High Speed Line", which recapitulates the BRB&L's original two-seat train-ferry journey to downtown, but transforms it into a two seat train-subway journey. (Which, honestly, may be one of the more plausible ideas in the whole map.)

Why not combine the (red) Central Line and the (blue) High Speed Line? Well, you see, the High Speed Line continues to run narrow gauge service on vehicles that are hard to classify strictly as light rail or heavy rail; what's more, the transfer station at Boston Air Port was built at great expense as a dual-level station with the High Speed platform superimposed above the Central Line terminating platform below, to maximize ease of transfers and flow of passenger traffic between platforms. Additionally, the positions of tracks and stations would have required the abandonment and/or complete rebuild of Boston Air Port station to enable through-running. So, you see, it's simply never been possible to change the status quo.

(And don't even get me started on how terrible the Streetcar Subway Elevated Loop system would have been!)

 

[Charlie_mta]

I finally made a map in Illustrator! (Which is truly embarrasing to say, but still!)

View attachment 49891

There are actually three versions of this map, presented and discussed on my blog. Aesthetically, I think I like this one the best. The thick vs thin purple lines create a good visual effect delineating informal "zones" in the map, echoing and reinforcing the zones created by the Streetcar lines transitioning from Subway/El to Surface.

This version is also probably the most illustrative of Illustrator's benefits (sorry, couldn't help the pun) -- through the use of linked symbols and global edits, I was able to (very easily) transform the first version of this map into the one above, simply by selecting paths en masse and changing their width, and applying a global edit to the station icons, and then doing a little bit of cleanup. Compare that to Paint.NET, where... well, to be honest, I probably would have been able to get it done pretty fast in there as well -- I've gotten really good at making a certain style of map/diagram in Paint.NET -- but it would have taken longer, and ultimately would've taken longer to make in the first place.

From a "Fantasy Map" perspective, this is loosely an "Alternate History Map", although it isn't super rigorous. The Suburban Lines are broadly drawn from the routes and stations served in, like, the 1930s, ish? But I was also working based on "the rule of cool", re-using old station names ("Medford Steps" honestly sounds very cool), fabricating new names to replace duplicative ones (my favorite is probably "Pine Tree Brook"), going all-out on "circuit" routes... I wasn't super worried about accuracy or full-out consistency or full-out plausibility.

One fun thing I like about Fantasy Maps in general, and Alternate History Maps in particular, is that it gives you latitude to come up with ideas that are just as bad as the ones we ended up with in real life, but bad in a different way. Case in point, this map's "Revere-Lynn High Speed Line", which recapitulates the BRB&L's original two-seat train-ferry journey to downtown, but transforms it into a two seat train-subway journey. (Which, honestly, may be one of the more plausible ideas in the whole map.)

Why not combine the (red) Central Line and the (blue) High Speed Line? Well, you see, the High Speed Line continues to run narrow gauge service on vehicles that are hard to classify strictly as light rail or heavy rail; what's more, the transfer station at Boston Air Port was built at great expense as a dual-level station with the High Speed platform superimposed above the Central Line terminating platform below, to maximize ease of transfers and flow of passenger traffic between platforms. Additionally, the positions of tracks and stations would have required the abandonment and/or complete rebuild of Boston Air Port station to enable through-running. So, you see, it's simply never been possible to change the status quo.

View attachment 49892

(And don't even get me started on how terrible the Streetcar Subway Elevated Loop system would have been!)

Love the maps. They're like steampunk sci-fi, set in Boston.

 

[TheRatmeister]

I finally made a map in Illustrator! (Which is truly embarrasing to say, but still!)

View attachment 49891

I personally prefer the modern MBTA style, but I can't deny that the spider map style does look good. Coincidentally, I have actually been working on basically the same thing, updating my fantasy map and doing it in Illustrator this time, for a little bit now. (Even if I haven't gotten far because I've spent way too much time trying to make GLR+Urban Ring+BLX+OL+CR look good together where they all (roughly) meet in Back Bay)

Later edit: It's nowhere near done but here is what I have for Huntington Ave+SW Corridor so far, I really like how it's turned out so far (Although it's very obviously not at all finished.)

If anyone has thoughts or suggestions for station names I would appreciate them. I tried to find something more interesting for Herald St but I came up blank.

 

[Riverside]

doing it in Illustrator this time

Mind if I ask what you were using before? (I myself have used Paint.NET for many years now, for better or worse.)

 

[TheRatmeister]

Mind if I ask what you were using before? (I myself have used Paint.NET for many years now, for better or worse.)

I was using GIMP, so my previous maps had parts that were done by coloring individual pixels.

 

[Riverside]

Later edit: It's nowhere near done but here is what I have for Huntington Ave+SW Corridor so far, I really like how it's turned out so far (Although it's very obviously not at all finished.)

I missed the edit -- this is looking great!

I was using GIMP, so my previous maps had parts that were done by coloring individual pixels.

Yeah, it's been similar for me with Paint.NET. I think there's value in practicing making maps like this, but it's definitely got its limitations.

 

[Riverside]

I tried to find something more interesting for Herald St but I came up blank.

Ink Block?

 

[TheRatmeister]

Ink Block?

That's a good name, and I think the development is large enough to be a namesake. I'll probably come back with some more stops that I'd like better names for, I try to avoid using streets because it sometimes feels like it suggests that the only notable thing about the station is what road it's next to, not who or what it serves. Same with cardinal direction names, I feel like that says that the only interesting thing about a place is that it's kinda near some better place. Obviously this makes finding names significantly more difficult.

I missed the edit -- this is looking great!

I'm really really happy with how the SW corridor worked out. Getting the GL and OL to parallel each other looks so good. As always though it's the outer GL branches that get really tricky. I've tried to do Cleveland Circle paired with Reservoir this time but it might make the rest of the GL look ugly, we'll see.

 

[The EGE]

That's a good name, and I think the development is large enough to be a namesake. I'll probably come back with some more stops that I'd like better names for, I try to avoid using streets because it sometimes feels like it suggests that the only notable thing about the station is what road it's next to, not who or what it serves. Same with cardinal direction names, I feel like that says that the only interesting thing about a place is that it's kinda near some better place. Obviously this makes finding names significantly more difficult.

I do agree that place-identity names are preferable, especially for more regional services. I don't mind "Englewood Avenue" and "Chiswick Road" for more residential stops on the Green Line branches, as they fit the scale of the area that the stops are serving, and there won't always be place-identity names available. The majority of bus stops will always take the name of cross streets. But "Church Street" for the South Coast Rail station is truly terrible - it's a street that parallels the ROW for miles, with a very common name, with no recognition outside the local area. They should have used the historic name of "Acushnet", or "Brooklawn" after the nearby park since some businesses also use the name. Even the previously-planned name of "North New Bedford" at least gave an indication of where it is.

I will note that the historical "East XYZ", "XYZ Junction", "XYZ Falls", etc names that railroads tended to arbitrarily assign to stations have very often become the locally accepted place names across New England, so that's at least a naming scheme with some precedent.

 

[Riverside]

I try to avoid using streets because it sometimes feels like it suggests that the only notable thing about the station is what road it's next to, not who or what it serves. Same with cardinal direction names, I feel like that says that the only interesting thing about a place is that it's kinda near some better place. Obviously this makes finding names significantly more difficult.

Full agree on this, and wonderfully articulated.

As always though it's the outer GL branches that get really tricky. I've tried to do Cleveland Circle paired with Reservoir this time but it might make the rest of the GL look ugly, we'll see.

It's always an awful challenge, just super difficult all around.

 

[Riverside]

I do agree that place-identity names are preferable, especially for more regional services. I don't mind "Englewood Avenue" and "Chiswick Road" for more residential stops on the Green Line branches, as they fit the scale of the area that the stops are serving, and there won't always be place-identity names available. The majority of bus stops will always take the name of cross streets. But "Church Street" for the South Coast Rail station is truly terrible - it's a street that parallels the ROW for miles, with a very common name, with no recognition outside the local area. They should have used the historic name of "Acushnet", or "Brooklawn" after the nearby park since some businesses also use the name. Even the previously-planned name of "North New Bedford" at least gave an indication of where it is.

I will note that the historical "East XYZ", "XYZ Junction", "XYZ Falls", etc names that railroads tended to arbitrarily assign to stations have very often become the locally accepted place names across New England, so that's at least a naming scheme with some precedent.

Also full agree with all of this, and nicely said -- the scale problem is a good way to articulate it as well. But yeah, the examples of place names coming from railroad station names is one of my favorite examples of transit making the place.