Ike Underground and Simplified

Transit Map Theme Week continues here at Cartophilia.

The representational diagram style of the London Underground map has become the worldwide standard for maps of rail systems. Why not highway systems? Several variations of the United States highway system presented as a simplified diagram have turned up lately.

As a tribute, Cameron Booth has created his own Eisenhower Interstate System in the style of H.C. Beck's London Underground Diagram:



In detail:


Last year, I highlighted Chris Yate's The Eisenhower Interstate System (simplified). This month Chris informed me that he has created a new, revised edition that addresses many of the errors and omissions of the original:



Finally, for your amusement, another take on simplification: A Numeric Topology of the United States Eisenhower Interstate Highway System available as a poster from Hedberg Maps:



Hedberg Maps; their motto says it all: "Life's Too Short for Bad Maps"

Counties and Interstates

Last week, I posted the very popular Ohio is a Piano wherein Andy Woodruff at Cartogrammar mentioned his Counties Visited Map. Andy has noted every county in the United States that he has visited during his travels. I also know that Michael5000 has been recording his counties. Not to be outdone, I created my own:



Click on map for larger view.

I suppose each county recorder can use his or her own criteria, but I counted any county in which I have set foot, whether it was me driving, me as a passenger, or even got off a plane in an airport. Thus, any of the isolated green spots you see above were trips by air to places like Salt Lake City and Boston, with the exception of Niagara Falls, NY, by way of Ontario.

Unfortunately, I did mine the hard way... I took a blank county map and filled it in county by county with Windows Paint. It wasn't until I started preparing this post that I realized that Andy used a really cool tool at Counties.Visitedmap.com. The site creates your maps and keeps statistics for you. I may have to explore this further.

But wait! That's not all!

Last week, I also shared with you the Interstate Highway System as Transit Map and I wondered, how would my travels on the Interstate Highway System appear on that map. Here you go... another 40 minutes of my life I will never get back (but hey, you're reading this, so don't talk):



UPDATE: For those of you interested in collecting counties, Andy has provided some addional useful links:
The Extra Miler Club
Why do you think they call them counties?

UPDATE 8/14: I redid my counties visited map using the Counties.VisitedMap.com mentioned above. This is the one I'll keep up to date:

Interstate Highway System as Transit Map

This week Cartogrammar is highlighting the coincidence that two different city magazines used a transit map theme for the "Best of 2009" issues this year:



Also, coincidentally this week, while looking for something else I was reminded of this clever invention: The Eisenhower Interstate System (simplified) by Chris Yates:



Previously seen here and here, and available from the designer as a print.

Driving to the Beach

So, as previously noted, I am vacationing on the beach. In my nearly half-century of life, this mid-western boy has never done the "week on the beach" kind of thing. Its been a pretty laid back week. Not much to do (and that's just fine) but it doesn't make for much interesting map stuff. So, feel free to move on to the next post.



I'm on the North Carolina coast for a family reunion. All three of my brothers, and most of our kids, wives and grandchildren (none for me yet, thank you) are all staying in a big house of the beach.



The family is scattered all over. My brothers and I are originally from Michigan, but now we live in Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee, Florida and Maryland. I've done a bit of swimming and bicycling, but mostly just hanging out with the family. The biggest bicycling challenge was climbing to the top of the bridge that connects our island to the mainland, over theIntracoastal Waterway



I find it quite fascinating that the Army Corps of Engineers has built this waterway that connects most of the Gulf and Atlantic coastal states with navigable rivers, straits and canals, allowing commerce and pleasure boats to travel without hitting the high seas. Perhaps more on that in a future post.

Another mappish thing noted on this trip: While I haven't added any new states to Where I've Been, I did drive a stretch of highway I've never driven before. That's always fun.



No new map postcards, in fact, I don't think I have even seen a postcard at all this week. Fewer and fewer shops even carry them any more. Who sends postcards any more I wonder...

I'll be back to a more regular schedule next week.

Daytonology North

Last month, in a post about Lost Highways, I wrote about the National Road and the Dixie Highway as part of the national road system prior to the numbered U.S. Highways and Interstates.

The Daytonology blog has posted a brief history of transportation routes north from Dayton as part of a series of articles discussing development of Vandalia and other points North.

Maps include rivers, canals, railroads and highways.

Lost Highways

In Michigan I grew up less than a mile from Dixie Highway, a four lane thoroughfare running through the Township. As a kid, I thought it funny that our highway was named for a Civil War song... It wasn't until many years later that I understood that this was just one part of a series of roads and highways connecting the Midwest with the South; from Sault St. Marie all the way to Miami.


The Dixie Highway was part of the National Auto Trail; an attempt in the early days of automobiles to connect state roads and highways into an cross-county system. It was first proposed in 1914, and was planned, built and expanded from 1915 to 1927 by the Dixie Highway Association, a group of individuals, businesses, local, and state governments. The route was marked with signs, sometimes painted on trees and telephone poles. The symbol for the highway was a red stripe.



The highway was inspired by the success of another inter-state highway, the Lincoln Highway, connecting Times Square in New York City with Lincoln Park in San Francisco.



Dozens of these named highways were developed all over the country. Eventually, they were superseded by the U.S. Highway and later the Interstate Highway systems. Some of the roads that were the Dixie Highway, became US-25 and I-75.

Very little remains of these "Lost Highways". Many states still have roads named Dixie Highway. Here in Ohio there remain two stretches that run north and south of Dayton. For those interested in tracing the paths of these old National Auto Trails can purchase a copy of this poster published by Mark R. Everhart:



"Lost Highways" depicts 48 major Named Auto Trails along with their corresponding pole marker signs on a full-color 22.5” X 28” poster on smooth 80# stock. Below is some of detail of the poster showing Michigan and Ohio, criss-crossed by named highways, including Dixie, Lincoln and the National Road:



The Lincoln Highway, previously on Cartophilia

Abraham Lincoln's 200th birthday

Today is Abraham Lincoln's 200th birthday. A few maps in commemoration:

Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Site:


The Route of Abraham Lincoln's Funeral Train:


The Lincoln Highway:


"Now he belongs to the ages" -- Edwin Stanton