Editing Tube map (section)

===Beck's maps===
The first diagrammatic map of London's rapid transit network was designed by [[Harry Beck]] in 1931.<ref name=":0" /><ref name="1933map"/> He was a London Underground employee who realised that because the railway ran mostly underground, the physical locations of the stations were largely irrelevant to the traveller wanting to know how to get from one station to another; only the [[topology]] of the route mattered. That approach is similar to that of electrical [[circuit diagram]]s although they were not the inspiration for Beck's map. His colleagues pointed out the similarities, however, and he once produced a joke map with the stations replaced by electrical circuit symbols and names, with terminology such as "[[bakelite|Bakerlite]]" for the [[Bakerloo line]].<ref>Train, Omnibus and Tram Staff Magazine, March 1933&nbsp;– {{cite book |last=Garland |first=Ken |title=Mr Beck's Underground Map |publisher=Capital Transport |year=1994 |page=25 |isbn=1-85414-168-6}}</ref>

To that end, Beck devised a simplified map with stations, straight-line segments connecting them, and the [[River Thames]]; and lines running only vertically, horizontally, or on 45° diagonals. To make the map clearer and to emphasise connections, Beck differentiated between ordinary stations, marked with tick marks, and [[interchange station]]s, marked with diamonds. London Underground was initially sceptical of his proposal since it was an uncommissioned spare-time project and was tentatively introduced to the public in a small pamphlet in 1933. However, it immediately became popular, and the Underground has used [[topological map]]s to illustrate the network ever since.

Despite the complexity of making the map, Beck was paid just ten [[guinea (British coin)|guinea]]s for the artwork and design of the card edition (five guineas for the poster).<ref>{{cite book |last=Garland |first=Ken |title=Mr Beck's Underground Map |publisher=Capital Transport |year=2003 |page=19 |isbn=1-85414-168-6}}</ref> After its initial success, he continued to design the Tube map until 1960, a single (and unpopular) 1939 edition by [[Hans Schleger]] being the only exception.<ref name="1939 map">[http://homepage.ntlworld.com/clive.billson/tubemaps/1939.html 1939 map] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070819200738/http://homepage.ntlworld.com/clive.billson/tubemaps/1939.html |date=19 August 2007 }} from {{cite web |title=A History of the London Tube Maps |url=http://homepage.ntlworld.com/clivebillson/tube/tube.html |access-date=7 February 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120128181416/http://homepage.ntlworld.com/clive.billson/tubemaps/1939.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=28 January 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Garland |first=Ken |title=Mr Beck's Underground Map |publisher=Capital Transport |year=2003 |page=32 |isbn=1-85414-168-6}}</ref> Meanwhile, as well as accommodating new lines and stations, Beck continually altered the design, such as changing the interchange symbol from a diamond to a circle and altering the line colours of the [[Central line (London Underground)|Central line]] from orange to red and of the Bakerloo line from red to brown. Beck's final design, in 1960, bears a strong resemblance to the current map. Beck lived in [[Finchley]], [[North London]], and one of his maps is still preserved on the southbound platform at [[Finchley Central tube station|Finchley Central station]], on the [[Northern line]].<ref>[http://homepage.ntlworld.com/clivebillson/tube/1960.html 1960 map] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021204140243/http://homepage.ntlworld.com/clivebillson/tube/1960.html |date=4 December 2002 }} from {{cite web |title=A History of the London Tube Maps |url=http://homepage.ntlworld.com/clivebillson/tube/tube.html |access-date=7 February 2009 |archive-date=15 August 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070815041850/http://homepage.ntlworld.com/clivebillson/tube/tube.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In 1997, Beck's importance was posthumously recognised, and as of 2022, this statement is printed on every Tube map: "This diagram is an evolution of the original design conceived in 1931 by Harry Beck".