Subway stations that will stop you in your tracks
Through stunning architecture and art installations, a trip through these underground spaces can be interesting, unique, even unsettling—and at the very least, far from mundane. From space-age designs to murals celebrating local history, artists and architects have transformed the simple subway, metro or tube station into contemplative and artistic spaces that may even encourage the use of mass transit. [newsweek.com]
Inside Marylebone, London’s quaintest rail terminus
What’s your favourite railway terminal? It’s an unusual icebreaker. But ask a Londoner — and if they can remember it’s there — they might answer with Marylebone. Somehow, this dinky redbrick station is in the railway Champions League. The country’s fifth most popular station has a square on the UK’s Monopoly board and The Beatles’ A Hard Days’ Night is one of many famous flicks shot within its walls. So what’s behind this Marylebone-mania? [londonist.com]
How I turned my stressful train commute into meditation time
I realized recently I had to overcome my stress. So, I decided to turn one of my greatest stress factors — my morning commute on the SEPTA trains — into my decompression time. When the train rolls in, I tell myself it’s here and that’s all that matters. I will myself to forget what came before or will come after. I’ve taught myself to welcome the sight of the gray vessel that’ll take me to my destination. It’ll be my cocoon of peace for the next 30 minutes. I choose the QuietRide car. [inquirer.com]
Station installation displays evolution of NYC subway graphic design
The iconography and signage of New York’s MTA is now the subject of a new installation at the 5th Avenue/53rd Street subway station in Manhattan. The installation, which highlights the iconic graphic identity established for the subway system in the early 1970s, includes detailed images of the 1972 subway map and an illustrated timeline. The installation is a collaborative effort between the MTA and MoMA. [gothamist.com]
The abandoned London railway line that carried only dead people
It is probably only the more morbid among us that put much thought into where all the dead Londoners go. But for city planners in the capital it’s a real nightmare. Existing cemeteries aren’t getting any bigger and the city is growing all the time. The Victorians dealt with this in a very Victorian way – by building a railway specifically to take bodies to their final resting place at a new massive cemetery, 23 miles out of town, where space was less of an issue. [mylondon.news]
