Dan416
Senior Member
How are people making their fantasy maps?
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KhalilHeron
Active Member
I always use affinity designer, its like a cheaper alternative to Illustrator with almost all the same capabilities and then some. I find it super easy for making all sorts of maps or diagrams though i imagine it takes some time to get the hang of. Inkscape is a good free alternative to get started with.
JSF-1
Active Member
Ok so this isn't a fantasy map per say but it is fantasy transit related. Many pages back I made a 2D mock-up of a possible VIA HSR livery on a Shinkansen. Well now I have made a 3D model of that mock-up, just on an Alstom Avelia Liberty. I chose the Avelia because it is already in use on the Acela so it meets FRA (and by extension Canadian standards), and can be manufactured in Thunder Bay since Alstom has a plant there. As well it comes in two specs, the first being the Acela variant which is a "high-ish" speed train, and then there is also a true high-speed variant which could be the one we use if our HSR project ever gets off the ground. As for the livery I went with a dark red an gold combination as it hearkens back to an older more "classic" Canadian colour scheme and I think it also gives the trains a real high-class look. Plus colour is always nice and it spices up things (looking at you airline industry). As for the consist I don't know what the real one could possible be so I just went with a basic 7 car set made up of 2 Locos, 1 Business Class Coach, 1 Cafe Car, and 3 Standard Class Coaches.
For this last image a jacked up the contrast a bit to make the gold pop more.
For this last image a jacked up the contrast a bit to make the gold pop more.
TossYourJacket
Senior Member
Inkscape.
(Not that I've ever posted any of mine on here because I never finish anything as I have way too many constantly changing ideas)
JSF-1
Active Member
Back in the late 1960's then Mayor of North York "James Service" proposed a massive expansion of Line 2 through North York turning it into a Loop Line. The proposal was for the line to follow the Uxbridge Sub to the Finch Hydro Corridor and then follow it and the Humber-Pearson and Kipling Hydro Corridors to Kipling Station. I have made a map of what that could have looked like and included the proposed extension of Line 1 to North York at the time.
duffo
Active Member
Toronto 2040 somewhat-realistic map I put together, based on forthcoming rapid transit projects plus a few unplanned no-brainer additions:
- Line 3 North Extension: Elevated to Don Mills
- Line 4 ATC Upgrade and Line 1 Interlining: Leveraging ATC to share Line 1's guideway between Sheppard West and Vaughan Metropolitan Centre, eliminating transfer penalty to get between Line 4, Line 6, Barrie Line, and 407 GO Regional Express Bus corridor, and providing a one-seat ride between Vaughan Metropolitan Centre, York University, and North York Centre
- Line 6 South Extension: At-grade to Woodbine GO
JSF-1
Active Member
Made this map of the Sheppard Subway proposal from the 1980's. It includes both the Network 2011 proposal (STC - Sheppard West) and the western extension to Kipling proposal. Bare in mind that the western extension to Kipling was more of a long-term drawn on a napkin idea and not a serious enough proposal to be included in Network 2011 (like an eastern extension of the Eglinton Subway to Yonge or Scarborough). The idea was for the line to run north to the Finch Hydro Corridor and then follow it and the Humber-Pearson and Kipling corridors to Kipling Station (both Metro and the Province were really gung-ho on using those corridors for something in the 70's and 80's). For the stops on the western extension I made what I think are the best guesses while everything else is based off of the official proposal from 1985 (I posted the official drawing for it in the Sheppard Subway thread).
micheal_can
Senior Member
How much different if it were to be built today, reflecting what the needs now are?
north-of-anything
Active Member
I'm not sure why or when this came to me, but I felt compelled to make it. This is one option for a future downtown line that also relieves one of the most crowded bus routes in post-Covid Toronto.
Starting from Sheridan Mall on Wilson, this line follows Jane southbound, taking over the stop spacing of the 933 Jane Express bus up to Eglinton. From there, it stretches to St. Clair West before curving along Dundas. After hitting Keele, I devised two routings: one slightly more realistic, and one more for kicks.
The College Route, which I think is more plausible, follows Dundas down to College, following it across until it becomes Carlton in the east. At Jarvis, it diverts under the Allan Gardens to Gerrard Street East, proceeding until the Ontario Line station at Carlaw.
The Dupont Parliament Route hits more areas primed for intensification, but I think the density of stations and the cut through Rosedale Valley make it more of a fantasy. It branches off Dundas at Dupont, following it to its very end at Avenue Road, before gently curving southwards to hit Rosedale. It follows the valley to Sherbourne, completing its southwards turn at Parliament to hit St. James Town, Cabbagetown, and Regent Park, before meeting the Ontario Line at Corktown Station. It makes two more stops at Quayside and Ookwemin Minising before arising and terminating somewhere along Carlaw.
I chose Wilson as the northern terminus because I suspect the volume of transfers is much higher here than at Sheppard, and Jane north of Wilson has more obstacles to intensification than at Wilson and south. I suppose the route could have followed the Kitchener GO line instead, but I really like the look of a rapid transit route following Dundas north of Annette.
Starting from Sheridan Mall on Wilson, this line follows Jane southbound, taking over the stop spacing of the 933 Jane Express bus up to Eglinton. From there, it stretches to St. Clair West before curving along Dundas. After hitting Keele, I devised two routings: one slightly more realistic, and one more for kicks.
The College Route, which I think is more plausible, follows Dundas down to College, following it across until it becomes Carlton in the east. At Jarvis, it diverts under the Allan Gardens to Gerrard Street East, proceeding until the Ontario Line station at Carlaw.
The Dupont Parliament Route hits more areas primed for intensification, but I think the density of stations and the cut through Rosedale Valley make it more of a fantasy. It branches off Dundas at Dupont, following it to its very end at Avenue Road, before gently curving southwards to hit Rosedale. It follows the valley to Sherbourne, completing its southwards turn at Parliament to hit St. James Town, Cabbagetown, and Regent Park, before meeting the Ontario Line at Corktown Station. It makes two more stops at Quayside and Ookwemin Minising before arising and terminating somewhere along Carlaw.
I chose Wilson as the northern terminus because I suspect the volume of transfers is much higher here than at Sheppard, and Jane north of Wilson has more obstacles to intensification than at Wilson and south. I suppose the route could have followed the Kitchener GO line instead, but I really like the look of a rapid transit route following Dundas north of Annette.
micheal_can
Senior Member
If this is your idea of the western section of the Ontario Line, having it go to the airport may make the most sense.
JSF-1
Active Member
Made a new map for my upcoming video. This one is on West York Coach Lines which operated bus service between York, Etobicoke and Malton from 1932 to 1954. By the end of service the West York network was made up of 4 All-Day services with 2 Rush-Hour Services. The WESTMOUNT and SWANSEA also had rush-hour branch services.
Here's a geographic map of the network.
Here's a geographic map of the network.
JSF-1
Active Member
Made a map showing the unbuilt "Toronto Eastern Railway". Originally this railway was proposed to run between Toronto and Oshawa, however when CNER inherited the route they expanded the scope of the project. CNER's proposal was to connect the TER with the Guelph and Woodbridge Interurbans and create a single "High-Speed" interurban line between Guelph and Cobourg.This would have been done by utilizing the Belt Line and Canadian Northern ROW's within Toronto. CNER also proposed multiple branch lines including one to a terminal around Queen and the Don Valley (likely the Corktown Common area), a branch to Uxbridge, a branch to Lindsay, a branch to Oshawa's lakefront, and a branch to Peterborough. A small portion of the line had actually be built between Pickering and Bowmanville however construction stopped in 1924. The blame for this lay largely with the Province as they didn't want to contribute the neccissary funds to get the line running as a full railway since by this point the Province had given up on interurbans and viewed trains as a antiquated technology.
As for the stops and service we will never know what it would have turned out to be. For these maps I am just going off the assumption that the TER survived into the modern day likely becoming a collection of electrified GO Lines. So I went with a 2-3km stop spacing. The original interurban would have likely had more stops but the transition from interurban to regional rail line would no doubt lead to the smaller stops being eliminated. As for the services once again it is impossible to know how CNER would have run all of the verious branch routes so I just went with simple local lines feeding into Toronto and an express line running the cross region route.
It's interesting to think how different things would have been had the entire TER been built out. How different would travel patterns be? especially in the east end... for example in this scenario what would happen to the east end of the Bloor-Danforth? Obviously it wouldn't need to go to Kennedy since these line already use the old Canadian Northern ROW into Scarborough.
Geographic map:
As for the stops and service we will never know what it would have turned out to be. For these maps I am just going off the assumption that the TER survived into the modern day likely becoming a collection of electrified GO Lines. So I went with a 2-3km stop spacing. The original interurban would have likely had more stops but the transition from interurban to regional rail line would no doubt lead to the smaller stops being eliminated. As for the services once again it is impossible to know how CNER would have run all of the verious branch routes so I just went with simple local lines feeding into Toronto and an express line running the cross region route.
It's interesting to think how different things would have been had the entire TER been built out. How different would travel patterns be? especially in the east end... for example in this scenario what would happen to the east end of the Bloor-Danforth? Obviously it wouldn't need to go to Kennedy since these line already use the old Canadian Northern ROW into Scarborough.
Geographic map:
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doady
Senior Member
I always upload my maps as PDF because Illustrator CS2 is terrible at output to raster formats, and I've been trying figuring out how to generate PNG file that looks as sharp as it does as AI or PDF file in Illustrator or Reader. It took me a while I think I finally figured it out. Save as PDF, then import directly into GIMP with anti-aliasing enabled, at the right pixel dimensions to avoid having to rescale in GIMP, then export to PNG. Of course, figuring out the right pixel dimensions the hard part. Before, I output oversized PNG from Illustrator with no-AA, and then downscaled with GIMP and it was still bad. Avoiding both the PNG output of Illustrator and the rescaling of GIMP is the key. Very close to PDF versions I posted last year, easier to view in browser, but harder to zoom in/out.
Johnny Au
Superstar
New Affinity is now free! It has both vector and raster!I always upload my maps as PDF because Illustrator CS2 is terrible at output to raster formats, and I've been trying figuring out how to generate PNG file that looks as sharp as it does as AI or PDF file in Illustrator or Reader. It took me a while I think I finally figured it out. Save as PDF, then import directly into GIMP with anti-aliasing enabled, at the right pixel dimensions to avoid having to rescale in GIMP, then export to PNG. Of course, figuring out the right pixel dimensions the hard part. Before, I output oversized PNG from Illustrator with no-AA, and then downscaled with GIMP and it was still bad. Avoiding both the PNG output of Illustrator and the rescaling of GIMP is the key. Very close to PDF versions I posted last year, easier to view in browser, but harder to zoom in/out.
https://www.affinity.studio/