[Photo walk] La Trobe Street, Docklands

There’s a bit of La Trobe Street in Docklands that goes over the Southern Cross rail yard.

This would be a great spot to take train photos from, except that there’s a tough metal grate/mesh that runs along the full length of the bridge (for obvious safety reasons).

Fortunately, there are little square cut-outs in this mesh that let me take a bunch of interesting photos. #FrameWithinAFrame

V/Line train out of Southern Cross Station

Photo of a silver-and-purple diesel engine train going along its tracks next to the Southern Cross rail yard. The photo is taken through a square hole cut out of a large metal mesh. This mesh is installed along the side of a road and pedestrian bridge that crosses the rail yard.

V/Line train heading from Melbourne to Geelong

Photo of a silver, purple, and yellow coloured diesel engine train going along its tracks next to the Southern Cross rail yard. The photo is taken through a square hole cut out of a large metal mesh. This mesh is installed along the side of a road and pedestrian bridge that crosses the rail yard.

Train lines crisscrossing outside Southern Cross rail yard

Photo of about a dozen individual train lines intersecting each other next to a rail yard.

Alstom West Melbourne Depot

Photo of a large building at a train depot with a sign on it that reads ‘Alstom’. The building has a couple of trains parked inside it, and there are several other silver, purple, and yellow coloured trains parked around the depot.

Yep, that’s locked

Photo of a single metal loop attached to a large brick pillar that’s next to a building. Five sturdy, brass locks have been locked onto this loop.

Pointing out birds in Flagstaff Gardens

Photo of two people standing on a path in a public garden containing several large, old trees. Both have white hair and are wearing trousers and warm jackets. One of them is showing the other a bird that’sin the trees.

[Photo walk] Along the Yarra River #1

Every Friday after work I walk through the Melbourne city centre so I can take some photos. I took these ones on a walk along the Yarra River.

West corner of Melbourne City View Apartments

Photo of the top few storeys of the wedge-shaped end of a multi-storey residential apartment building. The photo is taken on a clear day with a deep blue sky.

Under the train lines crossing over Flinders Street

Photo of a man waiting at an intersection underneath several elevated train lines. The man is waiting to cross the street. He is wearing white shorts; a blue, short sleeve, button down shirt; black-and-white sneakers, and printed blue socks. To the right of the man is a massive, square rock pillar that’s holding up the elevated train lines. To the man’s left is a pole on which there is a pedestrian crossing sign and a painted sign that reads “Pedestrians watch for traffic”. On street in front of a man is a tram that’s waiting for the signal to turn green so it can cross the intersection. Across the street, coming towards the man, is another tram waiting at the intersection for its turn.

People walking down Oris Walk, next to Lamont Bridge

Black-and-white photo of two people walking across a walkway next to a road and tram bridge that crosses a river in the middle of a city. Behind the people are several tall buildings.

Helicopter taking off from Microflite Melbourne Heliport

Photo looking up at a dark-blue-and-white helicopter (an Airbus H135) that’s just taken off. Behind the helicopter (but below the helicopter in the photo) you can see three tall buildings against the blue sky.

Helicopter landing at Microflite Melbourne Heliport

Photo of a red-and-gold helicopter (an Airbus EC130) seconds away from landing on a helipad build in a pontoon on a wide river in the middle of a city. A sign on the side of the pontoon reads ‘Microflite Melbourne Helipad’. In the background of the photo are several tall and short buildings, as well as a bridge across the river.

That's Australia for you

Photo looking up at a set of red, yellow, and green traffic lights that are covered with cobwebs. These traffic lights are underneath a bridge. You can see the slice of a city in the background from underneath the bridge.

Yeah buoy!

Photo of three buoys – one red, one yellow, one green – on a river in the middle of a city. The photo is taken through the horizontal wires of a metal fence along the river. In the background of the photo there is a bridge across the river and lots of tall buildings that make up the city centre.

Train from Flinders Street Station

Photo of a train going down an elevated train line in the middle of a city. Below the elevated train lines are several cars waiting at a red light. In the background, above the train, are several tall buildings.

Stopping to check her phone where the bike trail widens

Photo of a woman sitting on a bicycle. The woman has stopped cycling, one foot on the ground, and is taking something out of her bag. The woman is wearing a bicycle helmet that has several zip ties attached to it, making the points of the zip ties look like antennae. These are to deter and protect her from swooping birds. The bicycle path the woman is on runs alongside a river, and the woman has stopped underneath a bridge that crosses the river because the path here has widened considerably. It is dark in the shade under the bridge. In the background of the photo, in the bright sunshine, you can see dozens of people walking along a pedestrian bridge that crosses the river. You can also see several boats traversing the river or moored along its banks.

Lime e-scooter delivery at Flinders Street Station

Photo of a large, white delivery van with its rear doors open. The van is parked in a delivery parking space next to a large train station. Inside the van are several green-and-white coloured e-scooters. A man in a high-visibility shirt is taking scooters from his van and is placing them along the sidewalk next to the train station.

[Photo walk] Transport, part 3

Here’s a bunch of transport-related photos I’ve taken over the last few days.

Elevated train along Flinders Street in Melbourne

Photo looking up at a blue-and-silver electric train going along a set of elevated train tracks.

Tram going up Spencer Street in Melbourne

Photo of a green-and-yellow tram travelling on tracks laid down on an inclined road in a city centre. A motorcyclist is also proceeding up this road, to the left of the tram.

Passenger carriages waiting for their locomotive

Photo taken between the horizontal slats of a white fence. Through the slats you can see the Southern Cross Rail Yard, which is next to Southern Cross Station in Melbourne. In the centre of the photo are several purple-and-yellow train passenger carriages without an accompanying locomotive. These are parked at a two-sided train platform. A little behind this platform you can see a tall, narrow building, which is called the Yardmasters Building.

Passenger carriages at Southern Cross Rail Yard

Photo taken between the horizontal slats of a white fence. Through the slats you can see the Southern Cross Rail Yard. In the centre of the photo are several purple-and-yellow train passenger carriages without an accompanying locomotive. These are parked at a two-sided train platform.

Platforms 2A and 3A at Southern Cross Station

Photo of two purple-and-yellow V/Line trains parked at platforms 2A and 3A in a large, high-roof train station – which is Southern Cross Station in Melbourne, Australia. The rear and side walls of this station are all-glass, so through them you can see the city centre in which this train station is located.

Waiting for instructions on Platform 2A

Photo of a V/Line train service employee waiting on an empty train platform. The man is wearing a purple high-visibility vest and is holding both a clip board and a handheld radio. A sign above the man tells us we are on platform 2A and that the train to Ararat will depart from here in 31 minutes.

Heading into Southern Cross Station on its way to Flinders Street

Photo looking down at a rail yard that a train is driving through. The front of the train is painted yellow and blue, and the digital sign above the front windscreen reads ‘Flinders Street’.

Metro train waiting to depart

Photo of a blue-and-yellow train taken from outside a suburban train station, with a shrub and wire fence in the foreground. The train has a large ‘METRO’ logo painted on its side.

Travelling past Fawkner Memorial Park

Photo taken from inside a train that is travelling along a large park, which you can see through the large train window. The park has lots of different types of trees in it, and also a road with some street signs. Inside the train are two empty sets of seats, with blue-and-black and orange-and-black seat covers.

Oblong bird graffiti at Southern Cross Station

Photo of a grey, oblong-shaped, cartoonish bird drawn on the wall along the train tracks inside a large train station. In the background a technician stands waist-deep inside the mechanism at the bottom of a set of escalators. A yellow safety fence has been placed around the area where this technician is working.

Waiting for a train at North Melbourne Station

Photo of a wide, red-brick pedestrian overpass built over a pair of train tracks. The photo is taken on a sunny day and the tracks under the overpass are in shade, making this look like a short tunnel.

Waiting for a train

Waiting for a train at Yarraville Station in Melbourne, Australia.

Photo of an empty outdoor train platform, taken with the camera placed very close to the ground. The platform extends into the distance, and the bit of pavement the camera has been placed on shows cracks from years of use in the hot Australian summer. Across the train tracks you can see an out-of-focus train station build on the other platform.

Top-down photo of the edge of a railway platform, with the top half of the photo showing one of the train tracks and the bottom half showing the thick white line that marks the edge of the platform. The photographer’s white sneakers and the cuffs of his jeans are visible at the very bottom of the photo, with the front part of his sneakers on top of the white line. The edge of the platform and white paint on it is cracked and peeled from years of use under the hot Australian sun.

Commuting life

Back on the commuting life at Southern Cross Railway Station.

Photo of a train approaching its platform at a large train station. You can only see the lights and vague outline of the train that has just entered the covered portion of the station building. Another train is parked on the tracks next to the approaching train. A man in a silver puffer vest stands in the foreground, looking at his phone, while he waits for the train.

Footscray station architecture

I’ve always loved how, at Footscray Railway Station, designers and architects managed to meld the original red brick structures with modern metal and plastic ones so well. That contrast of straight and solid old with angular and swoopy new works so well.

Entrance at one side of a train station. There are red brick buildings in the background and a large metallic rain shelter over the ticketing turnstiles in the foreground.

Also, can I say once again how much I love Moment smartphone camera lenses? This photo wouldn’t have been possible without their 18mm wide-angle lens.

Top tip: Take the train to airshow

If you’re not carrying too much with you, I highly recommend taking the V/Line train + bus combo service to the Avalon Airshow. That’s what I did this year and it worked brilliantly.

Last time I went there, we drove. That resulted in over three hours of total driving time — most of that in slow, heavy traffic on narrow lanes behind the airport that went to/from the airshow parking area. And then we had to park a good fifteen minute walk away from the airshow entrance. Not fun. Wouldn’t recommend.

This time someone else did all the driving and I got to nap in a cool, quiet carriage all the way back to the city :)

All this didn’t cost very much either: $13.60 for a return ticket from Footscray railway station to Lara railway station and then a special shuttle from Lara to a convenient drop-off/pick-up point near the airshow entrance. (I bought the ticket in advance, though not online, which is why it cost me more than the online full-fare price but less than the $15 day-of price.)

Screenshot of V/Line ticket prices for the 2019 Airshow. (Source)

Screenshot of V/Line ticket prices for the 2019 Airshow. (Source)

I could also have used my Myki to get to/from Lara station and then buy a separate paper ticket for just the shuttle bit of the journey. The V/Line folks even had a special ticketing booth set up specifically at Lara for the people who were doing this. But was easier just to get a paper ticket for the whole journey.

Bonus tip: go as early as you possibly can

The other thing I’d highly recommend is that you get to the airshow as early as possible. Gates open at 8am so I caught first train out of Footscray station at 7:08am.

Catching the first train out of Footscray railway station.

After a quick 45 minute trip we hopped off at Lara railway station where shuttle buses were ready and waiting for. There were enough of on this first train in to fill up two buses, and we set off almost immediately.

I got into the airshow proper (ie past security and ticketing) by 8:26am — so a total front-door to airshow-entrance travel time of about ninety minutes.

The return trip took just a little longer because there was a short wait till the shuttle bus filled up at Avalon. Fortunately, the buses were nicely air conditioned — a huge relief when it was 36 degrees outside!

Waiting in the well air conditioned V/Line shuttle bus at the airshow — hot and tired, but happy.

There was also a fifteen minute wait at Lara station till the next train was due, but that was fine too. The station is quite nice, with a indoor waiting room, lots of out outdoor sheltered waiting/seating space, and even a small cafe.

Walking into Lara railway station.

The train back to the city was my favourite part of the journey because I got a seat in a Quiet Carriage and pretty much napped all the way back to Footscray :)

Oh, and since Nadia both dropped me off to Footscray station in the morning and also picked me up from there in the afternoon, I didn’t have to do any driving that day at all. Yay!