A few of you cleverly worked out we were in the suburb of Broadmeadows when I took the photo of the Turkish food signs but to narrow it down, we were in Upfield, just a locality really, with a railway station terminus. Up to Upfield is wrong in train parlance as trips from the city to the suburbs by train are usually down trips. I had thought about taking the half hour train trip for a while and the time seemed right for R and myself to do it. It was a nice little trip there and back, with some time at the Upfield terminus for a bite to eat and coffee.
Upon completion of the trip, I realised I have travelled over most of Melbourne's train lines and I should make it a tick off thing. I have yet to travel to Frankston and then by a connecting train to Stony Point. The day before I planned to travel to Stony Point, the line was shut down for safety reasons and won't reopen for some time, I haven't yet been to
Epping South Morang, to
Broadmeadows Craigieburn (train termini change but I don't). I haven't done the Cranbourne leg of the
Dandenong Pakenham line, or travelled the Lilydale leg of the Belgrave line.
We departed Flinders Street Station on time. Rubbish bins disappear and then reappear as terrorists incidents occur. It seems they have finally decided that these bins won't hide a bomb......unless it is wrapped in newspaper. Why the different coloured lids? They are not marked rubbish and recycling.
A docklands building. Quite striking really, like being hit on the head with some abstract art.
Oh, this building. I did not realise until we were nearly past. See on the far end where there is what looks like a colour change to yellow. It is the Lacrosse building where a fire started on a 10th floor balcony because someone put out a cigarette in a plastic container sitting on a timber table. Flames developed and shot up the side of the building from one balcony to another, fed by a non approved cheap Chinese building material called Alcubust. Fire procedures worked quite well with no one injured but the building had to be evacuated and no one could return to live there for some time, that is some 400 people. I may write a bit more about this the future as fires in highrise buildings are naturally of concern to me.
There's our Observation Wheel, which is good, except for what can be observed from the wheel. Boring!
We had passed
Spencer Street Southern Cross Station and are arriving at North Melbourne where there is a quite unhappy aesthetic marriage between the new and the old.
The next station to stop at is Flemington Bridge which is kind of under a freeway and highly elevated from the street too. Then through Royal Park with a stop at the zoo and then after exiting the park the line runs parallel to Sydney Road for a number of kilometres with the Sydney Road trams very close by as far as Batman. Years ago there was talk of removing the Sydney Road tram and converting the railway line to a light rail. Thankfully it did not happen.
After Merlynston Station the train enters Fawkner Cemetery with the dead to the left and right of us.Once past Fawkner, the train motors really whirred into action, getting us up to just over 80km/h according to my phone app and that is in an oldish train. We were sitting in a motor carriage for the return journey, hearing the loud crack from the power system when the driver cut the power.
There were a lot of food places to eat at in Barry Road near Upfield Station and right across the road is the massive Ford factory, sadly about to close. The train line does go on after Upfield as a single track with a number of sidings for freight to be loaded and then joins the dual gauge mainline north.
There was much graffiti observed on our return.
Ideal Dreams?
Oh dear.
Whatever this was at Brunswick, it appears to be closed.
Train interiors are not immune from graffiti. Sydney is presently trialling a train paint that sends an electronic signal if spray can paint is detected. A central point is alerted, the onboard camera views examined and the offenders nabbed a station or two later.
About That Mess.
Back in town.
A shabby building in the foreground, but I seem to recall it won't be demolished.
You would not believe how close the trains go to this building, almost rendering the balconies unusable. The trains are on viaducts though, and so travelling quite slowly. I hope they have double glazing.
Some fish at the aquarium are featured.
The Immigration Museum, formerly a customs house. Across the way is the river, and the old ship turning basin when goods were delivered by ship right into the city.
Probably an old pub. I feel I should know something about the building, but I can't remember.
Ah, back to civilisation, Flinders Street Station is sight.