Melbourne by Tram - The #109

[tayser]

First in a series that I hope to continue through much of the summer break (4 months, yee haw)

Tram Route #109

Stats:

Route & Length: Collins Street service, departs from any intersection on Collins Street in the CBD. Westbound route runs along Spencer Street, past Crown, and moves onto the old Port Melbourne Rail line, now Light rail to a terminus at Beacon Cove - Port Melbourne. Eastbound route runs up Nicholson Street, onto Victoria Parade, through East Melbourne & Richmond, Kew Junction, Balwyn Surrey Hills and terminates in middle suburbia, Box Hill. Overall route length: ~20 kilometres

Service Frequency: M-F Peak: 4-6", M-F Off peak 8', Sat 10", Sun 12"

Misc: Recently extended by 2-3 kilometres into Box hill at a cost of about $7 million/k, a first for new tram technology in Australia in the way the rails were laid (they sit on rubber & there's a 500m stretch of grassed track towards the terminus)

Before getting to the tram, I start by buggarising around Richmond Station.

Dick Smith eat yer heart out.

That's the problem with Richmond, you can never make up your mind which platform to get a service on,

Still in Richmond...

...still in Richmond...

I finally decided on a Up Franga service that took me from Platform 3 and got off at Parliament Locals will know this is a long way from Parliament, but I've posted enough Bourke / Swanston pics before.

BONUS Tram video between Russell and Exhibition Streets, 1 minute in length, 17meg.

Blitzing down Victoria Parade through East Melbourne now

Can you get anymore opposite? The dinge and grime of Collingwood juxtaposed with an Alpha

All these Yank & Canuckistan cities started building LRT only as recently as 1970, Melbourne's had it for over a century

L'est Melbourne

Crossing the divide, harcore Richmond now & [one of] Melbourne's Little Saigon, Victoria Street.

Richmond / Abbotsford is a Grit-lover's paradise

[tayser]

Pick a street, any street, Fairchild Street it is

The classic Fed home is no stranger to Abbotsford

Spot the pub that's had a paint job recently - also worthy of note, every pub along this strip is a CUB pub - coincidence that CUB brewery is only a street-back? nooooo, not at all!

Heading into Kew, California Bungalow territory (actually I always thought there were just as many in Kew as there are in Malvern / Caulfield, I was wrong!) & the odd standout house, such as:

and:

The Junction, LOVE that NAB on left!!!

I seriously thought it was going to piss down (didn't even get as much of a spit the whole time and as I'm writing this at 6:30pm, there's bright sunshine - FFS)

The epitome of Inner Eastern Cashed-up Melbourne

Everyone must see at least one film in this cinema in their lifetime

I want to live in a place which has a turret!

I haven't come across a good old fashion, non-chain toy shop in years - Cotham Road in Balwyn

The classic Melbourne flat ('walk-up' to most North americans )

Almost end of the line, Surrey Hills (looking at Box Hill & new extension)

End of the line whilst Shazza, the driver, has a hag before heading back to Port Melb.

Box Hill lane,

The Cunningham Mall, much better since I last saw it

back to town we go

a Down Alamein on the Alamein flyovers

BONUS Train expressing through Hawthorn station on way back to town, 30 seconds, 5 meg .AVI (I needed to use up my memory card before being staisfied )

[wolfdawg54]

I love the part of Melbourne with all of the tree-lined avenues. It looks beautiful. What a great city!

[monsoon]

[CT-KID]

great flicks, keep em coming

[Delta]

Indeed Melbourne does grit just as well as it does beauty. It does classic as well as modern and basic as well as high-tech. A city of such dichotomies.

BTW Ya gotta love some of the Vietnamese restaurant names in Richmond (well, anywhere) re the Long Hung.

Good one tayser