Melbourne June/July 2018

ozbob · March 21, 2018, 13:47:50 PM

Will be heading to Melbourne for a few days 30th June <> 6 July 2018.

Sky Rail will be almost complete. I expect the final bit Caulfield <> Hughesdale will be finished off during this period. So it will be buses probably between Caulfield <> Oakleigh. The other parts further out towards Dandenong will be all finished.

ozbob · March 21, 2018, 14:24:45 PM

ozbob · March 24, 2018, 16:17:53 PM

Ararat 2nd July 2018

Depart Southern Cross Mon 8:16am

Arrive at Ararat Mon 10:39am

Luncheon - Ararat RSL https://www.araratrsl.com.au/

Depart Ararat Mon 2:49pm

Arrive at Southern Cross Mon 5:16pm

==================

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ararat_railway_station

The railway first reached Ararat from Ballarat on 7 April 1875. The line south to Portland opened in December 1877, and the mainline was extended west, reaching the South Australian border at Serviceton, in January 1887. The line to Maryborough opened in 1890.

Ararat now has two platform faces. The full length standard gauge platform is on the north side with broad gauge trains using a bay platform on the south side. There is a railway grade crossing approximately 500 metres east of the station to allow the broad gauge to continue east towards Beaufort and Ballarat, while the standard gauge heads south towards Geelong.

Dd at Ararat c. 1955 P G Dow

ozbob · March 25, 2018, 10:34:58 AM

Wednesday 4th July 2018 I think I will go to Belgrave and Puffy Billy.

Been a member of PBPS for many many years.

> http://puffingbilly.com.au/en/

Belgrave Monbulk Trestle 1954 (Myself, I am 3 years old, with Uncle Malcolm) P G Dow
(The lady in the creek is my Nanna filling the billy for tea with lunch.)

In the 1960s I did volunteer work in recovering the track to Menzies Creek, after UFG <> Belgrave closed. We used to sleep in NC vans at Menzies Creek and rode up and down the track on a petrol motor trolley. Always good to see how from those early efforts the great result it is today. The work of many volunteers over the years.

ozbob · April 27, 2018, 17:06:10 PM

https://twitter.com/levelcrossings/status/989761352083255296

https://twitter.com/Robert_Dow/status/989762380501467136

ozbob · June 02, 2018, 15:06:15 PM

The Dandenong line is now closed Caulfield <> Westall till June 17th. Nice of them to have scheduled the final station/track work to complete in time for my visit ..

ozbob · June 12, 2018, 07:09:41 AM

Slight change of plans. On Wednesday 4th July 2018 going on the tram for luncheon!

1pm to 3pm.

http://tramrestaurant.com.au/

Departure Point: Tram Stop 125 on the corner of Normanby Road and Clarendon Street, South
Melbourne. Passengers must arrive 15 minutes prior to the scheduled departure time.

Luncheon Menu

The cost is fully inclusive of all food and beverages from our fully stocked bar.

APPETISER

House Made Dips
Selection of crisp breads

ENTRÉE

Charcuterie
Duck terrine, chicken liver parfait, kangaroo carpaccio

Pumpkin Velouté
Goats cheese tortellini, sage and brioche pangritato

MAIN

Lightly Spiced Chicken Breast
Cauliflower and fennel cream, spinach, enoki mushrooms

Seared Beef Tenderloin
Potato rosti, seasonal greens, red wine jus, beurre maître d'hotel

CHEESE

Chef's Selection of Local Cheese
Muscatels, dried figs, cherry jam, water crackers, spiced fruit loaf

Seating Plan

ozbob · June 23, 2018, 11:03:04 AM

https://twitter.com/Robert_Dow/status/1010326962139615233

ozbob · June 26, 2018, 09:44:23 AM

Track layout Ararat 1976 > http://www.victorianrailways.net/signaling/completedia/ararat79.html

Quote from: ozbob on March 24, 2018, 16:17:53 PM
Ararat 2nd July 2018

Depart Southern Cross Mon 8:16am

Arrive at Ararat Mon 10:39am

Luncheon - Ararat RSL https://www.araratrsl.com.au/

Depart Ararat Mon 2:49pm

Arrive at Southern Cross Mon 5:16pm

==================

ozbob · June 29, 2018, 10:56:00 AM

Track closure

Saturday 30 June to last service Sunday 8 July
Saturday 30 June - Sunday 8 July 2018 Between Westall, Cranbourne and Pakenham.

Monday 2 July to last service Friday 6 July
Between Dandenong, Cranbourne and Pakenham.

Replacement bus timetable for Saturday 30 June
https://www.metrotrains.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Cran_Pak_30June_7July.pdf

Replacement bus timetable for Sunday 1st July
https://www.metrotrains.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Cran_Pak_Suns_1-8_July.pdf

Additional information > https://www.metrotrains.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/18-Jun-to-19-Jul-works-brochure.pdf

I will be travelling from Pakenham to Westall Sunday afternoon.

ozbob · June 30, 2018, 05:55:55 AM

https://twitter.com/Robert_Dow/status/1012783288119799808

ozbob · June 30, 2018, 10:56:52 AM

https://twitter.com/Robert_Dow/status/1012861317336559617

ozbob · June 30, 2018, 12:33:00 PM

https://twitter.com/Robert_Dow/status/1012871796717170688

ozbob · July 01, 2018, 05:44:54 AM

https://twitter.com/Robert_Dow/status/1012894654436499456

ozbob · July 01, 2018, 05:48:24 AM

https://twitter.com/Robert_Dow/status/1012911129318731776

https://twitter.com/Robert_Dow/status/1013161894494892032

ozbob · July 01, 2018, 07:36:35 AM

https://twitter.com/Robert_Dow/status/1013174119666339841

ozbob · July 01, 2018, 09:08:45 AM

The elevated railway sections between Caulfield and Dandenong are very impressive.
Only had a close look at Murrumbeena so far, but the stations are all much the same apparently. Might be able to have closer look at Clayton today. The ride is very smooth and grade transitions are barely noticeable.

The locals who were against it seem to have settled down a bit. The major problem now being interference to television reception - I think there will be a way around that, maybe a repeater of sorts.

Local traffic is much more free flowing as can be expected with the removal of LXs, but there are some interesting side effects. For example, Murrumbeena Rd is now constantly flowing with traffic as no boom gate down time, this makes it more time consuming to turn into it from side streets.

There is still a lot of works to do to finish stations (Hughesdale is still nowhere near complete - trains still not servicing), but once the full amenity complete, linear parks, bicycle path and so forth it will be very impressive.