On Thu, 13 Jan 2022 09:19:02 +1100, Mal Rowe wrote:
>If you are out an about again, you have a few more days to get some
>shots of the Es running down Flemington Rd to shunt at Racecourse Rd.
Thanks for the tip.
Monday was the last day of the 57a and 58a shunts at Flemington and Racecourse. Really dull morning so I wrote off any thought of "getting the coverage" and decided to WFH and tackle my BAS in order to give our esteemed leaders their stipend in order to keep them in their comfort and incompetence to which they (and us) have become accustomed.
However as the afternoon wore on I looked up from my paperwork - BLUE SKY, SUNSHINE! - woohoo! Told SWMBO I had to go to work. I got there..... eventually.
The junction of Flemington Road, Abbotsford Street and Royal Park had been just outside my 5km limit back in lockdown 3 or 4 or something, so I'd not explored its photographic possibilities before.
Parked in a nearby side street and wandered around checking location, lighting etc.
E1.6016 (route58a) has dropped off its pax at Royal Children's Hospital and is running "light engine" past the entrance to Royal Park towards the shunt in Flemington Road at the corner of Racecourse Road:
https://gallery.steam4me.net/albums/trams/2022/6016_rte58a_flemington_abbotsford_a7r3_16451.jpg
I crossed back over Flemington Road and watched Z3.154 inbound on a route 57 negotiate the curve from Flemington Road into Abbotsford Street:
https://gallery.steam4me.net/albums/trams/2022/154_rte57_abbotsford_a7r3_16465.jpg
Being after 3:00pm trams starting running out of the rather lush "Royal Park Depot" for the afternoon peak: B2.2099 noses out cautiously into Flemington Road followed by Z3.147:
https://gallery.steam4me.net/albums/trams/2022/2099_147_royal_park_a7r3_16471.jpg
Z3.147 follows on the next cycle as Z3.211 curves into Flemington Road outbound on a route 57 and E1.6016 having returned from the shunt at Racecourse Road awaits a green light:
https://gallery.steam4me.net/albums/trams/2022/6016_211_147_flemington_abbotsford_a7r3_16484.jpg
I positioned myself for the next shot of B2.2013 outbound but a bonus of E1.6016 inbound added interest:
https://gallery.steam4me.net/albums/trams/2022/6016_2013_rte58a_59a_flemington_at_abbotsford_a7r3_16520.jpg
With B2.2076 inbound following the E I waited anticipating it to pass B2.2013 outbound with a Z3 visible over in the background the "Royal Park Depot". I didn't anticipate the flood of traffic suddenly pouring down Flemington Road so just held down the shutter button and hoped the tram gods would smile on me giving me at least non-photobombed shot. They did, even throwing in a wannabe tram - tram replacement bus 4229 moved into perfect position along with the smallest break in traffic (total serendipity! - even both destos lit up perfectly - the only one of the 28 images in the sequence where everything lined up together):
https://gallery.steam4me.net/albums/trams/2022/2076_2013_4229_rte59a_flemington_abbotsford_a7r3_16539.jpg
I moved down to the intersection of Flemington and Racecourse Roads to record the action there. A Yarra Trams employee was throwing the points to enable the route 58 and 59 trams to reverse and head back to the City:
B2.2090 is on its way back to the City as Z3.179 awaits its turn:
https://gallery.steam4me.net/albums/trams/2022/2090_179_flemington_at_racecourse_a7r3_16552.jpg
B2.2016 was next, hadn't seen an E2 for a while:
https://gallery.steam4me.net/albums/trams/2022/2016__rte59_flemington_at_racecourse_a7r3_16565.jpg
Whew.... the next two trams were Es - class-trailer E2.6100 and E2.6063 at the shunt:
https://gallery.steam4me.net/albums/trams/2022/6100_6063_rte58a_flemington_racecourse_a7r3_16588.jpg
Following those two was E2.6085 - seen here on the crossover:
https://gallery.steam4me.net/albums/trams/2022/6085_flemington_racecoourse_a7r3_16661.jpg
Satisfied with my day's haul it was off to work.
Yuri.
{All photos 2,000 x 1,125 pxl (16:9 format) and approximately 1.4M each.}
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Gallery at https://tinyurl.com/trams4me
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