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Photos from ten years ago

Old photos from October 2012

Another in my series of ten year old photos, this time from October 2012…

Well, except for this one from 29th September 2012, which I missed last month – a letter in the Herald Sun – the time I tried and failed to escape the PTUA! Thanks, Mr Surkitt.

Letter in Herald Sun 29/9/2012 ("Thank you Daniel")

Spring Racing Carnival… and a train completely covered by ads for betting. Since then, ads covering the windows on trains have been banned… but not on trams and buses. I guess they’re too profitable.

Sportingbet ad on train

Back before the trains and (some) trams ran all night on weekends, there was the Nightrider network of buses. The big issue with them was the routes were different to daytime routes, so most people didn’t understand where they ran. They were more frequent than the hourly trains though.

Nightrider timetable and map of bus to Frankston (2012)

I assume I took this photo to mark that King Street in the CBD had finally had its speed limit dropped from 60 to 40… because… well, it’s in the CBD, where cars should not be the priority.

King Street/Bourke Street intersection, with new 40 limit on King Street (2012)

I visited Camberwell station for this blog post poking fun at those wanting it preserved in its current decrepit, non-accessible state. Here’s a photo I didn’t use. What’s a “fixed wheelchair ramp”? Presumably one of those humps they place on the platforms for level boarding.

Camberwell station: Sign indicating "fixed wheelchair ramp trial" at Box Hill (2012)

Remember the Myki Mates? A temporary workforce in blue uniforms to help people figure out the Myki machines.

Myki Mate at Flinders Street Station (2012)

And some of them visited tram stops. In this case I assume they were explaining that you’d no longer be able to buy tickets on trams… and by the way, this tram stop doesn’t have a ticket machine either.

Myki Mates at a tram stop in Bourke Street (2012)

While ticket machines were disappearing from trams, PTV had this fare evasion campaign going on.

PTV "Fare evasion is stealing" campaign (2012)

Finally, here’s the Melbourne Star observation wheel – being disassembled after structural defects were found in it shortly after opening. It was put back together again and re-opened in 2013, but then closed again in 2021. It’s now disused, but waiting again for disassembly.

Melbourne wheel being disassembled, 2012

By Daniel Bowen

Transport blogger / campaigner and spokesperson for the Public Transport Users Association / professional geek.
Bunurong land, Melbourne, Australia.
Opinions on this blog are all mine.

3 replies on “Old photos from October 2012”

The Box Hill fixed wheelchair ramp trial, aka Harrington Hump, was what eventually became the current platform height of the new and/or upgraded stations. I think the term Harrington Hump specifically refers to the modular platforms themselves though, rather than the much cheaper lump of tarmac that most of our platforms have these days.

Obligatory wongm photo, coincidentally from 2012:
https://railgallery.wongm.com/melbourne-rail-accessibility/E115_4959.jpg.html

The more common “lump of tarmac” variation of a Harrington Hump:
https://railgallery.wongm.com/melbourne-rail-accessibility/F118_2033.jpg.html

For those thinking about how crooked those tracks at Camberwell look in the zoom-lens photo, they are still very much in the same condition today; it’s like being in a boat. The cheap suspension of the X’Trapolis trains further exacerbates the problem, especially if the shock absorbers are worn out. The tracks at the up end of Camberwell through the cutting are just as bad.

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