Hi everyone, in some of my previous videos, you may have noticed the occasional aerial photo.
People usually assume these were taken with a drone, and while that's true for some of them,
what if I told you that some shots, like this one, were actually taken hand held with my DSLR?
Almost a decade ago back in late 2013, I briefly had a job taking photos out of helicopters.
This was done hand held out an open door, and when we needed to shoot straight down, the chopper would
bank in a tight circle tilting the doorway towards the earth to allow a clear shot.
While flying to and from the locations, there was nothing stopping me taking shots for my own use,
and of course that meant, tiny trains and trams.
Unfortunately while the flying part of this job was pretty amazing,
every other aspect of it sucked and I quit to pursue better conditions elsewhere,
but I came away with some pretty interesting shots added to my collection.
In this video, I'm going to go through the images I took on two separate flights around the Melbourne suburban area.
We're going to explore what can be seen from these unusual perspectives, and I'll point out some
things that have changed in the 10 years since these were taken.
The first flight took off from Essendon airport,
travelled up to Craigieburn, then down past Footscray to Laverton
before returning to Essendon.
The second flight took off from a helipad in Fisherman's Bend, and ran in a
rough anticlockwise circle around the inner city.
Let's take a look at the Essendon flight first.
Shortly after takeoff, we get a couple of views of the Moonee Ponds Creek viaduct,
which carries the Albion-Jacana goods line as well as the north-east standard gauge to Sydney.
Continuing north we pass over the Jacana flyover
where the standard gauge jumps over the broad gauge suburban line to Craigieburn.
That object on the right of the screen is the back of another photographer's camera.
You can see that most of the broad gauge is still wooden sleepers here, but the standard gauge is all concrete.
In this shot we're directly over the flyover, and I'm looking straight down through the helicopter's skids.
Now we're passing over beautiful Broadmeadows..
You can see the two suburban platforms on the left, as well as the standard gauge platform on the right,
which was still pretty new at the time. Note the big mud hole on the standard gauge.
Just beyond Broady station we see our first trains,
in the form of a Comeng and a Siemens in the stabling siding.
We then pass over Coolaroo station,
which was only three years old years old when this photo was taken.
This flight was on a Sunday, which explains the almost empty commuter car park,
and we can see a Siemens train on the Up line heading to the city.
Continuing along the Craigieburn line we come to Somerton, where you can see the disused
branch line which once connected this line to Upfield.
A pair of V/line Sprinter railcars can be seen
running through Roxburgh Park station, and they would be heading to Seymour.
Here's a really wide view looking back over Roxburgh Park and Somerton, and you can see
some of the many industrial sidings that exist in this area.
Now we've made it to the end of the suburban line at Craigieburn, and there's a lot to see here.
We've caught up with a north-bound standard gauge freight train, lead by a pair of CFCLA CF class locos.
There's a Comeng sitting in the platform preparing to return to the city.
We also get a great view of Craigieburn workshops,
and I can see a total of 11 x 6 car Comeng sets out in the open,
as well as – if you look very carefully and I absolutely push the resolution out the window..
a single Hitachi set, which was right at the end of it's service life, but not yet withdrawn.
Heading back south, we overtake a Comeng heading back towards the city.
And then swinging around the other way, we get a great view out east towards the Yarra Ranges,
and in the foreground, Upfield station, where a single Siemens set is stabled.
You can see the remains of the line towards Somerton, and where the sidings once went into the Ford factory.
Back over Broadmeadows we get a better view of the trains stabled there from a number of angles,
then over Broady station where a Down Siemens is just departing.
Flying over Jacana, we get a good view of the station this time, with the goods lines branching off to the right,
and on the left you can see where the Metropolitan Ring Road tunnels go underneath.
Our last glimpse of the Craigieburn line is of Glenroy, which was a pretty unremarkable
shot at the time, but is now changed completely with the line sunk in a concrete trench here.
In our next shot we can entirety of the Flemington Racecourse line.
The racecourse it's self is on the right, with the Melbourne showgrounds on the left.
A couple of X'traps and a Comeng can be seen stabled at the terminus,
then further along we can see Showgrounds station,
then the junction with the Craigieburn line is just over here behind the historic substation at Newmarket.
And if we dive in stupidly far, I can just see a Siemens set running on the mainline.
In the far background we can see the big sweeping curve on the Upfield line as it passes through Royal Park.
The helicopter is now approaching Footsray and we have a great view over to the CBD.
Down here is the Maribyrnong River, and you can clearly see the Regional Rail Link under construction,
which was still about 18 months away from opening at this stage.
We can also see North and South Dynon, with a variety of diesel locomotives in attendance..
Look, there's X31!
Here we get a great view of the newly constructed RRL flyover,
and you can clearly see where the Werribee line was slewed to pass underneath.
Now we see Footscray station, which is a big construction mess.
A new pair of platforms are being built which will become the newly aligned Sunbury line,
while the RRL will take over it's former platforms.
You can also see the entrance to the Bunbury Street tunnel there, which is used
by freights and standard gauge passenger trains to dive under Footscray and over towards Dynon.
A little further on we can see the other end of the tunnel,
where the line passes over the Maribyrnong.
And most Victorian railfans will know exactly what *this* is.
We can also see the Motive Power Centre, with several NR class present.
And here's just a nice view over the docks towards the city, no trains involved at all.
Except for this pair of 81 class on a grain train. And we can also see a bunch of ships.
Next up we come to Newport, and there's a great view out over the railway workshops to the bay.
Just this side of the station is a three car Siemens in the Williamstown shuttle sidings,
and we get a good view into the neck of the workshops.
We now fly over Goninan's Spotswood maintenance facility,
as usual there are numerous NR class present, and I can see two special liveries:
there's a loco painted for the Southern Spirit, I think it's NR84
and there's also the old blue version of the Indian Pacific scheme.
Over the other side I can see one of the short lived XRB class locos,
which are a cab-less 'B unit' version of the XR class. I believe they're all in storage now.
Here we get a better view of Newport Workshops, there's obviously loads of stuff to spot here but
I'm going to point out a few interesting things.
I can see two G class, one in SCT colours and one in PacNat livery.
There's a Comeng trailer car that seems to have been split from the rest of its set.
There are quite a lot of V/line Z cars sitting around, and that's because around this time a lot
of them were temporarily withdrawn due to cracks in their bogies, so these would be ones awaiting repair.
There's a pretty trashed looking Hitachi set here.
There's all manner of stuff sitting out the front of East Block as usual,
and over here at West Block we can see the heritage area,
with a lot Steamrail and 707 Operations rollingstock sitting about,
including a number of T and Y class diesels
T413 is sitting there with some of the ex-Vinelander sleeping cars.
Next we get a view over the oil refinery and out to Altona.
You can see Altona Junction there with the main Werribee line heading off to the bottom right.
And there's Paisley station, which closed in 1985.
We're now heading over towards Altona, and you can see the Altona line meandering across
the coastal marshes there.. and you can see the bright pink pigface flowers everywhere.
This is Westona station, and there's a Down Comeng in the platform waiting for a cross.
The second set has advertising on the side of the M cars,
during the brief period where ads were allowed to be put over the windows.
We now get this slightly wonky shot showing most of Altona, and if we zoom in we can
see Westona down there bottom,
Altona in the middle
and Seaholme in the far distance.
We then swing around past Laverton, and then over past the Laverton SCT depot, and then that other
intermodal terminal which I think was being used by QR National back then?
Then we're back over Goninan Spotswood, where some of the locos have moved since our last pass
and a second Indian Pacific unit has appeared.
We also get a slightly better view of the XRB.
Continuing back towards the city we pass over Spotswood station,
and get a view over to the docks,
there's Seddon,
and back over Footscray – this time we're looking out along the Sunbury line
towards Middle Footscray, and once again you can see the realignment taking place for the RRL.
And then finally on this flight, we get this long view out along Tottenham yard towards Sunshine,
and you can see the newly rebuilt West Footscray station down the bottom.
So our second flight takes off from Fisherman's bend,
and here we have a view over towards the Westgate Bridge, with Williamstown in the distance.
Slicing through the middle of this image is the former railway line to Webb Dock, which was only
used for 6 years in the late 80s and early 90s, but is still fairly in tact today.
Down the bottom here this building proclaims to be 'Australian Home of the 777,'
which is a bit of an odd thing to say about a place with no runway.
But I believe it's a Boeing research and development facility.
We're now heading over towards Port Melbourne, and we can see Princes Pier
– or what's left of it -
and Station Pier, which were both served by rail in the past.
The Spirit of Tasmania is in town, which of course has only just become historic as of 2023,
as it now departs from Geelong.
Looking to the left slightly we can see the Port Melbourne station building,
which still exists despite this line being converted to a tram line in the late 80s.
There's a C class tram in the terminus, and another one waiting to enter the single track.
It's kind of nuts they still haven't built a second platform here.
Here we're looking down on the remains of Princes Pier, which.. seems to be missing something.
And here's Station Pier, where you can still make out a few bits of track.
Now this has got to be one of my favourite shots – we're coming over St Kilda, and we're looking past
the pilot's ear down towards Luna Park. You can see the Great Scenic Railway, which is the world's
second oldest operating rollercoaster – it was 101 years old at the time of this photo.
You can also see a plinthed W class tram in amongst the rides. Over here are a couple of D2 class trams on Route 96
which were displaced from this line by new E class not long after this photo was taken.
Moving north, we get a view of St Kilda Junction, with a couple of D1s and a Z class present.
Then we head past South Yarra station, no trains, but I can see a Z class tram on Toorak Road.
We get this great view looking south-east, I can see a Siemens on the Up Through line – which would
be an Up Frankston train, then we can see all the way up to Hawksburn and Toorak in the distance.
Now we pass over the Yarra River, and this was very well timed with a three-car VLocity right
in the middle of Cremorne Bridge, on an Up Traralgon service.
And in the background we can see a Z class on the Church Street bridge,
Zs don't run on Route 78 any more it's all As now.
We're now coming up to Richmond station which you can see in the bottom left,
and there are three trains visible, all different types: there's a Siemens on the Down Sandringham,
an X'trap on the Up Burnley Local, and a Comeng on the Up Caulfield Local,
which will be holding up that VLocity we saw a moment ago.
And here's a lovely clear shot of Richmond with that Comeng just departing towards Flinders Street.
From this angle we can see East Richmond, as well as tram Route 70 running along Swan Street,
with an A and a B class visible.
Note how those three trains have only moved a short distance since the
first view of this spot, which gives some idea of the speed of the aircraft at this point.
We're now continuing north onto the first bit of the Hurstbridge and Mernda lines, and in this
view you can see West Richmond station, as well as the little gap between the two tunnels here.
This is North Richmond, and if we zoom in to the entrance of Victoria Street you can see
the Victoria Street Gateway was still under construction, with a C class tram passing
through the works site. In the distance we can see the Carlton United Brewery and the Yarra River.
For our final view of this line we are looking north to Collingwood and Victoria Park, with the
Yarra and the Eastern Freeway in the background. There are some X'trapolis sets stabled at Vic Park
and a Comeng is departing on the Up. Comengs were still fairly common on the Clifton Hill group back then.
We're now swinging around to the other side of the CBD, and get this view across to
North Melbourne, and the docks. Looking down towards V/line's Dudley Street yard, we can see several
N class, including one in the old 'blood & bone' livery, and over here is a three car N set,
which would normally be extended by a Z car or two, but as I mentioned earlier a lot of them were
out of service with bogie issues at this time.
Now we get this great view out towards Spion Kop, Dynon
and Macaulay, and you can see all the way out to Footscray and Flemington in the distance.
You can clearly see the RRL being constructed all through here. There's an Aurizon container train shunting
at North Dynon, and lots of stabled VLocities and Comengs.
Looking straight down on North Melbourne,
we can see a couple of Comeng sets and a VLocity, which will be banished to the RRL in a few years time,
and you can see the new dual gauge trackwork going in on the ramp up to the flyover.
Over here we can see some Metro works trains,
back when they were operating them themselves with locos hired from CFCLA.
There's a B class coupled to IEV102 the old overhead inspection car which has since been replaced.
It was very rare to see a B class running with the IEV, I think it might have only
happened once – so I'm not sure if that's what's happening here, or if they've just
been stabled together. There are also a pair of T class there, one with a crew standing nearby.
And up here is a rake of ballast wagons.
Now we get this great view out over the sort of, greater Dynon area.
Down here is South Dynon locomotive depot, and this is the Broad Gauge turntable
where we can see a bunch of locos in Freight Australia green, including three A class,
which I think were already in storage awaiting scrapping at that time. And there's a bunch of
hood locos there too, some of them are Ys but there might be some Ps and Ts as well.
Over here we can see some V/line H sets, one with an N class on point and the other with push-pull P classes.
Over there is an RL and an 80 class I think? There's also a pair of old Western Australian K class
diesels which were stored there for many years, actually might be there still?
There's all sorts of stuff over here including a few DLs, and a PacNat S class, pretty sure that's
S306 which is now in the care of 707 Operations. And over there you can see a loaded steel train.
In this shot we're looking straight down at the North Melbourne balloon loop,
which was demolished fairly recently, and back in the steam era this was the location of
North Melbourne Locomotive Depot.
There's another H set stabled there with push-pull P class.
Over here you can see the crane where they used to tranship the steel loading between
broad and standard gauge trains, and you can see some steel coils sitting on the ground there.
And here is a really interesting detail that I only spotted while putting this video together,
that's tramway specialwork being put together, and it wasn't too hard to work out where it was headed
based on that geometry – those are replacement points for the two entries to Essendon tram depot,
which had some track renewal done around this time.
Now we're looking back towards Kensington
and Macaulay, and if you watched my Kensington grain train video this view is pretty much the
diagram I used in that. So looking down at the Arrivals Yard we can see a bunch of stabled
VLocities in a few different liveries, and note there are still some 2 car sets there,
which were later all expanded to three cars. If we go up to the Macaulay maintenance centre we can
see three Hitachi sets, which had only just been withdrawn at the time, but sat here for another
few years after this. I photographed the last one being transferred to Newport about 2 years later.
If we go over here there's a mixed VLocity set on the main line, probably an Up Bendigo or Ballarat,
and under the freeway there's an N class and N set sneaking along the high level suburban lines,
probably an Up Shepparton. Up here we can see the Kensington flour mill, and if we zoom in
stupidly close, there's a G class sitting there on a rake of grain hoppers,
that's back when Pacific National ran the train.
And down here that Aurizon intermodal train is still shunting.
We get a bit more of a side on view of Dynon here, which gives us a different view of the Broad Gauge turntable
and if we look back over here we can see a bit more of the locos in this area, and
there's a Y class there in V/line tangerine, not sure which one that is. This DL is still carrying
the green & yellow Australian National colours, I believe that's DL48 which somehow managed to avoid
a repaint well beyond every other member of the class.
Now we're heading over towards the docks,
and there are a few container trains and a grain train sitting there. That's Appleton Dock,
there are a pair of PacNat T class down there, which I guess must have been on shunting duties.
And then finally as we come back to Fisherman's Bend, we get a few more views of the Webb Dock line.
So there you have it! I hope you enjoyed this little insight into what was going on
in Melbourne in December 2013. It was certainly an amazing privilege to be able to take these photos,
and not something I'm likely to repeat any time soon! Thanks for watching!