Another instalment in my photos from ten years ago series – this time it is March 2011.
Up in the air
Who remembers the day of big events and flying? March 2011 saw the Australian International Airshow held at Avalon, with Tiger Airways still flying into the airport.
V/Line ran extra trains to Lara station.
Connecting with shuttle buses.
That delivered patrons to Avalon Airport.
New roads
Around Geelong big money was being spent on new roads, with Stage 4A of the Geelong Ring Road taking shape at Waurn Ponds, extending the freeway south towards Colac.
$63 million was also being spent on a new bridge over the Barwon River at Breakwater, replacing the previous flood prone crossing.
The project also included a massive new intersection with Fellmongers Road.
Resulting in the demolition of nine houses.
Rail projects
West of Geelong, duplication was underway on the main line west to Adelaide. The second track was completed in 2012, and allows grain trains to access the Port of Geelong without conflicting with through services.
The rail over road bridge at Moorabool Street was upgraded, with the 100 year steel span being replaced by a new one looking much the same.
Out at Marshall station was a much less interesting upgrade – the 1 in 2 replacement of timber sleepers with concrete.
March 2011 also saw the disused Geelong Racecourse station disconnected from the main line, removing the ability for trains to access the platform.
Footscray gained a new traction substation at the corner of Ballarat Road and Droop Street, providing extra power for route 82 trams.
The $48.5 million Kororoit Creek Road duplication project reached a milestone – the bridge carrying the westbound carriageway over the Werribee line was complete, allowing the level crossing to be closed, and work to start on the parallel bridge.
Was Regional Rail Link really a decade ago? 2011 saw the new platforms 15 and 16 at Southern Cross Station almost finished – track being the most noticeable omission!
Alstom Ballarat was churning out new X’Trapolis trains for the Melbourne suburban network.
And the massive new train maintenance facility at Craigieburn was taking shape to house a growing fleet of trains.
And scenes that are gone
Who remembers the Melbourne City Tourist Shuttle? Introduced in 2006 by the City of Melbourne as a free service, fares were introduced in 2011 but with competition from the Free Tram Zone, it was discontinued in 2017.
Something else gone is the stink of horse piss at the arse end of Swanston Street. They were kicked out in 2017, and the strip of seedy fast food restaurants was demolished soon after to make way for the new Town Hall station.
A forgettable building was 199 William Street. After sitting empty for decades the year 2011 saw work start on the redevelopment of the tower into ‘The William’ hotel and apartment complex.
I wrote about ‘Mount Mistake’ in Footscray recently – a decade ago the old West Footscray station still existed. The current station opened in 2013.
The same can also be said about this level crossing in Sunshine, where Anderson Road passes over the Sunbury line tracks. It was replaced by a road under rail bridge in 2014.
And finally, we end on the northern edge of Melbourne at the township of Donnybrook. Back then the only people who went there were gunzels photographing trains passing the semaphore signals and having a feed at the local pub, but today it is new housing estates as far as the eye can see.
Footnote
Here you can find the rest of my ‘photos from ten years ago‘ series.
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