Regional Rail Link

Work on the Regional Rail Link project was continuing, with the new track connections to the North Melbourne flyover taking shape to separate V/Line and suburban trains.

The launching truss was also in place at the new Maribyrnong River bridge.

Forming a third pair of tracks between North Melbourne and Footscray.

Including a flyover outside Footscray to swap the position of the V/Line and Werribee line track pairs.

At Footscray station work continued on the expanded station concourse.

With two new platforms being built on the north side of the station, to allow V/Line and suburban trains to be separated.

The bridge at the west end of the station was also being widened for the extra pair of tracks.

As well through the cutting towards Middle Footscray.

The first stage of Regional Rail Link between the city and Footscray opened in July 2014, with the project completed in June 2015.

Car parking – cheap at twice the price

At North Williamstown station a $530,000 car park upgrade had just been completed.

The gravel forecourt being turned into an asphalt car park with 50 spaces.

Another screw up by V/Line

In mid-2013 V/Line discovered cracked bogies beneath their fleet of 1950s-era locomotive hauled carriages, which also happened to be the only wheelchair accessible carriages in their long distance fleet.

A total of 22 carriages were impacted by the bogie cracks, with 13 returned to service by June 2014 when new bogies were sourced, the last finally fixed by the end of 2016. Fast forward to today, and the carriages are now retired.

Touring Melbourne’s train control centre

I somehow managed to wrangle a tour of ‘Metrol‘ – Melbourne’s train control centre.

Inside train controllers were busy directing trains across the network.

Each controller being responsible for one part of the network.

With an array of screens showing the location of trains, and a control panel to set which route they would take.

And next door was the shiny new Train Control and Monitoring System room – ready to go, but not yet in everyday use.

But there was one low tech system still in use – stringline graphs.

Depicting the timetabled services running on each line, the hand drawn annotations show where ad-hoc changes needed to be made following delays and disruptions.

Buses

On Queens Bridge I found a Melbourne Free Visitor Shuttle bus.

A victim of competition from the Free Tram Zone, the City of Melbourne finally killed off the service in August 2017.

Trams

A decade ago there were still no platform tram stops on Elizabeth Street.

They were finally built in late-2013.

And the B1 class ‘light rail vehicles’ were still in service.

They were eventually withdrawn in 2016, following a farewell tour.

The clunky old Z1 class trams were also still kicking around.

They were also withdrawn in 2016, having also had their own farewell tour.

And finally, the Colonial Tramcar Restaurant was still trunding around the streets of Melbourne.

The service last ran in October 2018, when Yarra Trams banned the fleet of the network citing safety concerns.

Stupid motorists

I found this old man driving down through the tram stop on Swanston Street – did he think his beat up Mercedes Benz was a bike?

While this motorist figured they could actually take their Toorak Tractor off road, and decided that instead of squeezing out of the bike line, driving off the edge would be quicker.

And the cost of living

A decade ago you could travel anywhere in Melbourne on a weekend for just $3.50.

But fast forward to today – public transport fares are now $10 a day, which on weekends is discounted to ‘just’ $7.20.

Footnote

Here you can find the rest of my ‘photos from ten years ago‘ series.

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As you can see, Franklin Street goes nowhere near a railway line.

While the signal box bearing that name is wedged between the Dudley Street and La Trobe Street bridges.

But I found the answer in this 1855 map of Melbourne.

Map of Melbourne, 1855, via Wikimedia Commons

Franklin Street continues through what is now the Flagstaff Gardens, terminating at Adderley Street as ‘Franklin Street West’.

This 1895 plan by the Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works also features ‘Franklin Street’ adjoining Adderley Street.

But jump forward to the 1920 Morgans street directory, and we find Batman Street – the same as today.

So when did the name change? From Melbourne newspaper The Age on 16 December 1907:

The question of changing the name of the western end of Franklin Street to Batman Street, which will be considered by the City Council to-day, draws attention to the deplorable oversight by which the memory of John Batman, the founder of Melbourne, has been allowed to lapse into oblivion. It is late in the day to name a street after Batman, though better late than never, even if the street is only half a street.

But it may well be asked if the memory of Batman cannot be best incorporated into the beatification of Melbourne scheme by the erection of a statue to him? John Batman founded Melbourne, and he made no fortune by it, but it is fitting that the people of Melbourne should know of him and of the manner of man he was. With his fine, stalwart, broad shouldered figure, and strong, determined face. Batman in his picturesque habit as he lived would be an admirable subject for a statue!

And the day after, 17 December 1907.

The idea mooted in “The Age” of yesterday that some better plan of perpetuating the memory of John Batman, founder of Melbourne, than of naming half a street after him should be thought out was warmly supported at yesterday’s meeting of the City Council.

In calling on the tenth order of the day, that the portion of Franklin Street west of King Street be changed to Batman Street, the Lord Mayor, Cr. Weedon, referred to what he termed the excellent suggestion in “The Age” that John Batman, the pioneer of Melbourne, was a worthy and an artistic subject for a statue.

The idea had already occurred to himself, and now that there was a tendency to erect statuary in suitable places, it was beyond question that there was no name in the history of Melbourne better deserving of prominent public recognition than that of Batman, and no better means of doing honour to his memory than by the erection of his statue. At a recent meeting of the Geographical Society, he had brought the mutter forward, and had suggested that the A.N.A. Society should take the work in hand and carry it through, for Batman was a native of whom natives I might feel proud.

Cr. Aikman said this was a matter that should not be allowed to drop. It was certainly a reflection upon the city that
Batman should be forgotten. He hoped that a statue of the courageous pioneer might be incorporated in the scheme for the beautification of Melbourne, and erected in some suitable position overlooking the river and the city.

Cr. D. V. Hennessy said the City Council should take this matter in hand, and not leave it to the A.N.A. It was true that Batman was an Australian native, but it was as the founder of Melbourne that his memory should be perpetuated, and thus the obligation rested upon the municipality. He would like to see Batman’s statue standing in a prominent place in the municipal gardens near the Yarra.

Crs. Gardiner and Marks also supported the idea of erecting a statue, and Cr. Gardiner put forward a further suggestion that the name of Flagstaff Gardens should be changed to Batman Reserve. This, however, did not appeal to councillors, who voiced objections to interfering with the spot where the flag was first unfurled.

The order of the day was carried, and the west end of Franklin Street is now Batman Street.

So my question is answered: the signal box was opened at the west end of Franklin Street, but the thoroughfare being renamed ‘Batman Street’ in 1907 to remember John Batman, founder of Melbourne.

History of the signal box

A history of the signal box at Franklin Street can be found on page 170 of ‘Docklands Heritage Study: A Report to the Docklands Task Force‘, completed by Andrew C Ward and Associates, in conjunction with Dr Peter Milner, Gary Vines and Ron Greenaway in 1991.

Description

The Franklin Street box controls passenger train movements at the junction of the suburban and country lines from the Up side of North Melbourne station to the points of interface with Spencer Street No. 1 box and No. 2 box. It is a two level brick signal box with concrete slab floor and walkway, steel approach steps and pipe railings and terracotta tiled hipped roof.

Condition: Good
Integrity: Good (architectural), Poor (technical)
Original Owner: Victorian Railways Department
Chief Engineer of Way and Works: E.H. Ballard
Chief Architect: Builder: J. TN. Fawcett

History

The Franklin Street and Viaduct Junction (demolished) signal boxes formed part of the rearrangement of the passenger suburban lines through the Melbourne Yard from the Spencer Street viaduct to Kensington. These works were associated with the construction of the Spencer Street suburban platforms opened in August 1924, and the interlocking frames were electro-mechanically operated in a manner similar to earlier installations at South Yarra and Camberwell.

The original box, close to the present building was opened on 6.9.1884 and replaced by the present installation on 17.8.1924. The interlocking frame was closed in March 1984 and replaced with a control panel which has been remote controlled by Metrol since 18.10.1986.

Significance

Although the original electro-mechanical apparatus has been removed, the Franklin Street box has controlled train movements since 1924 and forms a part of the suburban lines reconstruction plan at the Melbourne Passenger Yard of that date. It forms a unit with suburban platforms 11-14 and is typical of the Department’s work of the period, comparing with Camberwell (1924), Footscray ‘A’ (1930), Caulfield (1933), North Melbourne (1928) and Dandenong (1929).

The interior of 1924 signal box can be seen in this photo from the collection of the Public Records Office Of Victoria.

VPRS 12800/P5, item S 1179

Here the electro-mechanical interlocking frame used to direct trains takes centre stage.

VPRS 12800/P5, item S 0077

While this 1968 photo from West Tower shows the signal box among an array of railway tracks.

VPRS 12800/P5, item S 1007

In conjunction with the opening of the City Loop, in March 1983 a new electronic control panel was installed to control signals in the area, allowing the retirement of the mechanical interlocking frame in March 1984.

Finally in 1986 Franklin Street signal box was closed, control transferred to the Metrol train control centre, but the remote control panel that replaced it was still in place as late as 2012.

Panel inside Franklin Street signal box, normally remotely controlled from Metrol. pic.twitter.com/p16DoVZR

— Vicsig (@vicsig) October 16, 2012

The building itself remains in place today.

Footnote

This history of the W.G. Goetz & Sons engineering works also mentions Batman Street.

After operating at 140 and later 260 Queen Street, the Goetz engineering works moved to 399-401 Franklin Street West (later Batman Street), West Melbourne.

The move from 260 Queen Street to Franklin Street West occurred sometime between 1892 and 1895. Franklin Street West was renamed Batman Street in 1909, and the Goetz property was later renumbered as 115 Batman Street.

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