Hotel 7 // Lavender

Signal F609 pinging between proceed and stop in front of trains tonight

good stuff right there

Signals & passive crossings near Long Island Junction

Recent platform 1 extension at Moorabbin. For XT2 I imagine. New signal post and heads for MRN712, a fixed red signal.

The traffic lights at Clarinda Rd and Old Dandenong road are looking quite unnecessary now, with the SRL closure of a chunk of Old Dandy to the south the only through route here is a loop back in to Clarinda

There will be a reduced frequency on this bit of the line during peak times, with more trains terminating and originating at Cheltenham and Moorabbin. No reduction to the ten minute frequency enjoyed through most other hours.

The westbound lane boom barrier on McDonald St has been swapped with a split one, to fit under the future viaduct. Original crossovers remain on the up end. There's a rail in the middle of the single track, which seems to have been taken from one of the recently removed tracks as it is quite shiny.

Two tracks have been removed through Mordialloc, with only the platform one track remaining.

The train in platform 2 (left) is departing in about 13 minutes for East Pakenham. The train in the turnback siding (middle) is forming that Cranbourne in 6 minutes. The train approaching platform 1 (right) is running an East Pakenham service right now

They've had to dig out a chunk of the road and install these copper wires to keep the track circuit continuity

Broken rail inside the Millers St level crossing near Seaholme station. 40km/h speed restriction over the broken rail. This is the second broken rail in a level crossing on the Altona Loop in a month.

oh and hidden under the "No trains operating" banner we see that the services say they end at Bonbeach! So does the PTV app!

Also, here are the medium speed aspects of BON782 over the 65km/h crossover.

Interestingly, after trains have turned back they say they are a "Frankston via City Loop" service

Anyway, enjoy some shots of empty trains between Carrum and Bonbeach

I can't think of another instance where this has happened, a train running empty to a regular yet artificially inaccessible platform just to turn back. Bonbeach is the least used station on the line, and I know Carrum is a better place for buses, but why not just let people on 🤷‍♀️

However, passengers are not allowed on the trains to or from Bonbeach, so every train runs empty to and from. Barriers at Bonbeach block you from entering the platform that the train sits at.

Strange operation on the Frankston line this weekend. Buses replace trains between Cheltenham and Carrum due to works at Mordialloc, but due to the location of the crossover near Carrum trains need to go ahead to Bonbeach before returning over the crossover back to Carrum 🧵

The lesser known punch out between Melbourne Central and State Library stations for passengers going between the lifts

Taking a diverted 86 over the Miller St hump

Boronia

Shepparton train wrong lining back to Craigieburn after the train in front of us failed at Donnybrook from a few days ago

I believe I was the only passenger on the 14:45 Marshall to Southern Cross service today, until we got to South Geelong. The points from Marshall platform 1 up to the main line are 80km/h.

It was a McKenzie & Holland No.6 Pattern frame, and is now in the hands of the Daylesford Railway

In the new South Geelong station waiting room and office they have many reminders of the old lever frame, including the final configuration pull chart hanging up

New Sunshine superhub related maps released showing the project area and the rough locations of the Sunbury line and Bendigo line flyovers among other works bigbuild.vic.gov.au/news/melbour...

third ever*

All seven carriages to myself. At WeFo the train went out of service, but the PIDs showed direct to Watergardens (indicating an empty move to Watergardens or Calder Park sidings)