The other evening some friends and I traveled from the Dublin city centre to Blackrock on the DART-Dublin’s electrified suburban rail-transit service.
The DART branding mimic’s the Bay Area’s third-rail rapid transit brand ‘BART’ (Bay Area Rapid Transit).
While sometimes my rail travel is focused on the making of photos, this trip had another primary purpose; yet with my Lumix LX7 at the ready, I used every opportunity to make photos.
Significantly, Dublin’s Pearse Station, formerly-known as Westland Row, is credited as the world’s oldest city terminus in continuous use. It was opened in 1834 with the Dublin & Kingstown Railway. Of course, the D&K has the distinction as the world’s earliest operating suburban railway.
Tracking the Light Posts Daily.
The footbridge at Blackrock is a work of art compared to similar structures on commuter lines out of Boston, MA, USA, designed and build by the MBTA. For example, you can see the particularly engaging (if you like brutalism) footbridge structure at Canton Junction in the background of these videos:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e261GKYkM-Q
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEwWrohodao
However, in great contrast, immediately south of this station is the beautiful and ancient (by US standards) Canton Viaduct:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canton_Viaduct
The rehab work on it done by the MBTA and Amtrak was performed with great care and sensitivity. No brutalism here!
The footbridge at Booterstown is known for at least three interesting properties.
1. It is possible to get lost inside it. Stephen Hirsch and I could hear a woman walking in it one evening, but it was a good two minutes before she found her way out.
2. If you arrive onto the up (Dublin) platform as a southbound train is coming through Merrion Gates – about half-a mile north – it is almost impossible to get across the footbridge to the Down platform in time to catch that train.
3. The upper level was at one time, perhaps still is, enclosed by a tight mesh metal material, giving an excellent demonstration of Moiré fringes as you walked towards the bridge along the platform.
The location has also a further, rather more useful, property, which is better to remain secret.