Tag Archives: Dublin Connolly railway station

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Enterprise to Belfast.

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Friday, September 26, 2014.

I’d booked tickets on-line for my cousin Stella and I. As planned we took a spin from Dublin down to Belfast on the Enterprise.

Dublin's Connolly Station is the terminus for the Enterprise, Ireland's only cross-border service. Lumix LX7 photo.
Dublin’s Connolly Station is the terminus for the Enterprise, Ireland’s only cross-border service. Lumix LX7 photo.

I made a variety of photos to capture the experience. The train departed Connolly at 9:35am, as per schedule.

The Enterprise under the shed at Connolly Station Dublin. Lumix LX7 photo.
The Enterprise under the shed at Connolly Station Dublin. Lumix LX7 photo.
The Enterprise service is one of the only regularly scheduled locomotive hauled trains in Ireland. Irish Rail 231 worked our trains on both legs of the journey.
The Enterprise service is one of the few regularly scheduled locomotive hauled passenger trains in Ireland. Most trains use diesel rail cars. Irish Rail 231 worked our trains on both legs of the journey.
In long standing tradition, I walked to the top of the platform for a photo of the train before boarding. LX7 Photo.
In long standing tradition, I walked to the top of the platform for a photo of the train before boarding. LX7 Photo.
I reserved our seats on-line a week before traveling. LX7 Photo.
I reserved our seats on-line a week before traveling. LX7 Photo.

I’d first made this journey in February 1998. Back then Belfast still had a bit of an edge to it. I’d stepped out of Belfast Central Station on blustery damp morning and was immediately cautioned by a middle aged couple who told me to watch out where I walked.

On Friday’s trip, we were greeted by bright sunny skies and a much warmer welcoming Belfast. I was traveling light: only my Lumix LX7 and a Canon EOS 3 with just two lenses.

We rode an NIR local train from Central to Great Victoria Street, then spent the next six hours exploring on foot. We opted to return on the 6:05 pm train, which put us back in Dublin early enough for dinner and to meet a few friends.

Northern Ireland is blessed with some wonderful scenery. Lumix LX7 view from the Enterprise.
Northern Ireland is blessed with some wonderful scenery. Lumix LX7 view from the Enterprise.
Looking west from the Enterprise.
Looking west from the Enterprise.
The Enterprise has its own logo and runs with distinctive equipment.
The Enterprise has its own logo and runs with distinctive equipment.
While we walked around Belfast, locomotive 231 made a round trip to Dublin with the Enterprise. More than six hours after we left the train, it was back again waiting to take us up to Dublin.
While we walked around Belfast, locomotive 231 made a round trip to Dublin with the Enterprise. More than six hours after we left the train, it was back again waiting to take us up to Dublin. An NIR DMU rolls into Belfast Central as the Enterprise idles before boarding.
The trains were well patronized in both directions. Afternoon light illuminates the subdued carriages of the 6:05pm Belfast-Dublin Enterprise service. Soon we were rolling along in the evening glow back to Dublin. LX7 photo.
The trains were well patronized in both directions. Afternoon light illuminates the subdued carriages of the 6:05pm Belfast-Dublin Enterprise service. Soon we were rolling along in the evening glow back to Dublin. LX7 photo.

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 Tomorrow: Northern Ireland Railways

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Blue LUAS—Connolly Station.

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Window in Time, 2012.

LUAS advertising tram at Connolly Station, Dublin on September 7, 2012. Exposed with a Lumix LX3.
LUAS advertising tram at Connolly Station, Dublin on September 7, 2012. Exposed with a Lumix LX3. I like the way the tram echoes the color of the sky.

Here was an opportunity. Back in autumn 2012, a single LUAS Citadis tram on the Red Line was dressed in this attractive blue advertising livery.

It was the sort of item you see in the corner of your eye when crossing O’Connell Street, or when boarding a bus heading in the opposite direction, or when gliding by on the DART.

After a while, I had a few lucky moments, where was able to make photographs of this elusive tram.

On September 7, 2012, I saw it heading to the stub-end turn-back terminal at Connolly Station. This was my chance to make a few images.

In addition to this digital photo, I exposed a few Fujichrome color slides for posterity.

Why slides? In my mind, digital photograph remains an ephemeral format; nice to have, nice to work with, but one good zap to the old hard drive and. . . .

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LUAS at the Red Cow April 2005

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400mm View of an Alstom Citadis Tram.

LUAS tram
Dublin LUAS tram backlit near the Red Cow stop in April 2005. Exposed on Fujichrom Sensia 100 with a Nikon N90S fitted with a Tokina 400mm lens.

In April 2005, Dublin’s LUAS light rail system was still relatively new. Services on the Red Line service between Dublin Connolly Station and Tallagh had only commenced the previous September.

The Trams still had that ‘right out of the box’ quality. They were new and shiny and free from dents and day-to-day wear and tear. The yellow safety stripes were still in the future.

The Irish Railway Record Society was working on a special LUAS edition of their Journal and fellow IRRS members Stephen Hirsch, the late-Norman McAdams and myself spent a morning intensively photographing LUAS operations and its trams to help fill this publication.

The morning was bright but had a hazy diffused quality of light, typical of Irish April weather. I exposed this image with my Nikon N90S fitted with a Tokina 400mm lens.

However when I inspected the processed slide, it left me with something of quandary: While I was satisfied with the composition and the subtle backlit qualities, I’d felt that I’d misjudged the lighting and overexposed the image by about a stop. Worse, I didn’t manage to keep the camera level, so, by my normal standards of judgment, I felt the slide projected poorly.

Despite these flaws, I found the slide, scanned exceptionally well. In post processing I was easily able to correct for level, and the exposure looks fine on the computer screen without need for manipulation.

This just goes to show what doesn’t look good on film, may, in fact, produce a better than average final image in other media.

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