Clouds
… of clouds. The “Go West” bus is on its way back to the city, complete with a load of puffy clouds.
Auckland - West
Mainly West of Queen Street - seen through my lens
Category: Transport
Learn to Ride
This colourful learn-to-ride circuit is just behind the Avondale shops, and adjacent to the Avondale Racecourse. Whoever designed it obviously had a lot of fun, and I hope that it is finding good use. When I came through (in the morning, school time) I had the place to myself (but no bike) – not a realistic introduction to the gridlock that is Auckland traffic…
Many thanks to Vince Middeldorp, location scout extraordinaire!
Learn to Ride
EMU (Electric Multiple Unit)
Over the last few years the Auckland rail system got upgraded: double tracking and electrification. The last route to benefit from electrification is the line to the west (up to Swanson only, Waitakere township passengers have to transfer to a bus at Swanson – hourly service – the trains run every half hour). The electric trains are constructed by the Spanish rolling stock builder CAF.
Yesterday was the the first weekend where the new EMUs started service on the western line, the last track to get the treatment. Gradually, more units will be deployed during the week as well.
I liked the quiet approach of the electric trains compared to the brutal noise of the diesel engines. But I was less impressed by the squeaky brakes…
Pictures taken at Fruitvale Road Station.
Signs with History
Single-Arm Pantograph
Mandala by Miranda Brown
One of Miranda Brown‘s Mandalas at the New Lynn train station. A diesel engine pushes a train through its trench. Before too long, this will be history, electrification is the word! (If all goes according to plan, today should see the first electric trains running on the Onehunga line, after a public launch yesterday.)
As the Facebook page says: As part of the New Lynn Transport Centre Project, Miranda Brown was commissioned by Waitakere City Council to create an iconic public artwork reflecting the local multicultural community. This concept focuses on the four major waves of migration that have taken place in New Lynn over the past few centuries, represented here by each mandala – circle. Beautiful! Take a trip to New Lynn and check it out.
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