PUBLIC TRANSPORT

DUBLINBIKES DOCKING STATION 03 ON BOLTON STREET

April 22, 2023 by infomatique

THERE ARE MANY RESTAURANTS NEARBY ESPECIALLY ON CAPEL STREET

The Docking Station is outside Bolton Street College which is in the process of moving to the new University Campus at Grangegorman.

Because of the college many restaurants have opened over the years because the owners expected to attract a lot of student business but almost all closed within two or three years. However, BoCo, which does not depend on student business, has proved to be a huge success and if you like pizza it is highly recommended. Recently I noticed that the Taco Libre (pub restaurant operated by the Galway Brewery Company) has closed and the El Patron Mexican Street Food restaurant across the street has become the Tia Maria Brazilian Restaurant. The Art Flamingo recently became the Burger House but when I visited it a few weeks ago I was told that it would close again and reopen under new management. A few doors along the street a new restaurant is being outfitted but I have no further information.

Early in 2013 I purchased a Sigma Dp3 Merrill and while it could produce the best images ever it was in reality a disaster. The batteries could at times last only long enough to capture 40 images [at best no more than 80] and one could forget about selecting any setting other ISO 100. In order to process RAW images one needed to use Sigma’s Photo Pro 5.5 which was supplied with the camera.

Recently I discovered that Photo Pro 6.8.3 was much more user friendly than the version supplied with the camera so I decided to charge all eight batteries, that I still had, and use the camera for a day (22 April 2021) but unfortunately the weather proved to be way too wet. Two of the batteries were exhausted after ten captures.

The DP3 Merrill was the latest of a trio of almost identical compact cameras released by Sigma, all named for Dick Merrill (1949-2008), the co-developer of the Foveon image capture system. The DP1 Merrill and DP2 Merrill were announced in early February 2012. The former features a 19mm f/2.8 lens that provides the equivalent of a 28mm field of view in 35mm format, while the DP2 Merrill has a 30mm f/2.8 lens with a field of view equivalent to 45mm. Unveiled on 8 January, 2013, the DP3 Merrill sports a 50mm f/2.8 lens with a 75mm equivalent focal length that is ideal for portraiture.

DUBLINBIKES DOCKING STATION 29 ON ORMOND QUAY

April 22, 2023 by infomatique

I USED AN OLD SIGMA DP3 MERRILL

Ormond Quay was the first of the quays to be built on the north bank side of the River Liffey, complete by c. 1680, developed by Sir Humphrey Jervis and named in honour of the Duke of Ormond who instigated the trend for building houses facing the river.

DUBLINBIKES DOCKING STATION 26

April 21, 2023 by infomatique

AT MERRION SQUARE WEST

All the original 18th century properties in Merrion Square have survived to the present day except for Antrim House which was demolished to make way for the National Maternity Hospital in the 1930s. Three sides are lined with Georgian redbrick townhouses; the West side abuts the grounds of Leinster House (seat of the Oireachtas), Government Buildings, the Natural History Museum and the National Gallery. The central railed-off garden is now a public park.

The Wellington Testimonial to commemorate the victories of Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, was originally planned to be located in Merrion Square. However it was built in the Phoenix Park after opposition from the square’s residents.

CABRA LUAS TRAM STOP 19 APRIL

April 19, 2023 by infomatique

PHOTOGRAPHED USING AN OLD CANON 1Ds III

Cabra Luas stop is located at the northern end of the Broadstone railway cutting, immediately to the north of Connaught Street, which crosses the line on the Liam Whelan bridge, which was rebuilt as part of the construction of the stop. The main entrance is a long ramp leading from the eastern side of the bridge to the middle of the southbound platform (there are also stairs which lead from the middle of the ramp to the end of the platform). A second entrance consists of a pathway leading from the northern end of the stop to the nearby Mount Bernard Park.

The cutting is somewhat wider than the stop itself, meaning that there is some leftover space behind the northbound platform. Saplings have been planted in this area in an attempt to reduce the Luas’s carbon footprint. Saplings have also been planted on the southbound platform.

I GOT A TRAIN FROM BROOMBRIDGE TO MAYNOOTH

April 12, 2023 by infomatique

7 APRIL 2023

The train station at Broombridge is at best unattractive.

Broombridge is a railway station beside a Luas Tram stop serving Cabra, Dublin 7, Ireland. It lies on the southern bank of the Royal Canal at the western end of what had been Liffey Junction station on the erstwhile Midland Great Western Railway (MGWR). It takes its name from Broome Bridge, which crosses the canal, where William Rowan Hamilton developed the mathematical notion of quaternions. A plaque on the adjacent canal bridge and the name of the Luas Maintenance depot on site, Hamilton Depot, commemorates this.

Years ago I would have avoided this station because it was not safe at any time of the day. The station is unmanned and had been subject to significant and sustained vandalism, enough for Iarnród Éireann to be concerned and questions asked about it in the Dáil.The lack of shelter for passengers or seating facilities was similarly questioned. In 2012, additional security measures were added along with seating and decoration in advance of the station’s redesign as part of the Luas Cross City project. Leap card validators, previously not provided due to vandalism concerns, have been installed and Iarnród Éireann ticket machines were installed towards the end of 2019.

Broombridge is the northern terminus of the Green Line of the Luas, Dublin’s Light rail tram system. The tram platforms were constructed in 2017, at the same time as the nearby Hamilton Depot, the forecourt which provides space for buses to access the station, a staff car park, and a footbridge over the main line tracks to allow easier interchange. The two platforms lie adjacent to the eastern end of the main line platforms, and interchange between the two systems is possible via steps and a ramp.

On average, trams depart every 10 to 15 minutes and head south towards Bride’s Glen, a journey which takes approximately one hour. Immediately after leaving Broombridge, they go through a double crossover point which allows them to make use of both platforms. The line runs parallel to the heavy rail line for 350m, before turning south into the Broadstone railway cutting, which takes it into central Dublin.

In 2020, a 4 km (2.5 mi) extension of the green line from Broombridge to Charlestown Shopping Centre was announced. According to the current plan for the project, Broombridge will become a through stop, and trams will leave the stop before taking a sharp turn to the right, crossing the heavy rail line and the Royal Canal on a specially constructed bridge which will run parallel to Broome Bridge itself, and then continue northwards.

“Luas Finglas is the extension of the Luas Green Line from Broombridge to Charlestown via Finglas. It will add four new stops to the line and create a key public transport connection between the communities of Charlestown, Finglas Village, Finglas west, St Helena’s and Tolka Valley and the city centre. The National Transport Authority and Transport Infrastructure Ireland have developed an Emerging Preferred Route for Luas Finglas and are inviting comments from all stakeholders and members of the public on the proposed route. Luas Finglas will be constructed mostly in grass track, an attractive innovation in Ireland, while a cycle and pedestrian path will be constructed along much of the line, providing family-friendly, sustainable, convenient access between northside communities and the city centre.”

https://www.luasfinglas.ie/#/home