I am still experimenting with my old Sony RX0 camera which is about the size of a matchbox – not sure if many of you know what a matchbox is.
Dundrum is a stop on the Luas light rail tram system in Dublin, Ireland which serves the suburb of Dundrum. It opened in 2004 as a stop on the Green Line, which re-uses the alignment of the Harcourt Street railway line which closed in 1958. Dundrum Luas stop is built on the same site as a former heavy rail station of the same name.
The Harcourt Street railway line was built by the Dublin, Wicklow and Wexford Railway and opened in 1854, running from a temporary terminus at Harcourt Road near the city centre to Bray. Dundrum was one of the four original intermediate stops. The station was located at the side of Taney Road, which the line crossed on a bridge.
Dundrum was more elaborate than other stations on the Harcourt Street line. It had buildings on both platforms: the up (Dublin-bound) platform featured waiting rooms and a signal box. The down platform was the location of the station master’s house and the main station building with the ticket hall. This building had one storey, and its entrance from the platform was via a small portico with the roof suspended by a colonnade. This area could be used as a passenger waiting shelter. The platforms were linked by both an iron footbridge and a granite subway.
A short siding was located to the south of the station, allowing trains to terminate.
The Harcourt Street line had declined in use throughout the early 20th century and was closed by CIÉ at the end of 1958. The tracks were lifted soon after and all stations on the route were auctioned off. The waiting rooms, signal cabin, and house at Dundrum were demolished in the years that followed. The station building survived, but fell into disuse. The nearby bridge over the road was demolished in the 1970s.
Construction of the first phase of the Luas system commenced in 2001 and concluded in 2004. The route chosen for the Green Line re-used the old Harcourt Street alignment between Charlemont and Stillorgan, and Dundrum station was rebuilt as a Luas stop. The original subway was restored, allowing it to be once again used for passage under the tracks. The surviving station building was not affected by construction, and remained at the side of the stop for many years in its derelict state. However, it has since been restored and turned into a retail unit.
In the years following the original station’s closure, the roads around it were rearranged into a crossroads. An elaborate cable-stayed bridge was constructed in the place of the old road bridge. It was named the William Dargan Bridge in honour of William Dargan the engineer who built the original railway line.
In 2018, the platforms were lengthened from 45 to 55 metres. This was to accommodate the new longer trams introduced to boost capacity.
Today, I discovered that a tripod or a gimbal is required if I decide to produce videos.
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 have decided to devote more time to producing videos and am in the process of acquiring suitable equipment and I have ordered a Sony FX30 camera with the option of switching to the new Sony A7RV which is expected at the end of October 2022. However, as the A7RV is much more expensive and is a hybrid rather than a dedicated video camera I very much suspect that I will not get the A7RV.
I have, for many years, an RX0 camera which as small as a matchbox and while I like it the user interface is almost impossible to use and despite its size a tripod is required but there is no way that I am willing to carry a tripod in order to use the camera. Anyway, having noticed that reviewers of the new Sony Sony ZV-1F camera were all using Sony grips I decided to have a look at the Sony GP-VPT2BT [supplied free if you order the new Sony ZV-1F Vlogging camera costing Euro 649.00].
I managed to borrow the grip for a few hours to see how well it works with the RX0. Unfortunately, the grip does not communicate with my version of the RX0 but the GP-VPT2BT worked very well as a mini tripod so I decided to purchase it. I should mention that I decided that I needed it as I have ordered the new Sony FX-30 Video-Centric camera which does communicated with the GP-VPT2BT.
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