Towards the end of last year it was reported that Dublin Bus, Go-Ahead and the Luas Tram operator had been fined a total of €5m by Ireland’s National Transport Authority for late and cancelled journeys. My experience of Go-Ahead is limited to the 17 bus service which has been discontinued recently as the bus routes have been reorganised. I had to visit an old relative twice every week and she was located on Roebuck Road. I travelled there by getting the Tram to Windy Arbour and then the 17 to the Fosters Avenue end of Roebuck Road. However, the 17 service was so unreliable that I often gave up and walked to/from the tram stop. There was supposed to be a bus every twenty minutes but I frequently had to wait for close to sixty minutes (especially on Saturdays).
Towards the end of 2022 the Luas service received a penalty of €2.67m for the number of journeys not operated or which didn’t run to time. However, I have not found the tram service to be unreliable but I have noticed that many trams are too crowded for my liking and it is getting worse especially on the Red Line.
Today I decided to visit the Golden Bridge cemetery I was really surprised to discover that the tram was packed and it was only 2PM. When I got to the Drimnagh stop I was surprised by the frequency of the trams as there was one about every minute. It should be mentioned that if you wish to visit the Goldenbridge Cemetery you should get off the tram at the Drimnagh Stop rather than the Goldenbridge Stop.
My actual excuse is that I am testing the new Google BARD AI app and I need to have something to ask it about. However, I told him that the boss told me to photograph trams for some unknown reason.
Input: “Tell me about the LUAS red line in Dublin” Answer: The Luas Red Line is one of the two lines of Dublin’s Luas light rail system. It runs in an east–west direction through the city centre, north of the River Liffey, before travelling southwest to Tallaght, with a fork to Citywest and Saggart. The Red Line opened on 26 September 2004.
The Red Line has 32 stops, and a journey from Tallaght to Connolly Station takes approximately 45 minutes. The line is served by a fleet of 44 trams, which operate every 5–10 minutes during peak times, and every 10–15 minutes off-peak.
The Red Line is a popular mode of transport for commuters and tourists alike. It is a convenient and efficient way to travel around Dublin, and it connects with many other bus and train services.
Here are some of the key features of the Luas Red Line:
It is a light rail system, which means that it is powered by electricity and has a lower environmental impact than other forms of transport. It is a high-frequency system, with trams running every 5–10 minutes during peak times. It is a well-connected system, with links to many other bus and train services. It is a safe and reliable system, with a good track record of safety. The Luas Red Line is a valuable asset to Dublin, and it is a convenient and efficient way to travel around the city. It is a popular mode of transport for commuters and tourists alike, and it is sure to continue to be a popular choice for many years to come.
Here are some additional facts about the Luas Red Line:
The line is 18.5 kilometers long. The line has a fleet of 44 trams. The line carries an average of 150,000 passengers per day. The line was extended to Saggart in 2011. The line is currently being extended to Broombridge.
Note: The extension to Broombridge is operational and it was the Green Line that was extended.
Input: “Why would anyone photograph a tram coming up a hill” Answer: There are many reasons why someone might photograph a tram coming up a hill. Here are a few:
To capture the power and strength of the tram. A tram coming up a hill is a powerful sight, and it can be awe-inspiring to see the amount of force it takes to move the tram up the incline. To capture the beauty of the hill. A hill can be a beautiful sight, and the contrast between the steep hill and the tram can make for a striking image. To capture the everyday life of a city. A tram coming up a hill is a common sight in many cities, and it can be a way to capture the everyday life of a city. To create a sense of perspective. A tram coming up a hill can help to create a sense of perspective, and it can make the viewer feel small in comparison to the power of the tram. To create a sense of motion. The movement of the tram can create a sense of motion in the image, and it can be a way to capture the energy of a city. Ultimately, the reason why someone might photograph a tram coming up a hill is up to the individual photographer. There are many possible reasons, and the best reason is the one that speaks to the photographer’s own individual vision.
Here are some additional thoughts on why someone might photograph a tram coming up a hill:
To document a historical sight. In some cases, a tram coming up a hill may be a historical sight, and photographing it can be a way to document that history. To create a work of art. A photograph of a tram coming up a hill can be a work of art, and it can be a way to express the photographer’s own unique vision. To simply capture a moment in time. Sometimes, the best reason to photograph something is simply because you want to capture a moment in time. A tram coming up a hill can be a fleeting moment, and photographing it can be a way to preserve that moment for posterity.
I am still experimenting with my old Sigma DP1 Quattro and today, 24 April 2023, I photographed in manual mode and underexposed as the camera was inclined to over expose despite any settings that I make.
In the “Lotus-Eaters” episode of James Joyce’s Ulysses Bloom imagines that the couple leaving the Grosvenor Hotel are “Off to the country: Broadstone probably,” and in Wandering Rocks Mr. Dudley White stands on Array Quay “undecided whether he should arrive at Phibsborough more quickly by a triple change of tram or by hailing a car or on foot through Smithfield, Constitution hill and Broadstone terminus.” Both passages refer to a railway station in the northwest part of inner Dublin, at the top of Constitution Hill between Smithfield and Phibsborough. In 1904 it served as the terminus of the Midland Great Western Railway Company, whose trains went to the west of Ireland.
Broadstone railway station was the Dublin terminus of the Midland Great Western Railway (MGWR), located in the Dublin suburb of Broadstone. The site also contained the MGWR railway works and a steam locomotive motive power depot. The Luas tram station opened at the front of the station in 2017.
It is currently the headquarters of Bus Éireann, housing most of their administration and one of their main garages. Nearby on the same property is a Dublin Bus Depot.
In June 2013, Luas Cross City – a construction project which extended the Luas Green Line North from St. Stephen’s Green to Broombridge – commenced. The line, which opened to passengers on 9 December 2017, traverses the city centre on street-running track and arrives at Broadstone. It then enters into the Broadstone cutting where it continues on its own right of way. Broadstone – DIT is a Luas stop on the line. Its name refers to the fact that it was intended to be the closest stop to Dublin Institute of Technology Grangegorman campus. However, the plans were changed at a late stage, adding Grangegorman stop, which is closer to the campus. Construction of the stop involved excavating a large amount of earth from the land in front of the station, and building a road bridge over the tracks which buses can use to access the depot. The Luas stop has two lateral platforms and is in front of the station building. It was built several metres below the station in order to make it level with Constitution Hill; and a curved, white wall separates the southbound platform from the garden in front of the building. Trams approach the stop from Dominick Street Upper and continues by passing under the new bridge and turning sharply to the right, where they traverse the edge of the bus depot and enter the cutting.
A few years ago i was offered a Sigma DP1 Quattro at a very good price and while I had a bad experience with all my previous Sigma cameras I decided to accept the offer especially as the camera could produce .dng images but, as you may have guessed, there were many problems that can be really annoying. The DP1 Quattro is a fixed lens camera aimed at enthusiasts who demand the best image quality in a reasonably portable form factor. Announced in September 2014, it’s a unique camera in many respects, employing an unusually-shaped body, a fixed focal length lens and a sensor unlike any outside of Sigma’s range. It also eschews modern features we take for granted on other new cameras such as Wifi or even a movie mode. The DP1 Quattro is all about still photo quality.
There are volunteer groups who clean up sections of the canals in Dublin on a regular basis and what you see in my photographs is typical of what is dumped into the waters of the canals.
I live of Henrietta Street and the nearest tram stop is Broadstone if walk via the park at Kings Inns [the gates are closed at weekends]. However if the park is closed the nearest stop is Lower Dominick Street but for various reasons I prefer not to walk along that street. So, today, I got to Broadstone via Upper Dominick Street.
The Sigma DP1 Quattro, which I used today, is the wide-angle sibling to the DP2 Quattro. Image quality is outstanding [when everything goes right), but it’s slow to use and RAW processing requires much time and effort. In general the camera is unreliable and post-processing is a nightmare.
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