SUMMER RAIN

We've had a bout of subtropical weather here in Melbourne in the last couple of days and it's been quite humid and wet. It has flummoxed quite a few drivers who seem to bee driving a little more erratically than usual - add to that the multitude of infrastructure and road projects all over the city, and it's not a pleasant drive on our roads anymore...

This post is part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,

and also part of the My Corner of the World meme.

RUSH HOUR

"Hi Ho Hi Ho,
Its Off To Work We Go!"

Rush hour on the Eastern Freeway where hapless commuters battle the traffic every morning to get to work. And it will get much worse as our city grows and its growth is not only unchecked, but encouraged mindlessly...

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme,
and also part of the Friday Photo Journal meme.

CLASSIC NOT PLASTIC!

The Holden FB is a car that was produced by Holden in Australia from 1960 to 1961. Introduced on 14 January 1960, the FB series replaced the Holden FC range. The FB range consisted of four-door sedans in two trim levels, five-door station wagons in two trim levels, a two-door coupe utility and a two-door panel van. The Holden Business Sedan, which had been marketed as part of the FC range, was not carried over to the FB series.

The FB was promoted as being longer, lower, more spacious and more powerful than the FC model although in reality it was only slightly so on each count. Overall length was 5.5 inches (140 mm) greater whilst the wheelbase remained the same. The engine remained the same at 3" the last model to have this bore, engine capacity remained at 132 cubic inches and the compression ratio was raised. However the resulting extra 4 brake horsepower (3.0 kW) of power did not compensate for the extra weight of the FB and performance was thus inferior to that of its predecessor.

Changes were also made to the brakes, front coil springs, air cleaner and clutch. Obvious styling differences were the lower bonnet, finned rear mudguards with new taillights (on the sedans and wagons only) and a wrap-around windscreen. Seating was improved as was the instrument panel. Notably, the FB was the first Holden model to also be produced in left-hand drive form, these vehicles being destined for export markets.

All FB models were powered by a 132 cubic inches (2,160 cc) inline six-cylinder engine, the last to have the 3" bore size, producing 75 brake horsepower (56 kW). After a production run of 147,747 vehicles,[1] the FB was replaced by the Holden EK series in May 1961. This well-maintained Holden FB Special Sedan was parked in our neighbourhood and I couldn't resist taking a few photos.

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme,
and also part of the My Sunday Photo meme,
and also part of the Photo Sunday meme.

RED LIGHT

I have been having internet connection problems these last couple of days, so I haven't been able to post. Rather apt to post this photo of traffic stopped at a red light...

This post is part of the Saturday Silhouettes meme.

ON THE STREET WHERE I LIVE

One evening, at sunset...

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme,
and also part of the Saturday Silhouettes meme.

SUMMER STORM

Grey skies, thunderstorms and heavy rain covered Melbourne for less than half an hour this evening after wild weather had been predicted to hit a lot harder. The storms came across the west of the state after a deluge hit Geelong earlier today. The weather bureau said the storm and heavy rain hit Melbourne about 6pm but the CBD only received 4 millimetres of rain. Traffic was heavy, nevertheless, and many police cars and ambulances with flashing lights and sirens wove in and out of lanes to attend emergencies.

This post is part of the Wednesday Waters meme,
and also part of the Waterworld Wednesday meme,
and also part of the Outdoor Wednesday meme,
and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme.

IN THE CITY

This post is part of the Monday Mellow Yellows meme,
and also part of the Blue Monday meme.

ACCIDENT

We are fairly fortunate in Melbourne, in regards to road accidents and fatalities. For a city of such a large size, the rate of accidents and road deaths is relatively low. In the state of Victoria, in 2014 the annual road toll was 249.

Australia’s road toll fell to its lowest level in almost 70 years in 2014 and the national rate of road deaths per 100,000 people dipped to the lowest level since records began 90 years ago. The total number of road deaths last year was 1155 – down 3.1 per cent from 2013 – marking the lowest road toll since 1945.

The rate of road deaths per 100,000 people declined to 4.87, which was the lowest since at least 1925 when the Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics’ (BITRE) figures begin.

A few weeks ago we were woken up up at about 1:30 am by an almighty bang. We went outside to investigate and directly across our house, an accident had taken place. Fortunately nobody was injured severely but a few cars had been damaged greatly. Apparently, a ute at high speed had ploughed into a couple of stationary parked cars, writing off completely a little red hatchback.

The emergency response was almost immediate, and it was suspected the ute driver was driving under the influence of alcohol... Within about an hour and a half, the damaged cars were removed, the road had been cleared and the next morning the only indication of the accident was the crushed kerb.

Moral of the story? Don't drink and drive!

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Ruby Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme.

CLUB CADILLAC

Cadillac (formally the Cadillac Motor Car Division), is a division of U.S.-based General Motors Company (GM) that markets luxury vehicles worldwide. Cadillac's primary markets are the United States, Canada, and China, but Cadillac-branded vehicles are distributed in 34 additional markets worldwide. Historically, Cadillac automobiles have always been the luxury icon within the United States of America. In 2012, Cadillac's U.S. sales were 149,782 vehicles.

Cadillac is currently the second oldest American automobile brand following fellow GM marque Buick and is among the oldest automobile brands in the world. Cadillac was founded from the remnants of the Henry Ford Company in 1902, almost 9 years before Chevrolet was founded. The company was named after Antoine Laumet de La Mothe, sieur de Cadillac, who founded Detroit, Michigan. The Cadillac crest is based on his coat of arms.

This classic car is parked in High Street, Northcote and looks as though it has had some enthusiast's serious love given to it. It has a 'Club Permit' number plate, which denotes the fan status of the owner.

The Victorian club permit scheme allows members of car clubs (including motorcycle, trailer/caravan and machinery clubs) that are recognised by VicRoads to make limited use of historic vehicles on the road network. A club permit can be issued to the following vehicles in the following categories:

• Veteran vehicles – manufactured before 1 January 1919;
• Vintage vehicles – manufactured after 31 December 1918 and before 1 January 1931;
• Classic and Historic vehicles – manufactured after 31 December 1930, but more than 25 years before the date of the application for a club permit.

These categories can include trailers and modified vehicles such as street rods. Vehicles which are replicas of vehicles in the above-mentioned categories may also be issued with a club permit. Club permits are issued for 12 month periods and vehicles are issued with specific club permit plate(s).

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Ruby Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme.

RAINY DAY IN THE CITY

I was in the City last Monday and it proved to be quite a wet and grey day, although quite muggy too. The good old Melbourne trams were doing a roaring trade as people used them to avoid a walk in the rain.

The Melbourne tramway network is a major form of public transport in Melbourne. As of May 2014, the network consisted of 250 kilometres of track, 493 trams, 25 routes, and 1,763 tram stops. It is the largest urban tramway network in the world, ahead of the networks in St. Petersburg (240 km), Berlin (190 km), Moscow (181 km) and Vienna (172 km). Trams are the second most used form of public transport in overall boardings in Melbourne after the commuter railway network, with a total of 182.7 million passenger trips in 2012/13.

Trams have operated continuously in Melbourne since 1884, with the opening of a horse tram line in Fairfield. Since then they have become a distinctive part of Melbourne's character and feature in tourism and travel advertising. Melbourne's cable tram system opened in 1885, and expanded to one of the largest in the world, with 75 km of double track. The first electric tram line opened in 1889, but closed only a few years later in 1894. In 1906 electric tram systems were opened in St Kilda and Essendon, marking the start of continuous operation of Melbourne's electric trams.

This post is part of the Waterworld Wednesday meme,
and also part of the Outdoor Wednesday meme,
and also part of the ABC Wednesday meme.

WINTER EVENING

...And the rush hour is beginning.

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Ruby Tuesday meme.

PUFFING BILLY, EMERALD

The Puffing Billy Railway is a 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) narrow gauge heritage railway in the Dandenong Ranges near Melbourne, Australia. The primary starting point, operations and administration centre, main refreshment room (also selling souvenirs) and ticket purchasing are located at Belgrave station. Journeys may also be commenced at out-stations of which some have limited facilities for the purchase of tickets, refreshments and souvenirs. Tickets usually may also be purchased from the conductor aboard the train.

The railway was originally one of five narrow gauge lines of the Victorian Railways opened around the beginning of the 20th century. It runs through the southern foothills of the Dandenong Ranges to Gembrook. Being close to the city of Melbourne and with a post-preservation history spanning over 50 years, the line is one of the most popular steam heritage railways in the world, and attracts tourists from all over Australia and overseas.

The Puffing Billy Railway is kept in operation through the efforts of volunteers of the Puffing Billy Preservation Society, although intensive year-round operations have led to a few dozen paid employees to keep things going behind the scenes. The railway aims to preserve and restore the line as near as possible to how it was in the first three decades of its existence, but with particular emphasis on the early 1920s.

This post is part of the Scenic Weekends meme,

and also part of the Weekly TopShot meme.

RAINY DAY IN FAIRFIELD

We've had some good rain in Melbourne these past couple of days and it was good to go out and about and see it falling, making the streets wet and being able to smell its freshness. Down at our local shopping street, there were a lot of reds to be seen, brightening up the gray day. The dog agreed with me.

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Ruby Tuesday meme.

EASTERN FREEWAY

The Eastern Freeway is an urban freeway in eastern Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria, Australia. It is one of the most important freeways in terms of commuting to the city, connecting Alexandra Parade and Hoddle Street in the inner suburbs, with EastLink tollway farther east.

The freeway consists of between three to six lanes (including the hard shoulder running lane during peak periods) in each direction, also an inbound transit lane reserved for vehicles with two or more occupants during peak hours. It is the continually widest freeway in Melbourne, with 12 lanes altogether near the Hoddle Street and Alexandra Parade end.

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme.