Photographing: Flinders Street Viaduct.
In Melbourne, when we think about railways… it will be always Flinders Street Station which is commonly associated with “Meet you under the clocks”.
But one piece of Melbourne’s rail infrastructure is often overlooked and underappreciated. This is the Flinders Street Viaduct.
Flinders Street Viaduct has changed significantly as Melbourne’s heavy rail network keeps on growing in demand. From two tracks to the six tracks that we take for granted, allowing Melbourne’s suburban trains to loop around the CBD.
For 2022, I decided to tried out photographing the Flinders Street viaduct. I’ve photographed it four times, each one having a different perspective which allow four different stories. This is the results, from the year long project to actively think differently about how we can look at photography.
Editors Note: Forgot to mention is with great thanks to other photographers for assisting me with this project, as two of the five places required special access to grab a photo, with one requiring payments.
So, with the ElecRail PTC Taitset out, why not experiment with it.
The brief is: to create a historical photo but in a modern environment that allows the Taitset to feel authentically Melbourne.
Site 1: Customs House.
Customs House, now housing the Immigration Museum was one of the spots in the early consideration phase, but its angles is often obstructed with other elements.
But shooting from two different windows allow two vastly different perspectives. It’s quite quintessential to show modernity has grown around this iconic viaduct.
Site 2: Flinders Street Car Park – 454/468 Flinders Street.
Shooting from the third level from a Flinders Street Carpark, the Taitset trundled through as a W8 on the City Circle passed by. Many elements can be found in this image, from the PTC Taitset to the Eureka Skydeck.
The one major downside about this shot is the glass reflection from the pink wall. To overcome this, I’ve used my jacket to reduce the reflection but this didn’t cover everything.
I felt like this shot could’ve been better but hey, things don’t always go to plan.
Site 3: Flinders Street Car Park – 474 Flinders Street.
Just slightly over 100 years of difference between these two shots.
Shooting from another Carpark, alongside Flinders Street and standing on a back of a pickup truck, the PTC Taitset trundles on the Northern Viaduct track.
This was the hardest one to date, as shooting off a pickup truck with a picket fence poking into your jacket… it wasn’t too pleasant but we got the shot.
This shot requires a car to be parked, in order to access these premises.
And version… 5? 12 Gem Street, Northbank
I’ve shot from another carpark. But this is another shot further down, the line.
This was shot in 2023, but was added as a upcoming and future story teller image..
A shot I’m thinking about how this can be captured in a historical setting.
The end result? I honestly don’t know. I’m having mixed feelings about it. One side of me believes that more could’ve been done but at the same time. Not much more can be captured in a tight space. Each photography spot has its perks and cons.
But what’s unique, photographing a train in an urban environment. It’s quite possibly fair to say there isn’t many other places that can capture a train on a viaduct (not counting skyrail).
Just experiment with photography. Sometimes you can create something that no one ever expected.
