Red Rattler Return back to Hillside!
As a photographer based situated along with the scenic and yet wonderful Belgrave and Lilydale Lines core. There were huge opportunities to grab some interesting shots when the Taits came out our way.
I’ve been planning out my shots for a few years now and everything seemed to work out and some didn’t work out, but majority came to fruition.
Lets talk about the photos… and to be fair, I’m not really going after the ‘Quintessential’ photo but rather capturing history in a unique way. Railway photography is subjective to the photographer and we try to convey a story.
Honestly, Auburn was a bad call on my end as this shot felt generic and somewhat lacking in some ways, I kinda wished I went to Glenferrie Station instead. This was supposed to be captured in the inside curve to illustrate the scale of the 75m long Tait set.
I will attempt this shot again in due course, providing if it does go on ‘Down’ Camberwell track again or Glenferrie if its on the ‘Bidirectional Express’. There’s definitely room for improvement for these shots.
After this shot, sprinted down to Lilydale to enjoy waiting for the Taits. I would’ve liked to get an shot down at Alamein but thank goodness I just went straight to Lilydale.
Lilydale, one last time is a curated collection of photos in the final months of the old Lilydale station in operation. Lilydale Station as we all know is getting removed and demolished in the next few months (in September) with the heritage station building being the only thing staying.
If you know me personally, I wanted to capture Lilydale in a historical manner and capture something for the history books so the Goods Shed was the only viable option. Something interesting about this shot was the recent occupation works saw Road 4 at Lilydale removed ahead of the crossing works but life goes on.
This would also be one of my final shots taken at Lilydale Station as a result of the current lockdown.
The PTC set was captured on my phone. Not the best angle to be honest.
Red Rattlers Taits, last time to old Lilydale Station! — YouTube
Tecoma, what a perfect shot. Not going to lie, kinda had lost hope that this shot would even work out but damn, actually turned out to become one of my best shots of all time.
I remember seeing this shot taken from another photographer on a cloudy overcast day so I knew my odds were against me… but surprisingly, this came out alright. With some minor tweaks within Adobe Lightroom, this shot has been around a fair bit with even the Hearld Sun using it for its “I (Heart) Victoria” photo on 24 August 2021.
Hawthorn, isn’t a quintessential shot but rather a representation of history. A Tait coming out of the ranges, bound for Flinders Street. This was sooo worth it.
Heyington, thought of getting a shot with the bridge and inside the curve and this turned out… just like butter. The shot was literally perfect in composition but just slightly over exposed in the bridge section… but eh?
Pacing the old Red Rattler to Footscray. We didn’t beat it but it was worth watching, something interesting as the Siemens set powered onward. It was sooo close.
Well, 2021 hasn’t been a straight forward year but this has been somewhat a highlight of 2021… what a strange year it has been 2021.
