Photo of the Week - Week 47:
Conyngham Road's EV62 at its Merrion Square terminus awaiting departure to Dodsboro on the 28th November 2010.
Single biggest noteworthy point about this week, well its started to snow. The miserable nature of the winter season for bus photographers, the dark evenings, cold days and general wet weather of winter is very occasionally broken by a little bit of white magic. For those few days when snow settles on the ground, the city's appearance undergoes a drastic change. Everything glistens and shines, as a white fluffy blanket settles on Dublin City. EV62 is offset with a fantastic backdrop on Merrion Square above, while WV50 is seen a quite rare location of Rossmore. Not many bus photographs there. The bus is shown having just served its final stop on route, and is approaching Willington Roundabout where it will loop.
Ringsend's Wright Crusader 2 bodied Volvo B6BLE, WV50, is seen on Orwell Park operating a Route 150 service to Rossmore on the 28th November 2010.
Saturday (27/11/10) was the first day of dealing with the snow. One of the few snow diversions in place that was not mentioned on the website was that of the 120 to Ashtown. Services were running short, serving only the first stop in the Pelletstown Estate. They looped at the roundabout at Phelan Avenue instead of continuing further into the estate down Royal Canal Way and Rathbourne Avenue. VG1 is shown below negotiating its temporary terminus, a roundabout with a quite interesting feature, it has a bus lane through it. VG1 in order to turn about had to go the long way round.
Phibsborough's Wright Gemini bodied Volvo B9TL, VG1, is seen operating Route 120 on Phelan Avenue roundabout on the 28th November 2010.
As indicated before the 120 short working was not listed however it should be noted that Dublin Bus were making very regular updates to their site over this weekend. This is to be most commended, something which shows how far the publicity department have come in recent years, far from the standards set in the state-owned CIE days.
This weekend was also notable in that the Irish Congress of Trade Unions held a march from Wood Quay to O'Connell Street in protest of the current government's handling/creation of the economic crisis. An Garda Siochana had listed a bunch of diversions that would be in place on the day, to that effect Dublin Bus noted to its passengers the diversionary routes taken by buses. Notices were applied to stops in O'Connell Street advising passengers that the next stop would be D'olier Street. Buses were routed via Gardiner Street, Memorial Bridge and George's and Burgh Quays to D'olier Street. However at the last moment the Guards took it upon themselves to close George's and Burgh Quay, something they had not been advising they would do. So buses and all other traffic were diverted into Shaw Street, which from this author's observation filled up to the brim in about 100seconds. Farsical.
Donnybrook's AX645 and Ringsend's AV386 cross the Talbot Memorial Bridge on the 28th November 2010. AV386 is out of service having just operating a short 3 service from Larkhill to the city, while Route 11 is one of the first buses to be diverted from O'Connell Street. AX645 is notable in that it is one of the AXs that have had their fleetnumbers placed above the Volvo badge on the front post respray.
Summerhill's AX636 is seen on its diversionary route turning from Gardiner Street to Beresford Place on a Route 16 service to Ballinteer on the 28th November 2010 while on diversion due to the ICTU march. The via O'Connell Street display is quite redundant.
Finally of note was that the sightseeing tour services were moved to a temporary terminus on Sean MacDermott Street, quite an unusual location in this author's opinion. However it offered a rare photo opportunity in that two RAs were seen beside each other, a rare sight nowadays. RA218 leads RA251 at their temporary terminus.
Boradstone based City Tour vehicles RA218 and RA251 are seen at their temporary terminus on Sean MacDermott Street Upper necessitated by the ICTU march on the 27th November 2010.