Photo of the Week - Week 8:
Phibsboro's Wright Gemini bodied Volvo B9Tl, VG4, is seen at the Palmerstown Cemetery terminus of Route 26 on the 26th February 2011.
VG4 clearly at Palmerstown, not Palmerston, as South Dublin County Council has recently been referring it to. Us bus enthusiasts have long lived in our comfort zone, with Palmerstown being an area before the M50 on the Lucan Road, while Palmerston is a Park south of Rathmines that has been the terminus of a variety of routes such as the 12, 13, 13B and 128 over the years. However it turns out we were wrong, and both are actually Palmerston.
Reference to a Palmerston goes back some way in Dublin's History. The name comes from a religious order who resided just outside the city walls, around where Thomas Street is today. Their residence/house was funded by a "Palmer", another term for a Medieval Pilgrim to the Holy Land, called Ailred. The order cared for the sick, and hence the building became known as the Palmers' Hospital. The order acquired much of the land in this area, hence it been known as Palmerston.
However, old habits die hard, and this enthusiast will be one who will forever use the distinction of Palmerstown and Palmerston. Speaking of death the 26 is clearly advising of exactly where it will be bringing you, the Cemetery. It the new style of Dublin Bus, termini are qualified in brackets below the main destination to give a more precise location. However, in this case the terminus is not that precise at all. Its not located at any entrance to the cemetary. In fact the cemetery is barely visible from the stop.
The night scene included in this week's image of the week show one of Dublin Buses most modern vehicles, VG4, at the Palmerstown Cemetery, provides a slightly eerier picture more fitting to the name of the location rather than its surroundings. In most organised religions Cemeteries, and death itself, represents a passing to somewhere else, in some cases somewhere better, in others a reincarnation into another form or another place. Even in Pagan Tarot Card traditions, the death card represents change. And change this cemetery represents as the 26 has been reborn, with a new route introduced upon the Lucan Changes of the Network Review.
A change is as good as a rest as they say, so hopefully these changes will be positive. This image represents onwards and upwards, in more ways than one....
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A different angle of VG4 taken at the same location on the 26th February 2011.