A lot of local shops don't make enough to cover costs (double time, insurance, taxes. Then there the Sunday law.) and be open on a Sunday, they don't Usualy want to work 7 day's a week as they have family's too. Princess fwy was named that because of the planned visit to Australia by the Prince of Wales (later to become king Edward VIII and, after abdicating, the Duke of Windsor) in 1920. The white "wall" is there because Victorian level crossing project has begun and construction vehicles still need to move up and down. No bike paths? 🤔 what about the whole of barley St, cross St, Geelong road and Ballarat road's? 🤔 Zanes coffee shop location is where a lot of shops are located with those station layouts, they used to all be ticket boxes, newsagent's and snack shops all in one. And for a pop-up suburb in an industrial area do you expect them to run v-lines and freight trains through the middle of unbuilt suburb project? 🤔
The Target you mention at williams landing is their Corporate office not a store. The railway line was here long before the station as it skirted the former Air Force Base. The military airfield RAAF Williams was decommissioned and was developed into the suburb - Williams Landing. The Railway station was added as that was where the line was, even though the suburb is not really adjacent. The "Lake" you mention is part of stormwater management.
Williams landing is even weirder than you thought, that target is the target headquarters, not a store, and the busses are timetabled to leave before the train arrives. I’ve resorted to riding my scooter over the footbridge rather than the bus
When Williams Landing was built, the idea was to demolish Aircraft Station but there was a big outcry. Interesting that you mentioned the car park, a US/Canadian YT I forget who, lamented the recent practice of building stations in the middle of a huge carpark instead of a shopping village as is the practice in Europe.
did you see the reaction of Americans to the Taylor Swift concert at the MCG - they asked "where did they park their cars"! Part of the problem with Williams Landing is that there still is a RAAF base next to it. It used to be an flying base RAAF Laverton but now is a training base RAAF Williams.
@@darylcheshire1618the MCG does not use their carpark if a crowd of over 15,000 is expected. They will eventually close RAAF Williams but they don't appear to be in any hurry.
William's Landing was put in in a very deliberate spot to cater for all the onslaught of cars from Point Cook trying to get onto the freeway at the same point; not selected for proximity to houses. I'm surprised you missed another item at Wattle Glen; despite how quiet the station is, it actually has platform brushes for helping wheelchairs get on/off trains without the need for the driver to put down the wheelchair ramps. This was actually a smart move, because when they were installed there, there was a regular commuter from/to Wattle Glen in a wheelchair every weekday.
The Target building next to Williams Landing is actually their Australian HQ. As for the strip of big box shops across the freeway, you can (in theory) cross that road, but it’s scary. I love the design of the footbridge but yeah, the area is a concrete desert
YES! I've been waiting for someone that makes these kinds of videos to talk about Williams Landing! I went there recently to pick up something off of FB Marketplace and had to enter through the massive footbridge and thought it was SO strange, if my train was even 3 mins away I'd of had to RUN to get my train hahaha
Oh ok I guess I'm one of your two members 😛 (more to join us soon I hope!). I remember driving past Williams Landing when I was in Melbourne and thinking...wow, that really is the worst location for a station ever. Thanks for shedding some light on it. (That's the Princes Freeway btw, not the Western Freeway)
West Footscray probably has a bike path on the concourse because it connects with the bike path running along the train line just to the north of the station, running all the way to sunshine in one direction, and into Footscray via backroads in the other (a pretty major route in the west, doesn’t have a name I know of though) and the Princes highway to the south has bike lanes in its service lanes down to the federation trail, another main route out to Werribee. It would definitely be one of the main on foot or bike connections going north-south over the train tracks in that area. If you ever want some more random western suburbs facts, feel free to give me a shout mate haha
Only other choice is middle, much safer and convenient for Kingsville/Seddon west to access West Footscray through there, wish it was easier 😢 that middle Footscray underpass is dreadful, should be better when trucks are off the road
oh my gosh Williams Landing... when I came to Melbourne last year on the The Overland (Adeladian... hi!) that whole section of parallel running with the freeway gave off some sketchy vibes, so your summarisation of 'America' is quite apt... The multi kilometre long stretch of tightly packed homes shoved up against the other side of the freeway with a massive concrete noise suppression wall was just kinda depressing too...
What makes the Sunbury line's off peak frequency even worse is unlike Wattle Glen/the Hustbridge line, the entire line is double track. Also, speaking as a Werribee line commuter, WAY more people use William's Landing than you'd think.
Also, the construction itself might be pretty strange but having lived here since they built it and how fast the suburb around it was developed, its sorta understandable. More and more stuff is going up in that dead area very quickly and I think they have been zoning it as high value as it will eventually be right in the middle of new williams landing and next to the train station
Essendon isn't "strange" in the same way as all the others thus far in this series, but it's one of, if not the only, non-city station where the platforms for citybound and outbound are the same part, trains stopping on either side of the central platform, and access is exclusively via a short underground tunnel that comes up in the middle of the platform and which separates into each direction. There is also a third platform (which for some reason is "platform 1", which is entirely inaccessible
The third platform is platform 1 because the convention is to number the platforms from left to right when facing the city. It is rarely used, as it's not really long enough for a normal 6-car suburban train, but has been used on occasions. And Essendon isn't particularly unusual in having a ramp up to the centre of an island platform. Burnley, Glenferrie, Auburn, and Canterbury are others that come to mind immediately.
@@gregmichael8473 yeah which is why it makes it unusual, the more frequent trains to the city are set down only. Whenever i go to sunshine from city i instead just catch a train to ardeer/deer park and then another train or bus back to sunshine. If you just missed a metro service it can be quicker to do this
You should check out Patterson station on the Frankston Line, between Moorabbin and Bentleigh. Used to travel the Frankston Line a lot over the decades and you'd barely see anyone get on or off. I decided to get off at Patterson one day and found out why. It was a ghost town.
6:47 That coffee place hasn't been operating since mid-2022. Zane also had a stall underneath Hawkstowe station that stopped operating at the same time. I guess may be just down to the stations not being transport hubs and the fact that peak frequencies on this line can be as low as 6 minutes, far too short to be standing in a queue for coffee. The Zane Coffee in Mernda station next to the bus hub and town centre is a whole other story though.
I remember that place being open briefly before the lockdowns but I think those and the general lack of patronage, especially when Middle Gorge is such an underused station did it in. I prefer using it as there's always plenty of parking but I often find during the morning on the way there you are nearly blinded by sun glare.
I saw william's landing station from the freeway as I was travelling back into melbourne with some of my family after a trip when I was over there in early 2023. it puzzled me because it was so barren
6:55 It is open on weekday mornings. Another fun fact - Middle Gorge was originally meant to be called Marymeade, after the adjacent school. However, someone somewhere intervened, but not before it was allocated the location code MMR.
Another fun fact. It's on the site of the original South Morang station. Years ago the government announced that they would extend the line from Epping to South Morang. But they only went half way to South Morang and called _that_ South Morang!
The best part about William's Landing is that giant bus interchange. Used to go to a place in Point Cook for therapy and since my mum didn't have a car, mum and I had to go to William's landing and catch a bus from there around 3/4ths of the bus route to get to the place (We live in Altona North) and Williams Landing was always like that, EVEN WHEN IT WAS NEW (Which was when I was in therapy) Yeah it's little wonder we stopped going after a year
West Footscray Station is a handy place to park if you're driving to the city from Geelong. Being a quiet station with infrequent service, at least there's usually always some car parks available.
I stopped by Eaglemont on the way back from a daytrip to Hurstbridge with some friends, super lovely place to grab lunch but absolutely felt like a ghosttown!!
8:04 That’s actually not a Target store but is one of Target’s head corporate offices like how Kmart have one of their head offices in Mount Waverley within 200 meters from Mount Waverley station! :)
Brilliant presentation. Not seen much of Melbourne's Train services, don't know the lines you talked about. But I still wanted to hear about the quieter side of Melbourne "closed on Sundays, Shuch."
Normally I’m the only person at Wattle Glen station in the mornings Also, I agree with the guy writing about the pedestrian crossing, it’s so annoying having to wait 5 minutes to cross the road just to the get to the station
I lived in Eaglemont for a couple of years (2012-2013). I often had to tell people it’s between Heidelberg and Ivanhoe. The little shopping strip is so lovely! Go during the week if you can ❤️ I am very overdue to go back for a visit, I know a lot of shops have changed since then. Middle Gorge was at one point thought to be called Marymede, the same name as the nearby private school! I like Middle Gorge better though as it’s more reflective of the overall area.
I used to live in West Footscray (actually slightly closer to Tottenham station) and cycled to work in Southbank sometimes. I did use the bike lane through the station occasionally! though more often I would cross the railway under Middle Footscray station.
There's proper bike lanes along/on all of Sunshine Rd from West Footscray Station and Buckley St (when changes to it), to Victoria St Footscray. However the east bound bike lane starts bit west of the main stairs/entrance of West Footscray Stn, so wouldn't see it unless walked a little. The west bound bike lane tho does come right to opposite that entrance. That section from West Footscray to Victoria St is Grade 1 Bike Lanes, with solid white lane separation for all of it (except dashed, where necessary) & with green marked sections for the bike lane across intersections, & at traffic lights. After Victoria St (traveling East), the bike lanes are lower grade but continue with just dashes for some sections, and some sections with no marked lane except marked at traffic lights and intersections. The east bound bike lane finishes bit before Victoria University's south Footscray Campus, but due to the narrowness of Buckley St there, as a bike lane would make the traffic lane less width than is legally required. There is a west bound bike lane tho beside Vic Uni's south Footscray Campus. Looks like a fairly major bike route, to me. If the road markings & solid white line separation are an indicator, of that. Work & upgrading of it east of Victoria St Footscray is required though
Platform 2 at WeFo is for Metro Tunnel trains that are not going all the way to Sunbury to terminate, change ends and head back to the Tunnel. As for Williams Landing. RAAF Laverton was built in 1921 and was, still is, one of the original Royal Australian Air Force bases in Australia, with nearby RAAF Point Cook being the first and longest operation active Air Force base in the world. The Base is still there and active BUT the airfield was closed and the suburb Williams Landing created. The nearby Aircraft station was built as a direct connection to the RAAF base entrance, and still is, with Williams Landing built to service the suburbs of Williams Landing to the north and Point Cook to the South. I'm surprised Aircraft Station still survives with Laverton and Williams Landing so close in either direction.
You should see how many people get on and off at Williams Landing each day with the connecting buses to Point Cook and people driving in from the south and north. Does feel like they are begging businesses to move their headquarters there. I would quit rather than moving out there. Still only the one pox lift that is often full even though they managed to build 2 each side and in the middle due to residential complaints from the oldies and the amount of people who get on the trains in mobility scooters
Don't know if you're including regional stations but Malmsbury on the Bendigo line is strange one. It's single track but has 2 platforms still with the old railway building from 1862 on the disused platform. Not very strange sounding but it has more going on and it always felt like an odd and interesting place to wait for a train.
When West Footscray was rebuilt, the bluestone coping stones from the old station showing its mileage from Spencer Street were preserved and are mounted on the southern side of the station. Unfortunately, the accompanying explanatory plaque wrongly says the mileage was measured from the Melbourne GPO.
Thanks for another great video, i like you dissing the merikan style station and strip mall, and who in their right mind would walk to a train station.
In Hawkestowe and Middle Gorge stations on the Mernda Line - they were open in the mornings in 2019 but closed during Covid /Early 2020 and never re-opened.
2:40 it’s not really South Kensington‘s fault that I blame the government for in 2009 demolishing the old signal box and tearing down all the trees on platform 2
@@TurquoisechannelYT not much could have really been done about it, if they had to go to make way for the tracks well they had to go. With a bit of luck if the Sunbury line tracks are removed when the Metro tunnel opens something might be able to be done about the station, because as it currently stands there's not a lot of space there.
The big empty spaces around Williams Landing from what ive seen are temporary carparks from the pandemic 2019-2021. That was when the economy wasn't great and many companies didn't want to invest into that region. If you look at it compared to 2014-15 it actually is pretty well built. Soon there will be more apartments around the station which will be next to the shopping centre! There is also an age care not too far of a walk from the station.
At what time of the day were you at the Eaglemont Shops? There's a bar and cellars which is open from midday to 9pm on Sundays & it has live music from about 5, & it gets reasonable numbers, to even quite busy. There's 2 parking areas behind the shops along Silverdale Rd. (behind section where it turns east, after running parallel to the station & railway line for a bit). The Parking area for Railway travelers is also there. Some people park there, rather than drive around 3 streets (see next para.). The Eaglemont Newsagency & Post Office is an LPO (sub-agency) & hardly any of those type are open Sundays. Eaglemont has Sunday Markets on (most) last Sunday of the months during Daylight Saving Months Also, that part of Silverdale Rd with the shops & cafes (there's 3) is One-Way, & if come from Upper Heidleberg Rd & along Studley Rd, have to drive around 3 other streets and 2 blocks to get into that one way section. So a lot of cars will park in the parking area or along Allendale Rd (that is the T-intersection past the shops). On any other day it can sometimes be quite difficult to get a car spot along there. I've driven around the streets, twice, on a couple of occasions, to get back into the one way section, as weren't any free spots. True it is pretty quiet on Sundays, at some hours, but that's as there's also (almost) no apartment complexes, & only a few older style flats buildings), & as all the house blocks are a considerable size, and a low density/per hectare population. Still plenty of people, & cars, usually though. And even have to wait for a table at the cafes, sometimes. Re the more spaced out areas through Eaglemont, an early Land Estate Subdivision in the area was "Mount Eagle" & the name the area subsequently got named Eaglemont from. 'Mount Eagle' was a many acres property, with a homestead, in the 1800s. The Mount Eagle subdivision layout of streets with strips of green areas running behind the house blocks was designed by Walter Burley Griffin & Marion Mahoney Griffin. (Marion co-designed many places in Melbourne (including several buildings along Swanston St, & are still there) but is often not mentioned & probably because Burley Griffin is best known for designing the layout & main roads of Canberra. If look on a map to the east (slightly south-east) of Eaglemont Station, can see some very curved, almost half circle roads, & can see how Burley Griffin was "practising" re curved roads, before designing the original layout of Canberra.
i got abandonded at eaglemont station once after the train turned around one stop later (was trying to get to watsonia) and had to wait to get pciked up in a car in the pouring rain
Adelaide would leave your head spinning, especially the Grange line. If you think single line and waiting 40min is a pain, try single and waiting over an hour weekdays and 2 hours weekends. I had to catch two trains each way to work for what was a 20min commute by car ending up taking 2.5 hours by trains each way. Most that time was actually sitting at stations waiting... 5 hours of travel time a day because 2 trains was better than multiple busses. After 15 months of that i self taught myself a programming language just for something to do while commuting lol.
I know this is an old video, Re Williams Landing train Station. the so called " american strip mall" was set up well before the train station was built and was more of a plan for mini warehouses for tradies to store tools and equipment and for bigger box retail outlets for the likes of "flooring" and other building type of focus. As to the station itself, it was designed for the future needs with the devolopment of more smaller suburbs towards the north
I loved Eaglemont station. I caught train to school (many decades ago lol) from Ivanhoe station, one of my school friends got on at Eaglemont. Some beautiful homes in Eaglemont, but you’d need a million or 2$’s for something rather nice’ lol
the main reason of williams landing having such huge parking lot is to encourage park and ride mode, specifically serving the residents in Point Cook and Truganina, which is quite a distance to the station and Aircraft can't serve it properly, also consider how the bus transport f*cked up due to the low density development around these two suburbs without a proper stopping strategy suiting those housing strip, which justified that. and this station do really need a stacked carport building(or at least more public parking buildings if being too unreliable for letting lifts moving the cars above ground), not just a huge lot as I still never able to park my car or parked a park far far away from the station.
West Footscray isn’t too strange. In Brisbane Richlands station opened in 2011 but the rest of the Springfield line didn’t open until 2013. During that time, one of the platforms at richlands was used to terminate trains and the other was walled off with a concrete barrier that was later removed when it became a through station with the extension to Springfield central
If you ever do Sydney weirdest station I got some you find interesting. Cronulla has 2 platforms on one side. Lidcombe has the only station in Australia has platform 0. Wolli Creek has unusual track layout. The trains on platform 1 and 2 goes east and west as well as platform 3 and 4 goes north and south
Are you Aussie or? You pronounce half your words in Aussie and an American accent, and one minute you say “parking lot” and the next you’re saying “car park”.
Great video mate, one quick suggestion: please disable discord/other programs when you're doing your V/O. The notification sounds are quite distracting :)
Eaglemont is dead because it is a very very rich suburb. Also it is THE station that peak hour trains skip because all the rich and wealthy aren't using it.
@comstr. It was on a Sunday! Eaglemont is NOT dead on other days! It can be a battle to even get a carpark along that one way street on other days. Which is a pain to get into, as need to drive via 2 streets around 2 blocks, and can't even get a carpark there sometimes! There's carparking area behind the shops, where/after the one way street curves away from the railway line, which includes rail travelers parking, so anyone going to events in the city or cricket or footy park or city for other reasons park there, not next to the station. Also the cafes are very busy & even have to wait for a table sometimes, are just not open on Sundays, generally. However there's a monthly Sunday market & one cafe opens then too. By the way, having to on 2 occasions drive around the 3 streets to get back into the one-way street, because I couldn't get on-street carpark, I've ever since walked 20 minutes (from home) to a station on that line & got train. Anytime I've ever been there (albeit not often on a Sunday) street is full of cars! & nearly always people coming in & out of the station when trains go through. (more people than my own station on the adjacent line, 20 minutes walk away, as often am only person that gets off at my station, even daytime sometimes.) "The station that peak hour trains skip" ?? Limited Express Trains run Clifton Hill to Ivanhoe to Heidleberg. Fairfield Station is a very busy Station, & has a wide demographic using it, including low income, so your reason why trains Limited Express skip Eaglemont is rubbish, since they also skip Westgarth, Dennis, Fairfield*, Darebin, as well as skip Eaglemont. (Some inbound Limited Expresses do stop at Fairfield, but there's also a few trains that skip Ivanhoe. I was once on a train that went Clifton Hill, Fairfield, (skipped Ivanhoe) but stopped at Eaglemont. That was 2018-2019, & I don't remember if the track duplication work past Heidelberg Station had started then. Don't think it had. During some of the time when they were doing the track duplication, from Heidelberg Station outbound, there was only 1 active platform at Heidleberg, so all trains stopped at Eaglemont & Heidelberg. With Express replacement buses running from one, & all stations buses from other. "Because all the rich and wealthy aren't using it"?? Go to Eaglemont Station when AFL matches are at the MCG. Plenty people going through Eaglemont Stn then. Go to Eaglemont Station on a weekday peak hour & see there's a considerable amount of people using it. By the way, there's a bar in that street, that is Open Sundays and gets good numbers & obviously it's mostly locals, & many aren't "rich and wealthy", in fact some were somewhat boganish.
@@CBM_Walks "Some inbound Limited Expresses do stop at Fairfield, but there's also a few trains that skip Ivanhoe." No express trains are timetabled to stop at Fairfield, and no trains in passenger service are timetabled to skip Ivanhoe. I can't speak for what might happen on individual days or with temporary arrangements, but the 'rule' is as I said, and that's been the case for probably more than half a century.
Thanks for Part 3, Qazzy. I use Eaglemont a fair bit (it’s a toss-up re whether I walk to there or Ivanhoe), and it’s definitely more alive on weekdays. Maybe ‘strange’ is the wrong word for it, though. I’d pay ‘unusual’, due to the built-in shops, and the fact that it’s hidden away and a lot of people don’t know it exists. Let’s face it, nothing’s going to be as ‘strange’ as Macaulay or Heyington, but there are plenty of others with unusual characteristics if you want to keep going. You haven’t touched the Sandringham line yet (a bit like the LXRP!) but Elsternwick, Gardenvale and Brighton Beach are all unusual in their own way.
Huh? For Williams Landing you say the only choice for residents to access the station is to drive after you showed the bus interchange. Aren’t residents allowed to catch the bus to the station?
7:46 Princes Freeway*
Hi
@@KatoombaTourGuidehello
I so wanted to point this out 😂
Should they name it Prince’s freeway?
A lot of local shops don't make enough to cover costs (double time, insurance, taxes. Then there the Sunday law.) and be open on a Sunday, they don't Usualy want to work 7 day's a week as they have family's too.
Princess fwy was named that because of the planned visit to Australia by the Prince of Wales (later to become king Edward VIII and, after abdicating, the Duke of Windsor) in 1920.
The white "wall" is there because Victorian level crossing project has begun and construction vehicles still need to move up and down.
No bike paths? 🤔 what about the whole of barley St, cross St, Geelong road and Ballarat road's? 🤔
Zanes coffee shop location is where a lot of shops are located with those station layouts, they used to all be ticket boxes, newsagent's and snack shops all in one.
And for a pop-up suburb in an industrial area do you expect them to run v-lines and freight trains through the middle of unbuilt suburb project? 🤔
The Target you mention at williams landing is their Corporate office not a store. The railway line was here long before the station as it skirted the former Air Force Base. The military airfield RAAF Williams was decommissioned and was developed into the suburb - Williams Landing. The Railway station was added as that was where the line was, even though the suburb is not really adjacent. The "Lake" you mention is part of stormwater management.
...and all the gravel/paved areas were long rumored to be contaminated soil from even before the airfield was decommissioned
There was more there. One of those big empty lots there was an old Masters before it went bust and got torn down.
eaglemont definitely feels like a movie set being so empty
It would be ideal for a movie or TV set!
“Welcome to Americ- I mean, Williams Landing.” Highlight of the video. Lol.
The main purpose of West Footscray back in the day was for footy fans to access the adjacent Western Oval to watch Footscray play
It still does get that for the women's football
@@dylanshadowstar9779 and the VFL
Williams landing is even weirder than you thought, that target is the target headquarters, not a store, and the busses are timetabled to leave before the train arrives. I’ve resorted to riding my scooter over the footbridge rather than the bus
I was gonna say that it was Target HQ.
Plus the walk from the platforms to the busbays is so long that we often miss our bus
When Williams Landing was built, the idea was to demolish Aircraft Station but there was a big outcry.
Interesting that you mentioned the car park, a US/Canadian YT I forget who, lamented the recent practice of building stations in the middle of a huge carpark instead of a shopping village as is the practice in Europe.
did you see the reaction of Americans to the Taylor Swift concert at the MCG - they asked "where did they park their cars"!
Part of the problem with Williams Landing is that there still is a RAAF base next to it. It used to be an flying base RAAF Laverton but now is a training base RAAF Williams.
@@ianmontgomery7534 I think the government was hoping to close Aircraft. The MCG does have a huge carpark, also next to a major rail interchange.
@@darylcheshire1618the MCG does not use their carpark if a crowd of over 15,000 is expected. They will eventually close RAAF Williams but they don't appear to be in any hurry.
William's Landing was put in in a very deliberate spot to cater for all the onslaught of cars from Point Cook trying to get onto the freeway at the same point; not selected for proximity to houses.
I'm surprised you missed another item at Wattle Glen; despite how quiet the station is, it actually has platform brushes for helping wheelchairs get on/off trains without the need for the driver to put down the wheelchair ramps. This was actually a smart move, because when they were installed there, there was a regular commuter from/to Wattle Glen in a wheelchair every weekday.
Was it u? 😂
No; I was a regular commuter to/from high school and uni at the time. Have never needed a wheelchair myself.
The Target building next to Williams Landing is actually their Australian HQ. As for the strip of big box shops across the freeway, you can (in theory) cross that road, but it’s scary. I love the design of the footbridge but yeah, the area is a concrete desert
Williams Landing is also built to allow for future growth in and around the area towards the North over the next few years.
I love this series so much lol. The unusual tram stops was the first video I watched on your channel
YES! I've been waiting for someone that makes these kinds of videos to talk about Williams Landing! I went there recently to pick up something off of FB Marketplace and had to enter through the massive footbridge and thought it was SO strange, if my train was even 3 mins away I'd of had to RUN to get my train hahaha
Oh ok I guess I'm one of your two members 😛 (more to join us soon I hope!). I remember driving past Williams Landing when I was in Melbourne and thinking...wow, that really is the worst location for a station ever. Thanks for shedding some light on it. (That's the Princes Freeway btw, not the Western Freeway)
and im the other one lol
holy shit building beautifully 3rd account
I joined #New!
That was what I thought until I visited Jacana station 💀
Hello hello!
I love these "Melbourne's Strangest" videos. Please keep doing them if you can.
somehow there are Strange became normal once you use to it.😂
West Footscray probably has a bike path on the concourse because it connects with the bike path running along the train line just to the north of the station, running all the way to sunshine in one direction, and into Footscray via backroads in the other (a pretty major route in the west, doesn’t have a name I know of though) and the Princes highway to the south has bike lanes in its service lanes down to the federation trail, another main route out to Werribee. It would definitely be one of the main on foot or bike connections going north-south over the train tracks in that area. If you ever want some more random western suburbs facts, feel free to give me a shout mate haha
Only other choice is middle, much safer and convenient for Kingsville/Seddon west to access West Footscray through there, wish it was easier 😢 that middle Footscray underpass is dreadful, should be better when trucks are off the road
loving the hurstbridge line representaiton
oh my gosh Williams Landing... when I came to Melbourne last year on the The Overland (Adeladian... hi!) that whole section of parallel running with the freeway gave off some sketchy vibes, so your summarisation of 'America' is quite apt...
The multi kilometre long stretch of tightly packed homes shoved up against the other side of the freeway with a massive concrete noise suppression wall was just kinda depressing too...
There used to be a Masters Hardware store there. Probably explains the vast majority or parking spaces at Williams Landing
What makes the Sunbury line's off peak frequency even worse is unlike Wattle Glen/the Hustbridge line, the entire line is double track.
Also, speaking as a Werribee line commuter, WAY more people use William's Landing than you'd think.
Also, the construction itself might be pretty strange but having lived here since they built it and how fast the suburb around it was developed, its sorta understandable. More and more stuff is going up in that dead area very quickly and I think they have been zoning it as high value as it will eventually be right in the middle of new williams landing and next to the train station
Essendon isn't "strange" in the same way as all the others thus far in this series, but it's one of, if not the only, non-city station where the platforms for citybound and outbound are the same part, trains stopping on either side of the central platform, and access is exclusively via a short underground tunnel that comes up in the middle of the platform and which separates into each direction. There is also a third platform (which for some reason is "platform 1", which is entirely inaccessible
I think platform 1 was used when football was played at windy Hill trains would terminate at essendon and then return to the city I think
The third platform is platform 1 because the convention is to number the platforms from left to right when facing the city.
It is rarely used, as it's not really long enough for a normal 6-car suburban train, but has been used on occasions.
And Essendon isn't particularly unusual in having a ramp up to the centre of an island platform. Burnley, Glenferrie, Auburn, and Canterbury are others that come to mind immediately.
One worth mentioning would be sunshine. its got a better V/Line frequency then metro
Yes, but only if you are going to or coming from stations to the west. Officially you can't use VLine to/from the City at Sunshine.
@@gregmichael8473 yeah which is why it makes it unusual, the more frequent trains to the city are set down only. Whenever i go to sunshine from city i instead just catch a train to ardeer/deer park and then another train or bus back to sunshine. If you just missed a metro service it can be quicker to do this
You should check out Patterson station on the Frankston Line, between Moorabbin and Bentleigh. Used to travel the Frankston Line a lot over the decades and you'd barely see anyone get on or off. I decided to get off at Patterson one day and found out why. It was a ghost town.
6:47 That coffee place hasn't been operating since mid-2022. Zane also had a stall underneath Hawkstowe station that stopped operating at the same time. I guess may be just down to the stations not being transport hubs and the fact that peak frequencies on this line can be as low as 6 minutes, far too short to be standing in a queue for coffee.
The Zane Coffee in Mernda station next to the bus hub and town centre is a whole other story though.
I remember that place being open briefly before the lockdowns but I think those and the general lack of patronage, especially when Middle Gorge is such an underused station did it in. I prefer using it as there's always plenty of parking but I often find during the morning on the way there you are nearly blinded by sun glare.
@@1967bluesfan Speaking of, now is the worst time of year to be driving on any east-west road in this region - apart from September-October
I saw william's landing station from the freeway as I was travelling back into melbourne with some of my family after a trip when I was over there in early 2023. it puzzled me because it was so barren
6:55 It is open on weekday mornings. Another fun fact - Middle Gorge was originally meant to be called Marymeade, after the adjacent school. However, someone somewhere intervened, but not before it was allocated the location code MMR.
Did not know the code was still MMR!
Yeah, it's like a lot of station-attached coffee places, open for morning peak, and nothing else.
Another fun fact. It's on the site of the original South Morang station. Years ago the government announced that they would extend the line from Epping to South Morang. But they only went half way to South Morang and called _that_ South Morang!
The best part about William's Landing is that giant bus interchange. Used to go to a place in Point Cook for therapy and since my mum didn't have a car, mum and I had to go to William's landing and catch a bus from there around 3/4ths of the bus route to get to the place (We live in Altona North) and Williams Landing was always like that, EVEN WHEN IT WAS NEW (Which was when I was in therapy)
Yeah it's little wonder we stopped going after a year
Well done. I love these strangest stations videos, they are very amusing! Keep up the great work!
West Footscray Station is a handy place to park if you're driving to the city from Geelong. Being a quiet station with infrequent service, at least there's usually always some car parks available.
Well... Gonna change VERY soon after Metro Tunnel opens.
I stopped by Eaglemont on the way back from a daytrip to Hurstbridge with some friends, super lovely place to grab lunch but absolutely felt like a ghosttown!!
8:04
That’s actually not a Target store but is one of Target’s head corporate offices like how Kmart have one of their head offices in Mount Waverley within 200 meters from Mount Waverley station! :)
Brilliant presentation. Not seen much of Melbourne's Train services, don't know the lines you talked about. But I still wanted to hear about the quieter side of Melbourne "closed on Sundays, Shuch."
Great work mate! Glad to see my local station take first place! Williams Landing represent here 👍
Interestingly there is also a Zane Coffee at Mernda Station as well...never seen either of them open. Superb video as always :)
The Zane coffee at middle gorge is actually one of several around Melbourne! They tend to only be open in the morning peak hour
Normally I’m the only person at Wattle Glen station in the mornings
Also, I agree with the guy writing about the pedestrian crossing, it’s so annoying having to wait 5 minutes to cross the road just to the get to the station
I still dont know why I enjoy your vids but I guess its a day out in melbourne without dealing with all the travel and people.
I lived in Eaglemont for a couple of years (2012-2013). I often had to tell people it’s between Heidelberg and Ivanhoe. The little shopping strip is so lovely! Go during the week if you can ❤️ I am very overdue to go back for a visit, I know a lot of shops have changed since then.
Middle Gorge was at one point thought to be called Marymede, the same name as the nearby private school! I like Middle Gorge better though as it’s more reflective of the overall area.
I used to live in West Footscray (actually slightly closer to Tottenham station) and cycled to work in Southbank sometimes. I did use the bike lane through the station occasionally! though more often I would cross the railway under Middle Footscray station.
You just made my lunch more enjoying with this vid 😊
Let's goooo I've been waiting for this video!
There's proper bike lanes along/on all of Sunshine Rd from West Footscray Station and Buckley St (when changes to it), to Victoria St Footscray. However the east bound bike lane starts bit west of the main stairs/entrance of West Footscray Stn, so wouldn't see it unless walked a little. The west bound bike lane tho does come right to opposite that entrance.
That section from West Footscray to Victoria St is Grade 1 Bike Lanes, with solid white lane separation for all of it (except dashed, where necessary) & with green marked sections for the bike lane across intersections, & at traffic lights.
After Victoria St (traveling East), the bike lanes are lower grade but continue with just dashes for some sections, and some sections with no marked lane except marked at traffic lights and intersections. The east bound bike lane finishes bit before Victoria University's south Footscray Campus, but due to the narrowness of Buckley St there, as a bike lane would make the traffic lane less width than is legally required. There is a west bound bike lane tho beside Vic Uni's south Footscray Campus.
Looks like a fairly major bike route, to me. If the road markings & solid white line separation are an indicator, of that.
Work & upgrading of it east of Victoria St Footscray is required though
Watching this excellent video before heading off to newport workshops for the open day!
I wish I could’ve but I went camping instead sadly
"without further ado" seems to be your fav statement mate ;)
some guy on one of my older videos complained about me saying it so i try to say it in every video now
@@QazzyTransport😂😂😂
Platform 2 at WeFo is for Metro Tunnel trains that are not going all the way to Sunbury to terminate, change ends and head back to the Tunnel.
As for Williams Landing.
RAAF Laverton was built in 1921 and was, still is, one of the original Royal Australian Air Force bases in Australia, with nearby RAAF Point Cook being the first and longest operation active Air Force base in the world.
The Base is still there and active BUT the airfield was closed and the suburb Williams Landing created.
The nearby Aircraft station was built as a direct connection to the RAAF base entrance, and still is, with Williams Landing built to service the suburbs of Williams Landing to the north and Point Cook to the South.
I'm surprised Aircraft Station still survives with Laverton and Williams Landing so close in either direction.
You should see how many people get on and off at Williams Landing each day with the connecting buses to Point Cook and people driving in from the south and north. Does feel like they are begging businesses to move their headquarters there. I would quit rather than moving out there. Still only the one pox lift that is often full even though they managed to build 2 each side and in the middle due to residential complaints from the oldies and the amount of people who get on the trains in mobility scooters
Don't know if you're including regional stations but Malmsbury on the Bendigo line is strange one. It's single track but has 2 platforms still with the old railway building from 1862 on the disused platform. Not very strange sounding but it has more going on and it always felt like an odd and interesting place to wait for a train.
When West Footscray was rebuilt, the bluestone coping stones from the old station showing its mileage from Spencer Street were preserved and are mounted on the southern side of the station. Unfortunately, the accompanying explanatory plaque wrongly says the mileage was measured from the Melbourne GPO.
Thanks for another great video, i like you dissing the merikan style station and strip mall, and who in their right mind would walk to a train station.
I never knew how many stations in Melbourne felt liminal. They definitely give off a slightly eerie vibe, especially Wattle Glen and Williams Landing
A lot of those hole in the wall coffee places only open morning peak
In Hawkestowe and Middle Gorge stations on the Mernda Line - they were open in the mornings in 2019 but closed during Covid /Early 2020 and never re-opened.
I love this series, keep it up :)
2:40 it’s not really South Kensington‘s fault that I blame the government for in 2009 demolishing the old signal box and tearing down all the trees on platform 2
The signal box was demolished in I think 2012 to make way for the RRL tracks.
@@aidanthomas2510 Well still either way I blame the government
@@TurquoisechannelYT not much could have really been done about it, if they had to go to make way for the tracks well they had to go. With a bit of luck if the Sunbury line tracks are removed when the Metro tunnel opens something might be able to be done about the station, because as it currently stands there's not a lot of space there.
Today on my way into Melbourne I passed through West Footscray and I wondered why there was a barrier
West footscray has more bikes then you'd expect, safer spot to cross the tracks then middle footscray at any rate
The big empty spaces around Williams Landing from what ive seen are temporary carparks from the pandemic 2019-2021. That was when the economy wasn't great and many companies didn't want to invest into that region. If you look at it compared to 2014-15 it actually is pretty well built. Soon there will be more apartments around the station which will be next to the shopping centre! There is also an age care not too far of a walk from the station.
At what time of the day were you at the Eaglemont Shops? There's a bar and cellars which is open from midday to 9pm on Sundays & it has live music from about 5, & it gets reasonable numbers, to even quite busy. There's 2 parking areas behind the shops along Silverdale Rd. (behind section where it turns east, after running parallel to the station & railway line for a bit). The Parking area for Railway travelers is also there. Some people park there, rather than drive around 3 streets (see next para.).
The Eaglemont Newsagency & Post Office is an LPO (sub-agency) & hardly any of those type are open Sundays. Eaglemont has Sunday Markets on (most) last Sunday of the months during Daylight Saving Months
Also, that part of Silverdale Rd with the shops & cafes (there's 3) is One-Way, & if come from Upper Heidleberg Rd & along Studley Rd, have to drive around 3 other streets and 2 blocks to get into that one way section. So a lot of cars will park in the parking area or along Allendale Rd (that is the T-intersection past the shops).
On any other day it can sometimes be quite difficult to get a car spot along there. I've driven around the streets, twice, on a couple of occasions, to get back into the one way section, as weren't any free spots.
True it is pretty quiet on Sundays, at some hours, but that's as there's also (almost) no apartment complexes, & only a few older style flats buildings), & as all the house blocks are a considerable size, and a low density/per hectare population.
Still plenty of people, & cars, usually though. And even have to wait for a table at the cafes, sometimes.
Re the more spaced out areas through Eaglemont, an early Land Estate Subdivision in the area was "Mount Eagle" & the name the area subsequently got named Eaglemont from.
'Mount Eagle' was a many acres property, with a homestead, in the 1800s.
The Mount Eagle subdivision layout of streets with strips of green areas running behind the house blocks was designed by Walter Burley Griffin & Marion Mahoney Griffin.
(Marion co-designed many places in Melbourne (including several buildings along Swanston St, & are still there) but is often not mentioned & probably because Burley Griffin is best known for designing the layout & main roads of Canberra.
If look on a map to the east (slightly south-east) of Eaglemont Station, can see some very curved, almost half circle roads, & can see how Burley Griffin was "practising" re curved roads, before designing the original layout of Canberra.
like 2pm?
i got abandonded at eaglemont station once after the train turned around one stop later (was trying to get to watsonia) and had to wait to get pciked up in a car in the pouring rain
Adelaide would leave your head spinning, especially the Grange line. If you think single line and waiting 40min is a pain, try single and waiting over an hour weekdays and 2 hours weekends. I had to catch two trains each way to work for what was a 20min commute by car ending up taking 2.5 hours by trains each way. Most that time was actually sitting at stations waiting... 5 hours of travel time a day because 2 trains was better than multiple busses. After 15 months of that i self taught myself a programming language just for something to do while commuting lol.
I know this is an old video, Re Williams Landing train Station. the so called " american strip mall" was set up well before the train station was built and was more of a plan for mini warehouses for tradies to store tools and equipment and for bigger box retail outlets for the likes of "flooring" and other building type of focus. As to the station itself, it was designed for the future needs with the devolopment of more smaller suburbs towards the north
I am told that my great great uncle was one of the first passengers to use Wattle Glen station back in 1912 when it was known as Balee,
4:19 - the station runs alongside the biggest commuter bike trail in the inner West
Whittlesea…I mean Epping…I mean South Morang…I mean Mernda line in a nutshell:
[The original text 💀💀💀💀]
Hey mate - I remember when you started your channel with like 10 subs; you've come a looong way since then
I past Williams landing on western freeway when going to the great clean road 14 hours ago 😂
7:46 Princes freeway (Geelong Rd).
Ballarat Rd is Western Highway
I loved Eaglemont station. I caught train to school (many decades ago lol) from Ivanhoe station, one of my school friends got on at Eaglemont. Some beautiful homes in Eaglemont, but you’d need a million or 2$’s for something rather nice’ lol
Love your work ☺
Great video keep up the good work
Middle Gorge feels like a mini version of Tarneit train station
I hope you had plenty of water with you, when you were exploring these train stations, due to it being so hot this weekend.
all footage was taken last weekend or earlier lol
If this is your insight to Melbourne train lines, you would have so much fun and material if you were to come to Perth
the main reason of williams landing having such huge parking lot is to encourage park and ride mode, specifically serving the residents in Point Cook and Truganina, which is quite a distance to the station and Aircraft can't serve it properly, also consider how the bus transport f*cked up due to the low density development around these two suburbs without a proper stopping strategy suiting those housing strip, which justified that.
and this station do really need a stacked carport building(or at least more public parking buildings if being too unreliable for letting lifts moving the cars above ground), not just a huge lot as I still never able to park my car or parked a park far far away from the station.
West Footscray isn’t too strange. In Brisbane Richlands station opened in 2011 but the rest of the Springfield line didn’t open until 2013. During that time, one of the platforms at richlands was used to terminate trains and the other was walled off with a concrete barrier that was later removed when it became a through station with the extension to Springfield central
William's landing station was opened in 2013 and that's the Princess freeway next to it
Not sure why this was recommended but was an interesting watch
I love Eaglemont, there's a great art supply store there.
If you ever do Sydney weirdest station I got some you find interesting. Cronulla has 2 platforms on one side. Lidcombe has the only station in Australia has platform 0. Wolli Creek has unusual track layout. The trains on platform 1 and 2 goes east and west as well as platform 3 and 4 goes north and south
That ghost town location would be perfect for film students to shoot short films
Hay Qazzy, u got a new member!
thank you!!
I get on the train at middle gorge all the time, it’s actually beautiful haha
I always wondered what was the deal with the 4th platform at Box Hill station... How do you even get over there!?
covered in a previous video
Looks like more weird stations coming and most of them are in the Hurstbridge line or not
Surely do one about planes next :>
Are you Aussie or? You pronounce half your words in Aussie and an American accent, and one minute you say “parking lot” and the next you’re saying “car park”.
You summed up Eaglemont really well! It's only for the well-heeled and higher socio-economic class. There's NEVER anyone there!
Great video mate, one quick suggestion: please disable discord/other programs when you're doing your V/O. The notification sounds are quite distracting :)
If there is a Japanese-style cat cafe next to the station at Williams Landing, people would use it more.
Eaglemont is dead because it is a very very rich suburb. Also it is THE station that peak hour trains skip because all the rich and wealthy aren't using it.
@comstr. It was on a Sunday! Eaglemont is NOT dead on other days! It can be a battle to even get a carpark along that one way street on other days. Which is a pain to get into, as need to drive via 2 streets around 2 blocks, and can't even get a carpark there sometimes!
There's carparking area behind the shops, where/after the one way street curves away from the railway line, which includes rail travelers parking, so anyone going to events in the city or cricket or footy park or city for other reasons park there, not next to the station.
Also the cafes are very busy & even have to wait for a table sometimes, are just not open on Sundays, generally. However there's a monthly Sunday market & one cafe opens then too.
By the way, having to on 2 occasions drive around the 3 streets to get back into the one-way street, because I couldn't get on-street carpark, I've ever since walked 20 minutes (from home) to a station on that line & got train. Anytime I've ever been there (albeit not often on a Sunday) street is full of cars! & nearly always people coming in & out of the station when trains go through.
(more people than my own station on the adjacent line, 20 minutes walk away, as often am only person that gets off at my station, even daytime sometimes.)
"The station that peak hour trains skip" ?? Limited Express Trains run Clifton Hill to Ivanhoe to Heidleberg. Fairfield Station is a very busy Station, & has a wide demographic using it, including low income, so your reason why trains Limited Express skip Eaglemont is rubbish, since they also skip Westgarth, Dennis, Fairfield*, Darebin, as well as skip Eaglemont.
(Some inbound Limited Expresses do stop at Fairfield, but there's also a few trains that skip Ivanhoe. I was once on a train that went Clifton Hill, Fairfield, (skipped Ivanhoe) but stopped at Eaglemont. That was 2018-2019, & I don't remember if the track duplication work past Heidelberg Station had started then. Don't think it had.
During some of the time when they were doing the track duplication, from Heidelberg Station outbound, there was only 1 active platform at Heidleberg, so all trains stopped at Eaglemont & Heidelberg. With Express replacement buses running from one, & all stations buses from other.
"Because all the rich and wealthy aren't using it"?? Go to Eaglemont Station when AFL matches are at the MCG. Plenty people going through Eaglemont Stn then.
Go to Eaglemont Station on a weekday peak hour & see there's a considerable amount of people using it. By the way, there's a bar in that street, that is Open Sundays and gets good numbers & obviously it's mostly locals, & many aren't "rich and wealthy", in fact some were somewhat boganish.
@@CBM_Walks
"Some inbound Limited Expresses do stop at Fairfield, but there's also a few trains that skip Ivanhoe."
No express trains are timetabled to stop at Fairfield, and no trains in passenger service are timetabled to skip Ivanhoe. I can't speak for what might happen on individual days or with temporary arrangements, but the 'rule' is as I said, and that's been the case for probably more than half a century.
4:53 they need to add that to jacana😂😂😂😂😂
i was wondering when u were gonna upload
Box Hill is also an oddity as it also has an unused platform.
covered in a previous video
Westgarth’s curve is crazy
Brighton Beach is similarly curved.
I love the content
Thanks for Part 3, Qazzy. I use Eaglemont a fair bit (it’s a toss-up re whether I walk to there or Ivanhoe), and it’s definitely more alive on weekdays. Maybe ‘strange’ is the wrong word for it, though. I’d pay ‘unusual’, due to the built-in shops, and the fact that it’s hidden away and a lot of people don’t know it exists.
Let’s face it, nothing’s going to be as ‘strange’ as Macaulay or Heyington, but there are plenty of others with unusual characteristics if you want to keep going. You haven’t touched the Sandringham line yet (a bit like the LXRP!) but Elsternwick, Gardenvale and Brighton Beach are all unusual in their own way.
Is the tunnel really only 6-8 months from opening? My commute’s about to get brutal getting from Dandenong to Southern Cross. :(
now estimated to be a September 2024 opening however it's far from official. Pretty much late this year
@@QazzyTransport Don't hold your breath. It won't be that soon.
Eaglemont manages to rise to the level of “sleepy” on weekdays…
Nice vid but try avoid discord going off in background of your voiceover (around 4:06 onward) as it will drive other people who use it nuts.
Huh? For Williams Landing you say the only choice for residents to access the station is to drive after you showed the bus interchange. Aren’t residents allowed to catch the bus to the station?
tbh i thought it was pretty obvious i meant without transfers
Williams Landing gets impressive usage figures at least. Caroline Springs is even worse from a TOD-perspective imo
That’s the Target head office near Williams lAnding, not a store 😊
Nothin has changed I can member the trains from Oakleigh to Dandenong were once an hour between midday and 4-00pm, that was in the 1950's