Archive for 2020

Essendon Airport then and now

Here we are at Essendon Airport back in 1969, when jet planes were only just new, and Ansett and TAA were your options for domestic air travel. Photo from The Age archives And here is the same spot in 2013. Pole 18 might still be there, but plenty of things have changed. Melbourne Airport replaced […]

The evolution of Sunshine railway station

This is the story of Sunshine station, and how a railway junction created in the 1880s became the meeting point it is today.

Spot the difference in Footscray

A game of spot the difference – this time outside Footscray. Can you spot it? The biggest change is the number of tracks – the first photo from 2012 shows the four track alignment in place since 1976, the second photo from 2014 shows the six track corridor following the completion of Regional Rail Link, […]

A history of ‘Mount Mistake’ in Footscray

Next to the Western Oval in Footscray is ‘Mount Mistake’ – a massive tangle of road overpasses that carries Geelong Road over the railway lines at West Footscray station. This is the tale of how the bridge came to be, and how it gained the nickname. Taking a quick tour Mount Mistake is a tangle […]

Then and now on route 82 in Ascot Vale

The Cinderella of Melbourne’s tram network is route 82, which circumnavigates the inner western suburbs from Moonee Ponds to Footscray, avoiding the CBD altogether. This Weston Langford photo from 1963 shows a Footscray bound tram headed west along Maribyrnong Road in Ascot Vale. Weston Langford photo And here is the same location today. High floor […]