Photo of the Week - Week 31:
Alexander ALX400-bodied Volvo B7LD, AX562, is seen operating Route 121 at its southern terminus on the Drimnagh Road on the 7th August 2010. Notice how the bus has its full hazards on but in this instance of time only the left front and right offside lights are on.
The photo above could have been better to be honest. A bit further back would have given less of a vertical look to the bus. The shot above, however, does show the true stature of the bus, the photo is taken looking up giving a sense of awe for the vehicle.
The main reason for this slight fault in the photography is that the Drimnagh Road is not that easy to find one's way out onto, never mind getting down on one knee to get the low shot. And it was at this moment, on a main dual carriage way in the city, with a line of cars ready to rush on this ill-placed enthusiast that I questioned the very reason for doing this in the first place. Was the shot that important?? Of course the answer was yes, why would I have done it otherwise, but what drives one to risk ones own safety for this hobby.
Its common knowledge that most of us in this hobby call ourselves bus enthusiasts. Enthusiasts I would regard as a very strong word. We could call ourselves hobbyists, fanatics, buffs, aficionados, or even in the more extreme, nuts. Yet we use the word enthusiast and all the connotations that this brings. For enthusiasm originally meant inspiration by the divine or by the presence of God. Does enthusiasm suggest the reaching of a higher state, a level of understanding beyond that of a ordinary lay person. Do we see whats interesting in something that most people view as everyday and boring.
Though not religious in any sense, have we been inspired by the very vehicles and route systems that have found our interest for so long. Is it us that have been enlightened?? Or is that this particular enthusiast met with a nasty accident whilst taking this photo and is still feeling delirious?? I suppose we will never know.....
Alexander ALX400-bodied Volvo B7LD, AX562, is seen operating Route 121 at its Ratoath Road terminus on the 7th August 2010.
As for the photos its always nice to get both ends of a cross city route. Route 121 has always been off interest to me. I have already completed a historical review of this service, however this service is always worth an outing. I also enclose two videos I shot of the route. The first video was taken between Granby Row and Ratoath Road. The second video is shot between Dame Street and Drimnagh Road. In both cases the video is sped up to 4x the normal speed to make it slightly more interesting. The sound of the engine is notably more racecar-esque, expected I suppose given that the revs and gear changes are closer together in time. The feature on the 121 has been updated to include the items contained in this edition of Image of the Week.
Video of Route 121 from Dame Street to Drimnagh Road.
Video of Route 121 from Granby Row to Ratoath Road.