Abandoned Stations in Barcelona.
This trip proved two very important points to me. One: Drinking lots makes you not care about taking photos. And Two: especially when, finally, compared to the current generation of DSLR's (5D, 550D, D7000, D300), film just does not, even remotely cut it. I was still using a tripod on this trip while others pulled hand held shots at an utterly noiseless 1600 ISO.
I admit it... i spent most of my time in Barcelona either asleep or slightly drunk... It was the first time id been to visit an ARTS Virgin... and i was a bit nervous... and booze is dead cheap in Spain and lets face it... im old and running live, virgin Metro tunnels in a foreign city is something left to sober young'uns like Snappel, Quantum X and Claire Elise, (or marginally inebriated old bastards like myself).
I got there on a Thursday, and promptly set to work identifying ways into our intended targets... the Gaudi, Correos, Banc and Bifuració Vilanova abandoned Metro (and RENFE) stations.
After 24 hours riding the lines, eye boggling cameras and wishing that the system had tunnels that where lit during service, i ascertained that Gaudi and Correos would be doable, Bifuració Vilanova was confusing as hell, but doable and Banc just wasnt worth it... being an utter ruin of an abandoned station.
The compatriots showed up on Friday night and we gorged ourselves on Tapas... a foodstuff i always discounted in Australia, but relished with unambiguous delight in Spain. Then its was a rapid, smartly judged run off of the live platform at Sangrada Familia...
Barcelona's metro has an overhead power supply... one less thing to worry about... i still managed to drop my Sci-Fi novel out of my jacket pocket onto the live tracks, but using only a phone LED, kept running to the destination.
(Snappel retrieving my book, post ARTS explore (pic by QX))
Gaudi was nice. Still had its tiles and upstairs was a training centre for bus drivers (go fucking figure). We stuck around for a few passing trains, then flung the lights on... rather bright given they'd been used for advertisements. Upon exiting we heard company arrive from the live station and in a hurry shoulder barged our way out the streetside exit.
(Gaudi Lit.)
(By passing Train)
.
Bifuració Vilanova had workers after hours, so we had to can it on the Friday and do it during service on the Saturday. Being a RENFE station (like the Paris RER or Sydney's Cityrail) it was an fucking cool underground railroad that just happened to go further, with bigger gaps between stations and a not quite 'rapid' timetable, eliminating it from a the Rapid Transit classification that befalls subways, metros and the tube. The abandoned station was set in a huge 4 track tunnel, with one intact platform and one that had been mostly bulldozed to allow a dive tunnel and a crossover. With workers lurking nearby and some weird kind of seccer in a room above the old station, we minced around for ages and in the process of dodging all these factors i managed to fall into a drainage ditch and really, really hurt my left leg... Still, it was fun.
(An Escalator!)
(The intact platform, with a train passing thru the Dive)
(Demolished platform)
(A tunnel within a Tunnel... the Dive)
Mr 'Terminator Fingers'.. aka Snappel, the T800, model number 'Im paranoid', managed to 'finger' open the grille covering the old entrance to Correos... Our latter target. Beyond the Snatch Dazzlers skills, we'dve had to tunnel run a busy section... so it was nice to get down without running out of puff... although the station left much to be desired, mostly ruined, unlit and stacked with rail ballast. My photos are rubbish... But the last one here is a belter, taken by QX with that snappy 5DMKII...
(Beneath the grille... (pic by QX))
(With a train on the opposite side... look at that poor platform, all littered with ballast)
(This is what a good eye and a 5DMkII can achieve: Me AND the CORREOS sign. (pic by QX))
The trip was fun. Goddamn sun FFS! The Mediterranean Sea! Waves! On the last day, nursing a very sore leg, awaiting an 8 hour flight departure, i fell asleep on the grasses by the harbour in Barcelona. I awoke to the magical sounds of the local Chinese NY celebrations. It was wonderful.
I admit it... i spent most of my time in Barcelona either asleep or slightly drunk... It was the first time id been to visit an ARTS Virgin... and i was a bit nervous... and booze is dead cheap in Spain and lets face it... im old and running live, virgin Metro tunnels in a foreign city is something left to sober young'uns like Snappel, Quantum X and Claire Elise, (or marginally inebriated old bastards like myself).
I got there on a Thursday, and promptly set to work identifying ways into our intended targets... the Gaudi, Correos, Banc and Bifuració Vilanova abandoned Metro (and RENFE) stations.
After 24 hours riding the lines, eye boggling cameras and wishing that the system had tunnels that where lit during service, i ascertained that Gaudi and Correos would be doable, Bifuració Vilanova was confusing as hell, but doable and Banc just wasnt worth it... being an utter ruin of an abandoned station.
The compatriots showed up on Friday night and we gorged ourselves on Tapas... a foodstuff i always discounted in Australia, but relished with unambiguous delight in Spain. Then its was a rapid, smartly judged run off of the live platform at Sangrada Familia...
Barcelona's metro has an overhead power supply... one less thing to worry about... i still managed to drop my Sci-Fi novel out of my jacket pocket onto the live tracks, but using only a phone LED, kept running to the destination.
(Snappel retrieving my book, post ARTS explore (pic by QX))
Gaudi was nice. Still had its tiles and upstairs was a training centre for bus drivers (go fucking figure). We stuck around for a few passing trains, then flung the lights on... rather bright given they'd been used for advertisements. Upon exiting we heard company arrive from the live station and in a hurry shoulder barged our way out the streetside exit.
(Gaudi Lit.)
(By passing Train)
.
Bifuració Vilanova had workers after hours, so we had to can it on the Friday and do it during service on the Saturday. Being a RENFE station (like the Paris RER or Sydney's Cityrail) it was an fucking cool underground railroad that just happened to go further, with bigger gaps between stations and a not quite 'rapid' timetable, eliminating it from a the Rapid Transit classification that befalls subways, metros and the tube. The abandoned station was set in a huge 4 track tunnel, with one intact platform and one that had been mostly bulldozed to allow a dive tunnel and a crossover. With workers lurking nearby and some weird kind of seccer in a room above the old station, we minced around for ages and in the process of dodging all these factors i managed to fall into a drainage ditch and really, really hurt my left leg... Still, it was fun.
(An Escalator!)
(The intact platform, with a train passing thru the Dive)
(Demolished platform)
(A tunnel within a Tunnel... the Dive)
Mr 'Terminator Fingers'.. aka Snappel, the T800, model number 'Im paranoid', managed to 'finger' open the grille covering the old entrance to Correos... Our latter target. Beyond the Snatch Dazzlers skills, we'dve had to tunnel run a busy section... so it was nice to get down without running out of puff... although the station left much to be desired, mostly ruined, unlit and stacked with rail ballast. My photos are rubbish... But the last one here is a belter, taken by QX with that snappy 5DMKII...
(Beneath the grille... (pic by QX))
(With a train on the opposite side... look at that poor platform, all littered with ballast)
(This is what a good eye and a 5DMkII can achieve: Me AND the CORREOS sign. (pic by QX))
The trip was fun. Goddamn sun FFS! The Mediterranean Sea! Waves! On the last day, nursing a very sore leg, awaiting an 8 hour flight departure, i fell asleep on the grasses by the harbour in Barcelona. I awoke to the magical sounds of the local Chinese NY celebrations. It was wonderful.