The second maxicard from the series Capital City Transport, which I started it with an electric train from Perth, show a very nice tram from Melbourne. About the Melbourne tram network I wrote here, so now I will give some details about the W-class trams, from which belong both the tram from the first postcard, and this one. W-class trams were introduced to Melbourne in 1923 as a new standard design, simple and rugged, characterised by a substantial timber frame, supplanted by a steel under frame. A total of 748 trams were built, of all variants (W2, W5, SW5, SW6, W6, W7), the W class being the mainstay of Melbourne's tramways system for 60 years.
The tram from the image, number 1015, is a W7 from the line 79 (North Richmond to St Kilda), operates by Yarra Trams, and is in service from 6th Jun 1955. The original order for W7 trams consisted of 70 vehicles, but this was reduced to 40 cars (1001-1040), which were introduced in use in 1955-1956, to replace buses on some lines. The reason for the conversion was that the buses couldn't cope with the loadings being generated on the Bourke Street routes, which had been closed as cable tram routes in 1940. W7 was the culmination of the 33 year development of the base W type design, and only after 20 years a new tram series was built for Melbourne.
Due to the significant opposition to trams, a special effort was put into making these tramcars as quiet as possible, because one of the major objections to trams was the amount of noise generated by their operation. It were fitted with resilient wheels, and the bodies were also fitted with soundproofing. Apart from a short period in the late 1950s, W7 trams served exclusively on the Bourke Street routes until 1975.
About the stamps
Since is maxicard and, as is written on the back, is pre-paid "for posting in Australia and worldwide delivery", wouldn't have been necessary another stamp, but Heather put however one, because she know that I love stamps. It's part of 2012 Australian Legends of Football series, which celebrates 8 doyens of football, 4 all-time great and 4 current star. The stamps, issued on January 20, 2012, have the same value (60c):
All-time great
• Ron Barrasi - it's on the postcard
• John Raper
• David Campese
• Joe Marston
Current star
• Gary Ablett
• Billy Slater
• David Pocock
• Mark Schwartzer
sender: Heather Massese (direct swap)
sent from Perth (Western Australia), on 13.03.2012
illustration: Jamie Tufrey
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