The third maxicard from the series Capital City Transport (after the ones which depict an electric train from Perth, and a tram from Melbourne) is an electric multiple unit (EMU) from the class H or OSCAR (Outer Suburban CAR), operated by state-owned CityRail in New South Wales.
At just 43 years after the founding of the first settlement in Australia, in New South Wales, i.e. in 1831, was given into service the first railroad of the new continent, located at the intersection of Brown & Church Streets, in Newcastle, which served a pit coal mine. The first public line, from Sydney to Parramatta Junction, was inaugurated in 1854, and the main southern line was built in stages from Parramatta Junction to the Victorian border at Albury between 1855 and 1881, and connected to the Victorian Railways at a break-of-gauge in 1883. The standard gauge connection from Albury to Melbourne was opened in 1962, completing the Sydney-Melbourne railway.
Regarding Sydney's suburban railway, until 1920 it had a relatively little role to play, the population being well served by trams. The railway system as it exists today is the result of the vision of the civil engineer John Bradfield, who was involved in the design and construction of the underground railways in the 1920s and 1930s. The electrification of the passenger network began in 1926 with the first suburban electric service running between Sydney's Central Station and the suburb of Oatley.
The CityRail H class trains (in image is H33), constructed by the Australian rail engineering company United Group Rail, runs on the intermediate outer suburban service area. Delivery of the first two orders of 122 cars has concluded, and the delivery of an additional order of 74 cars commenced in late 2010. A further 25 cars were ordered in January 2011 to replace some V set carriages. The H-set is within the same generation as the suburban Millennium Train, but is more suited for longer distances.
Even if it wasn't necessary, Heather used an extra-stamp on the back of the postcard. At first I thought that is a very smiling fish, but after I put my glasses I realized that the line curved upward is a gill. Well, the stamp is therefore part of the definitive series Fishes of the Reef, issued in two parts, part 1 on June 21, 2010, and part 2 on June 28, 2010, when the new postage rates became valid. Designed by Simone Sakinofsky, the sets contain the following stamps:
• Coral Rabbitfish (5c)
• Crown Triggerfish (60c)
• Spotted Sweetlips (60c)
• Golden Damsel (60c)
• Regal Angelfish (60c)
• Saddle Butterflyfish ($1.20)
• Chevron Butterflyfish ($1.80)
• Orangefin Anemonefish ($3.00)
Reference
Railways in Sydney - Wikipedia
CityRail H set - Wikipedia
OSCAR - Transport City Rail
Fishes of the Reef definitive series - stamps.chrisdehaer.com.au
Capital City Transport maxicards - Australia Post
sender: Heather Massese (direct swap)
sent from Perth (Western Australia), on 11.03.2012
illustration: Jamie Tufrey
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