3315 UNITED STATES (California) - San Francisco

Located on the West Coast of the United States at the north end of the San Francisco Peninsula, San Francisco includes significant stretches of the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay within its boundaries. There are more than 50 hills within the city limits, and some neighborhoods are named after the hill on which they are situated. The nearby San Andreas and Hayward Faults are responsible for much earthquake activity, although neither physically passes through the city itself. Although it is only the 15th-most populous city in the United States with almost 900,000 residents as of 2018, is the second most densely populated large U.S. city.

3209 GERMANY (Berlin) - Tramcar Class TM36 Number 3587 at Machnower Schleuse

The Berlin tramway is one of the oldest tram networks in the world having its origins in 1865 and is operated by Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG), which was founded in 1928. It is notable for being the third-largest tram system in the world, after Melbourne and St. Petersburg. Berlin's streetcar system is made up of 22 lines that operate across a standard gauge network, with almost 800 stops and measuring almost 190km in route length and 430km in line length.

3206 CHINA (Hong Kong) - Double-deck tramcar in front of Western Market

Hong Kong Tramways, which has served the territory since 1904, covers the northern parts of Hong Kong Island. Owing to strong passenger demand, the first double-deck tramcar was introduced in 1912. It had an open top design, fitted with garden-type seats. The first class occupied the upper deck and one-third of the lower deck. Ten new tramcars were constructed, and 18 were rebuilt from single deck cars.

2999, 3005 NETHERLANDS (Aruba) - Trams in Oranjestad

2999 Oranjestad - The green single-decker trolley 1265 (1)

Posted on 25.03.2017, 31.03.2017
The Oranjestad Streetcar is a single-track tram line in Oranjestad, the capital city of Aruba, owned and operated by Arubus, the national public transportation company. It was built as a key component of a larger project to upgrade the main retail areas of the town, other aspects of which included pedestrianization of streets, planting of trees, installation of ornamental street lighting and resurfacing of streets and sidewalks. It is the first and so far the only passenger rail service on the island and the rest of the Dutch Caribbean, and the second of any kind, after an industrial branch that was closed in 1960.

2999 Oranjestad - The green single-decker trolley 1265 (2)

The line was inspired by the popular battery-powered streetcar operation at The Grove in Los Angeles. In 2010 Aruba's Minister of Infrastructure visited the California factory of TIG/m, the company that had designed the Los Angeles car, and before long TIG/m was constructing two streetcars, a single- and a double-decker, for Aruba. In 2012 Aruba's Prime Minister signed an agreement with Sir Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin enterprises, to make Aruba the world's first 100% green economy by 2020.  

2652 CROATIA (Primorje-Gorski Kotar) - An old tram in Opatija

The Opatija tram line was planned in 1892 as a steam driven tramway line from Matulji to Volosko, but this concept was not accepted due to complaints by the hotel industry fearing the smoke and noise generated by steam locomotives, which would disturb their guests. The preliminary work for an electric tramway started in 1900. The concession for building this 12 kilometer long track was issued on February 9, 1906 and the tramway went into operation on February 9, 1908.

0075, 0091, 2281 FINLAND (Uusimaa) - The trams of Helsinki

2281 Tram HKL 184 on line 9, in Helsinki Senate Square, on 20.04.1972

Posted on 16.12.2011, 04.01.2012, 10.02.2016
The Helsinki system is one of the oldest electrified tram networks in the world (1891), and the only one still in use in Finland. In 2013, 38km of double track was in operation with 13 regular lines. Helsinki City Transport (HKL) has up to 124 tram units that can be used in scheduled passenger service (2015). Traditional colors were and remained yellow and green. Several times were tried other combinations, which however have proved unpopular. In the postcard 2281 is the tram HKL 184, which was part of a lot of 6 (HKL 181-186), series A12, manufactured between 1939 and 1941 by ASEA, back then a Swedish company. It was delivered on December 11, 1941, and was in service until April 22, 1974.

0075 Tram HKL 150 on line 1A,
in Helsinki Senate Square, on 27.04.2005

 

From 1998 to 2003, HKL purchased a new fleet of low-floor Variotram, which proved to be unreliable, so the company was forced to buy 10 second-hand trams from Mannheim (Germany) to cover for the shortage. In the postcard 0075 can be seen even one of them, HKL 150, a 8-axle GT8, manufactured by DÜWAG in 1970, which came into use in Helsinki on May 30, 2004. In 2016 it is the only of this type which is part of the rolling stock of HKL, as a charter tram.

0091 Tram HKL 151 on line 6, on Hämeentie Street, on 20.09.2005

 

The tram from the postcard 0091, HKL 151, is also one of those buy from Mannheim, more precisely is one of the four 6-axle GT6 (HKL 151-154) manufactured also by DÜWAG in 1970. It was used for the first time in Helsinki on April 18, 2005, and was in service until June 29, 2012. To help pay for the second-hand trams, HKL was allowed to cover six of the extra trams completely in advertising, a sight rarely seen before on the streets of Helsinki.

0706, 0978, 1018, 2258 UNITED STATES (California) - San Francisco cable car system

0706 San Francisco cable car system - Powell-Hyde Line - Car no. 9

Posted on 28.06.2013, 21.01.2014, 01.03.2014, 01.02.2016
It is said that there is no better way to experience the hills and views of San Francisco than aboard one of the city’s famous open-air cable cars, the world's last manually operated such system, and the only mobile National Monument in the United States. Of the 23 lines established between 1873 and 1890, have remained three and all three cross Nob Hill, which lies just north of downtown: the Powell-Hyde Line (the most scenic - it is in the postcards), the Powell-Mason Line, and the California Street Line.

0978 San Francisco cable car system - Powell-Hyde Line - Car no. 11

As I said before, cable cars were introduced in San Francisco in 1873 by Andrew Smith Hallidie and the Clay Street Railroad company, and until the time of the great fire of 1906, they criss-crossed the entire city. After that, many of the cable car lines where re-opened using cheaper and more energy efficient electric streetcars, but however the cable cars were still much better at navigating the steep slopes of the downtown hills (in 1912 there were only eight lines). In the 1940's, the cable cars were almost destroyed again, making way for automobiles, but the Citizens Committee to Save the Cable Cars managed to defeat the corrupt politicians, who backed the auto industry. Since 1984, Muni (San Francisco Municipal Railway) has continued to upgrade the system.

1018 San Francisco cable car system - Powell-Hyde Line - Car no. 24

This system is served today by two type of cable cars: single-ended (as those in the postcards) and double-ended. The first ones, which serve the Powell-Hyde and Powell-Mason lines, have an open-sided front section, with outward-facing seats flanking the gripman. The rear half of the car is enclosed, with seats facing inward and entrances at each end and the car has a small platform at the rear. These cars must be rotated to reverse direction at each end of the line, an operation performed on turntables. Most of these cars (28 in total) were built or rebuilt in the 1990s at Muni's Woods Carpentry Division.

2258 San Francisco cable car system - Cable car turntable
at Powel and Market Streets

According to Market Street Railway, a nonprofit preservation partner of the Muni, the cable car no. 9 (in postcard 0706) "was built as open car No. 542 by Mahoney Bros., 1887. Converted to standard car 1923 and renumbered 509, rebuilt 1952, retired after accident in 1995. Currently in storage; could possibly be restored as open car." In the background of this postcard can be seen the Alcatraz Island, which housed probably the world's most famous prison. In the postcard 0978 is the cable no. 11, operational, rebuilt in 1979-1980, and in the postcard 1018 the cable no. 24, also operational, renumbered from 534 to 524 in 1929, rebuilt 1958, and displayed at Chicago Railroad Fair 1949.

2180 INDONESIA (Jakarta) - The Senen subdistrict in Batavia in 1949

Batavia was the name of the capital city of the Dutch East Indies, and corresponds to the present day city of Jakarta. It was established on the site of the razed city of Jayakarta by the Dutch in 1619, and this name was retained until full Indonesian independence was achieved and Jakarta was officially proclaimed the national capital (and its present name recognized) on December 27, 1949.

2113 UNITED STATES (California) - Palm Springs Aerial Tramway

Palm Springs is a water desert resort city within the Coachella Valley, at approximately 172km east of Los Angeles. Thither can be found The Palm Springs Aerial Tramway, the largest rotating aerial tramway in the world. It was opened in September 1963 as a way of getting from the floor of the Coachella Valley to relatively near the top of San Jacinto Peak and was constructed in rugged Chino Canyon.

1891 CHINA (Hong Kong) - Peak Tram in Hong Kong

The Peak Tramway is a funicular railway in Hong Kong, which carries both tourists and residents to the upper levels of Hong Kong Island, running from Garden Road Admiralty to Victoria Peak via the Mid-Levels. Built between 1885 and 1888, It provides the most direct route and offers good views over the harbour and skyscrapers of Hong Kong. There are four intermediate stations, each of which is a request stop consists of a single stepped platform and a shelter:

1714 BRAZIL (Rio de Janeiro) - Santa Teresa Tram

Santa Teresa is the name of a neighborhood in the city of Rio de Janeiro, located on top of the Santa Teresa hill, by the centre of Rio. At the end of the 19th and early 20th century it was an upper class borough, as still testify its magnificent mansions, but afterwards it has been revived as an artistic hotspot, and is famous for its winding, narrow streets. The Santa Teresa Tram (Bonde de Santa Teresa) is a historic tram line currently suspended from service. When it was operational, it connected the city centre with the neighbourhood of Santa Teresa, mainly maintained as a tourist attraction. It has been suspended since 2011, as a result of an accident, but a new fleet of 14 tramcars is being built, the line is being rebuilt, and reopening is projected for 2015, in time for the 2016 Summer Olympics.

0520 PORTUGAL (Lisbon) - Elevador da Glória

Elevador da Glória (the Glória Funicular) is a funicular that links Baixa (Restauradores Square) with Bairro Alto (Jardim / Miradouro de São Pedro de Alcântara), in Lisbon, and, according to the website cliqlisbon.com "is the most comfortable way to get to the interesting points of Lisbon located on the higher altitudes of the city and normally accessible only through the very steep streets." Operated by Carris (Companhia Carris de Ferro de Lisboa), it was opened to the public in 1885, at first as a water-powered system, replaced in 1886 by a steam-power one, and finally electrified in 1915 . In 2002 it was designated a National Monument, and transports annually over 3 millions of people.

0342 AUSTRALIA (South Australia) - O-Bahn Busway in Adelaide

 

The fourth maxicard, and the last one, from the series Capital City Transport (after the ones with electric train from Perth, tram from Melbourne, and OSCAR train from Sydney), depicts O-Bahn Busway from Adelaide, a guided busway which is the longest in the world. Introduced in 1986, it is the first bus rapid transit system in Australia, and the world's fastest until 2011, the buses traveling along a dedicated, concrete, guided track,  to avoid traffic congestion. The name come from the Latin omnibus (for all people) and the German bahn (railway).

0244 AUSTRALIA (Victoria) - The W7 subclass tram number 1015 from Melbourne

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.

0176 PORTUGAL (Lisbon) - A church, a couple, two trams

Unlike today, in old times the wealthy people celebrated a happy event in their lives building something to remember the event. In that way arose Basílica da Estrela (Estrela Basilica), also known as Basilica do Sagrado Coração de Jesus (Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus), a church in Lisbon built between 1779 and 1790 to the order of Queen Mary I, as a fulfilled promise for giving birth to a son (José, Prince of Brazil). Construction was finished after the death of José caused by smallpox.

0155 AUSTRALIA (Victoria) - The SW6 subclass tram number 909 on City Circle route, Melbourne

I wrote here about the Adelaide's tram network. Behold Betty (thank you very much, Betty) gives me the opportunity to expand the subject upon Melbourne, the capital city of the state of Victoria and the only city in Australia which use extensively trams as public transport in nowadays. The Melbourne's tram network, the largest in the world, consisting of 250 km of track, is a distinctive part of city's character and feature in tourism and travel advertising.

0135 AUSTRALIA (South Australia) - H class tram number 376 from Adelaide

I must admit that I knew nothing about the picture from this postcard when I chose it (I got it after a swap - thanks a lot, Heather). I saw a tram from Australia, which I liked. Nothing more. Now, that I have researched about it, I like more. Therefore I noticed on this occasion that the "story" behind the image can often change the perception over the respective postcard. A moreover reason for postcrossing. 

0097 CHINA (Shanghai) - A tram at the end of the road

It seems to me logical that the largest city proper in the world (over 23 million inhabitants in 2010), with probably one of the highest growth rates (in the last three decades the population has doubled), to have a befitting public transport system, largely based on buses, trolley buses, taxis, and a rapidly expanding metro system, inaugurated only in 1995 but which has already 12 lines, with 434km and 277 stations, and it set a daily ridership record of 7.548 million on October 22, 2010. Are figures that the mind of someone like me can hardly embrace.

0043 UKRAINE (Dnipropetrovsk Oblast) - A pleasure tram in the ballistic missile city

For me, as inhabitant of Ploieşti, Dnipropetrovsk has a special significance, because this city of Ukraine, administrative center of the province with the same name, is one of sister cities of Ploieşti, the others being Berat (Albania), Harbin (China), Hînceşti (Moldova), Lefkada (Greece), Maracaibo (Venezuela), Oral (Kazakhstan), Osijek (Croatia) and Radom (Poland). I will try to add to my collection at least one postcard from each of these cities, thing that proves to be more difficult than I thought initially when I had the idea.