This week marks the 80th anniversay of the opening of the Cronulla line in December 1939.
King George VI was on the throne, Gone with the Wind' was at the cinema, Bradman was setting world records,..and the NSW Department of Railways opened a new branch line from Sutherland to Cronulla.
To mark the milestone a celebration will be held at Cronulla station this morning with the arrival of a Red Rattler train from Transport Heritage NSW.
Opened just two months after Australia declared war on Germany in 1939, the electrified railway line from Sutherland to Cronulla Station turns 80 on Monday, 16 December.
"Running for approximately 10 kilometres, this stretch of railway was built in 1939 to keep up with growing demand for public transport in South Sydney, and now provides almost 14 million journeys a year on T4 Illawarra services," Cronulla MP Mark Speakman said.
"This branch line was an extension of the very first electrified line, which opened between Sydney and Oatley Station in 1926, and continues to provide a vital infrastructure link for residents of the Sutherland Shire to the CBD," said Ms Petinos.
Read More: Flashback Friday | Cronulla train line opens
On 16 December 1939 the NSW Governor, Lord Baron Wakehurst, cut the traditional ribbon to officially open the new line before riding the first train all the way to Cronulla where a large ceremony was held.
Sydney Trains Chief Executive Howard Collins noted that the line has a number of distinguishing features, including the first major use of a miniaturised electrical signal relay locking system, known as the electro-pneumatic system.
"Cronulla Station was unlike any other railway terminus at the time due to the very long single side loading platform. Approximately 390-meters long, it was designed to take two full length electric trains and remains the second longest platform in NSW after Albury Station."
The development of the new branch line included the remodelling of Sutherland Station and the provision of five new intermediate stations (Kirrawee, Gymea, Miranda, Caringbah and Woolooware) and a new terminus at Cronulla, all designed in the inter-war 'Functionalist' style.
Today most of the stations along the Cronulla Line are heritage listed for their architectural qualities, including dichromatic brickwork, parapeted roofs, curved corners, strong horizontal planes, stepped steel awnings and complex geometric massing.
