Railways of 1900 and 2000, Czech Republic

Well, being a Sunday, I think I can finally participate in the Sunday Stamps! And being the theme for today is 'anything you wish', my choice fits in rather well I think :)
If you want to join as well, just follow this link:

Well, im posting today this fantastic cover that Radim sent me, featuring a railway mini sheet.

Unfortunately, the information with regards to it are rather scarce, but still, it shouldnt be an obstacle of posting it here, no? :) And I know I have some Czech readers here, so if they could provide some more detailed info, Id be very grateful!
These stamps were issued on 09.05.2000 where the stamps at the top show a train from 1900 with a steam locomotive, service coach and carriages for passengers, while the bottom ones show a type 371 locomotive. The coupon in the middle features a map of the main railway corridors which run across this country.
The face value of the sheet is 23 CZK.

Again, thanks a million to Radim for such a great contribution to my collection!

Lighthouses of Hong Kong, Hong Kong

An amazing FDC sent to me by Trudy!

The port of Hong Kong has always been key to business prosperity of the territory. It not only acts as a hub port of the South Asian Pacific region, but also an entrepot for the Mainland of China. Standing guard at the entrance of a harbour, a lighthouse serves as a navigation aid to mariners. A system of lenses at the top of the tower casts flashing light to guide incoming and outgoing vessels away from danger. This set of special stamps depicts five surviving pre-war lighthouses in Hong Kong. With clarity and realism as their themes of design, the stamps show a map and a compass in the upper half of the backdrop and the latitude and longitude coordinates at the bottom. The layout highlights the important role of lighthouses in the maritime history.

$1.40 - Cape D' Aguilar Lighthouse  - the first of its kind in Hong Kong, was lit up to help vessels navigate on 16 April 1875. The round stone tower is 9.7 metres high and white in colour. Its base, arched doorway and spiral staircase are of fine masonry. The iron door is adorned with geometric decoration at the top. The opening of Waglan Island Lighthouse years later in 1893 rendered Cape D' Aguilar Lighthouse superfluous and it became inoperative in 1896. In 1975 the latter was automated and re-lit. Cape D' Aguilar Lighthouse was declared a monument on 3 March 2006.

$1.89 - Old Green Island Lighthouse - this lighthouse began guiding seafarers across the waters on 1 July 1875. The small circular tower is constructed of granite, measuring about 12 metres in height. Its doorway features projected rough-faced quoins. The two cross-shaped openings on its wall, resembling gun-posts found in medieval European castles, facilitate ventilation and light penetration. Immediately after the new Green Island Lighthouse came into operation, the old lighthouse was decommissioned and later declared a monument on 7 November 2008.

$2.40 - New Green Island Lighthouse - standing next to its predecessor, the new Green Island Lighthouse was constructed in 1904 and completed in 1905. The circular tower, built of granite and concrete, stands 1.5 metres high with a steel lantern at the top. It is painted white for high visibility, thermal insulation and structural protection. Its spiral staircase is made of fine masonry complete with beautiful railings. The entrance and windows, in the form of segmental arches, are decorated with ornamental plaster mouldings. The tower has been fully automated since the 1970's. Both the new and old Green Island Lighthouse were declared monuments on 7 November 2008.

$3 - Tang Lung Chau Lighthouse - it commenced helping mariners navigate the coastline on 29 April 1912. The skeletal steel tower is 11.8 metres high and painted white at the top. The adjoining brick house, furnished with a bedroom, a kitchen, a latrine and a storeroom, was the living quarters of the lighthouse keeper. With no well or fresh water supply on the island, rainwater was collected from the roof and diverted to an underground tank for storage and use. The now automated Tang Lung Chau Lighthouse was declared a monument on 29 December 2000.

$5 - Waglan Lighthouse - the first flash of light was beamed from Waglan Lighthouse on 9 May 1893. Its then state-of-the-art lamp burned mineral oil and was equipped with rotating apparatus floating on mercury. During the Second World War, the lighthouse was extensively damaged and repairs began from 1945. Fully automated since August 1989, the lighthouse serves not only as a navigation aid but also an outpost for collecting meteorological data from the eastern part of the territory for analysis by the Hong Kong Observatory. Waglan Lighthouse was declared a monument on 29 December 2000.

Date of Issue:     29 December 2010
Width:                  28.00 mm
Height:                 45.00 mm
Number in set:  5
Stamp layout:    pane of 25 stamps
S/S size:              150mm x 85mm
Perforation:       13.5 x 13.25 (one elliptical perforation on each vertical)
Paper:                   paper with security fibres

125 Years of the Frontier Railway Spielfeld-Strass – Bad Radkersburg, Austria

Today I have these two fantastic items to show, thanks to Andrea who was very kind and eager to help me with my Austrian collections.

She sent me both the FDC and a cover with the same stamp coz as you may or may not, I have this odd urge to have the train stamps in all possible versions....so for example if I have a mint version of a stamp, I wont be satisfied with it, but I just want to have it all =/ One can call it greediness, or passion....I would choose the latter :)

In 2010, the Spielfeld Strass – Bad Radkersburg frontier railway celebrated a round anniversary; exactly 125 years ago, in 1885, this railway commenced operations. The commemorative is an impressive reminder of this proud birthday. The stamp motif, designed by Ernst Sladek, shows both a historic steam locomotive of the time and a modern train of today, thus reflecting the history and development of this southern Styrian frontier railway in an original pictorial language.

Technical details:

Release Date:            10|07|2010

Number of Copies:  300.000

Printing Style:           Offset

Type:                            Special issue stamp

Width:                          42.0 mm

Height:                         32.25 mm

Denomination:          0.65 €

Number in set:           1

Layout/Format:         sheet of 50

Perforations:              14 by 14

Dutch Trains, The Netherlands

In 2005, the Netherlands issued stamps on railways and Paul was very kind and sent me both the FDC and the set of mint stamps!

It is a set of four stamps showing typical Dutch trains, issued in a sheet of 10, on the occasion of the reopening of the Utrecht Railway Museum which was renovated.

The stamp in the top left corner shows the Blue Angel. It got its name from the famous movie "Der Blaue Engel" from 1929 featuring Marlène Dietrich. This train is now to be seen in the Utrecht railway museum. Its official name is DE 41 and it was introduced in 1953. It could contain 73 passengers.

Next to it, in the top right corner is the steam locomotive 3737. It ran services till 1957. One still survives and is operational. It sometimes carries out special rides.

In the bottom left corner is the Intercity Express train. It is a German ICE train which can reach speeds up to 330 kilometers per hour on special high speed track, not available in the Netherlands at the moment these stamps were issued.

Next to it, in the bottom right corner is the Front Runner (Koploper), which is in use since 1977. The train driver is high above the passenger compartment, which makes it possible to couple carriages without obstructing the way through to the next carriage. It was also the first train in which benches were not only placed opposite each other but behind each other as well

Technical Details:


Date of issue: 14.10.2005
Value of each stamp: 0,39 euros
Paper: non-phosphorescent with phosphorescent beam
Print: offset
Perforation: 14½
Watermark: none

Thank you so much again Paul!!!! 

Classic Locomotives of England, UK

Once again Silvan made me and my mailbox overwhelmed with joy with this absolutely fantastic surprise! It is hard  to describe how fantastic it is! And this is a very recent issue, which makes me even more proud to have it :)

Royal Mail pays tribute to the ‘workhorses’ of the railways; many of which had working lives of several decades before diesel and electric technology completely took over in the 1960s.

Classic Locomotives of England is the first in a new series featuring steam locomotives, used not just on the public railway network, but also in many industrial locations like factories, quarries and docks.

1st Class Stamp – BR Dean Goods No. 2532
A Newbury bound British Railways local service Dean Goods Class locomotive at East Garton photographed in 1951. These sturdy Victorian goods locomotives saw a great deal of use in both world wars, but by the 1950s they had been relegated to light duties, such as hauling passenger trains on rural branch lines.

60p Stamp – Peckett R2 Thor
This Peckett 1689, named Thor was built in 1925 for the Tunnel Cement company of Purfleet, Essex. Compact, powerful and rugged, industrial locomotives were the all-purpose workhorses of plants such as Tunnel Cement and many were used continuously for several decades. The loco spent its entire life at Thurrock - where the photo was taken - and it was scrapped there in March 1965.

88p Stamp – L & YR 1093 No. 1100
The Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway locomotive photographed here at Liverpool Exchange Station in 1909 is pulling the 2.10 to Hull. From the middle of the 19th century, British companies offered integrated travel to continental Europe, combining rail services with steamships which sailed from ports around the United Kingdom

97p Stamp – BR WD No. 90662
During the Second World War heavy-freight “Austerity”’ locomotives were built for military service, transporting goods and troops. Before the Normandy Landings, the Army had very little use for these locomotives, so they were loaned to the "Big Four" railway companies. After June 1944, "Austerity" locomotives were shipped out to France. Eventually British Rail had 733 of these locos.

Technical Details

Number of stamps:   four
Size of sheet:           179mm x 74mm
Stamp Format:        Landscape
Stamp Size:            41mm x 30mm
Print Process:         Lithography
Perforations:           14.5 x 14
Phosphor:               All over
Gum:                      PVA

Technical monuments - Narrow gauge railways, Lithuania

A great Lithuanian cover franked with the two train stamps issued in 2002.

In Lithuania the first narrow-gauge railways were built at the end of the 19th century. In 1939, the total narrow-gauge network was comprised of 407 kilometers of lines.
Later narrow-gauge railways were dismantled or replaced by broad-gauge railways.
In 1996, the remaining narrow-gauge railway lines between Panevėžys and Rubikiai, Panevėžys and Biržai, and Joniškėlis and Linkuva were included into the Register of Immovable Cultural Values of Lithuania.
At present, the narrow-gauge railway line between Panevėžys and Rubikiai is used for the local tourism purposes.

Date of Issue:    8 June 2002
Width:              39.0 mm
Height:              26.0 mm
Perforations:     12 by 12

the 1,30 Lt Face value stamp shows a Diesel Locomotive TU2, while the 2 Lt stamps shows a Steam locomotive PT4.

EUROPA, Liechtenstein

Dear Sara sent me this very nice envelope from Liechtenstein with the EUROPA stamps from 2010. You know (probably) that EUROPA is not my primary theme of collection, however, I can never say no to a nice cover with EUROPA stamps. And the envelope is so fitting to the theme :)

For the 2010 theme, Liechtenstein immortalised on a commemorative stamp a classic of Liechtenstein children’s literature: “Lisa and Max” (face value CHF 1.40). Since 1992, when the first book in this series (“Der Wunschhund“/“The Perfect Dog”) appeared, these popular picture-books have followed the twins Lisa and Max and their dog Mischa on their adventures in Liechtenstein. Each of the stories published to date takes place in a different month and in a different one of the Principality’s eleven communities. Each of these monthly books focuses on a distinctive Liechtenstein tradition: “The Shrovetide Procession”, “The Spark Sunday Witch”, “The Easter Treasure”, “The Birthday Castle”, “The Phantom of the Corpus Christi Procession”, “The Mountain Walk”, “The Prince’s Birthday”, “The Return from the Mountains”. In 2011 the series will be continued with the October book. In 2007 the “Lisa and Max Fairy-tale Trail” was opened in Malbun in the Liechtenstein Alps.

The subject depicted on the stamp and designed by Mariagrazia Orlandini is that illustrated on the title page of the August story “The Prince’s Birthday” which appeared in 2001. The “Prince’s Birthday” is synonymous with Liechtenstein’s national holiday, celebrated every year on 15th August. This festive occasion, which was first held in 1940 and arose from combining the Feast of the Assumption (15th August) with the birthday of the then Prince Franz Josef II (16th August), has since 1990 always taken the same form: The official act of state begins with an open-air mass followed by festive speeches on the castle meadow. Afterwards the Prince and Princess invite everyone to a public reception in the castle gardens. In the early afternoon in the centre of Vaduz the informal celebrations begin, which every year bring thousands of visitors into the “Städtle” and whose climax includes a firework display from the castle rock.

technical details:

Date of Issue:         6 September 2010
Subject:                 Europa 2010 - For Children
Width:                   30.0 mm
Height:                   34.0 mm
Denomination:        1.40 CHF
Number in set:       1
Layout/Format:      sheet of 20
Perforations:          14 by 14