125th Anniversary of the Railroad in Serbia

Seems like there are a lot of 125th railway anniversaries around the world :)

This lovely FDC comes from Serbia, in order to commemorate their 125th railroad anniversary.

The first railways on the territory of Serbia were already built in the middle of the XIX century in Banat which was part of the Habsburg Monarchy at the time. Although the construction of the railway in the Principality of Serbia was already considered, the conditions for it were created just after the Congress of Berlin, in 1878, when the Principality got its complete independence. During this Congress, decisions were made to establish routes which would connect Europe (through Serbia and Bulgaria) with Turkey and Middle East. In accordance with those decisions, on 15th September 1884, Serbia opened its first public railroad route from Belgrade to Niš so that day represents the birthday of the Serbian Railroad. The first train had a steam locomotive CS No.1. This was one of the most important events in the newer history of the country. The railroad route from Belgrade to Niš was the biggest and most expensive project accomplished during the XIX century in Serbia. With the later construction of the railroad system this route had a great influence on the modernization and lifestyle in Serbia, its connecting with European countries, economic development and position in the scope of international relations. Even nowadays, this route as a segment of Corridor X represents one of the most important railways in Serbia and South-East Europe. It is an electrified railroad with modern electric locomotives.
The railroad route Belgrade-Niš is 243,5 km long and is constructed as a narrow-gage railroad with 23 stations. The biggest and most beautiful station buildings were at the time erected in Belgrade and Niš. The building of the Belgrade station has undergone many wars but preserved its beautiful original architecture. The original building of the station in Niš was so damaged, during the Anglo-American bombing in 1944, that it couldnt be renovated. After the many years of use of a provisory building, a new one was solemnly opened in 1973 as one of the biggest and most beautiful in Serbia.

Motifs on the stamps:
- stamp face value 22,00 dinars: the first steam locomotive CS No.1 of the Railroad of Serbia and in the background the building of the station in Belgrade;
- stamp face value 46,00 dinars: electric locomotive series JŽ 441, in the background is the building of the station in Niš.

Date of Issue: 8 September 2009
Stamps' Width: 30.0 mm
Stamps' Height: 37.5 mm
Layout/Format: sheet of 25
Perforations: 13.25 by 13.25

125 Years of the Malayan Railways, Malaysia

One of the greatest surprises that have arrived in my all time mail-career! Sooo many trains, I feel like in train heaven! And all thanks to my dear Caroline!

Here I have the FDC, and the stamp booklet

And here is the envelope in which all these goodies arrived...again, soo many train-stamps attached + the mini sheet! I just couldnt believe it to myself :)

Here are some technical and other details regarding this issue:


Stamp Value: 30sen (setenant); 50sen; RM1
Sheet Content: 20 Stamps
Paper: SPM Watermarked, Phosphor Coated
Printing Process: Lithography
Printer: Percetakan Keselamatan Sdn Bhd
Stamp Designer: Hazel Design Sdn Bhd

First Day Cover Value: RM 1,80
Miniature Sheet Value: RM3.00
Stamp Booklet Value: RM3.00

Date of Issue 22-Jun-2010

Starting with the opening of the first 12.5 km track from Taiping to Port Weld (Kuala Sepetang) Perak on 1 June 1885, the railway service in Malaysia is reaching 125 years of its existence by 1 June 2010. It evolves from a steam locomotive to an electric-powered train, and from single track to electrified double track. KTM Berhad is determined to become the heartbeat of the nation which stays relevant and on track in moving 1 Malaysia.

Miniature sheet and stamp 30 Sen - The T class locomotive was made by the W.G.Baghall Limited, Englad in 1927. The first locomotive was acquired in 1929 and it last ran in 1964. The existing engine has been contributed to the Malaysian National Museum in May 1975.

Miniature sheet and stamp 30 Sen - Class 2 Diesel Hydraulic locomotive engine was manufactured by Kisha Seizo Kaisha Ltd. Japan. The first engine was attained in 1965 and the last engine, train no. 21102 was last used in 1994.

Stamp 30 Sen - Class 83 EMU (Electric multiple unit) is a South Korean made engine, manufactured by the Marubeni/Hyundai Corporoation. The first EMU was acquired in 1997 and still operates until present under the KTM Komuter services.

Stamp 30 Sen - The ETS (Electric train set) is the latest and most modern electric train owned by KTM Berhad. Class 91 ETS is made by Hyundai-Rotem Corporation, South Korea. The train able to run at its maximum speed of 160 km/h, is by far the fastest running train on the one meter gauge. The first unit was received in December 2009 and the final one arrived in April 2010. ETS is expected to run commercially by July 2010 for the Seremban-Kuala Lumpur-Ipoh route.

Stamp 30 Sen and Stamp 50 Sen - The Class 26 High Powered locomotive is a German made engine, manufactured by the General electric - Bombardier. The first engine was purchased in 2003 and the series is still being used until present. This engine is one of the most recent and modern locomotive owned by KTM Berhad, and is used by the cargo services.

Stamp 30 Sen and Stamp RM 1 - Class 56 locomotive is the last steam engine used in Malaysia (1939-1946). Manufactured by the North British locomotive Company LTD, Glasgow, there were 39 locomotives in operation in Malaysia during the era. The engine named Temerloh with the number 546.36 is the last steam locomotive which ran in 1997 and the only surviving unit.

Stamp 30 Sen - Class 20 diesel locomotive was made by the English Electric, Vulcan Foundry, England. The first locomotive obtained in 1957 and the service was launched on 31 July 1957. The engine was last used in 1992. A unit of the train is put on display at Shah Alam Museum, Selangor.

Smurfs' 50th Anniversary, Belgium

I know that I have been neglecting this blog much more than my postcard one, but I promise I will try to change that...problem is, I often am in doubts of what to post here exactly, and eventually I end up posting nothing...and my indecisiveness has proved once more to be a bad way of solving things....

So here we are today with this fantastic miniature sheet portraying one of the most famous cartoon characters, The Smurfs

The set of stamps + one mini sheet was issued by the Belgian Post in 2008 in order to commemorate the Smurfs' 50th Anniversary. I have to say that the sheet looks just amazing!


Issue date: 29/09/2008
Sheet size: 186mm x 156 mm
Denomination: 0,54
Composition oh the sheet: 5 stamps

The commemorative stamps include five Smurf Stamps: 1) Smurf Kissing Smurfette Stamp, 2) The Smurf Handshake Stamp, 3) Smurf Cake Stamp, 4) Smurf Eats Chocolate Cake Stamp, and 5) The Party Smurf Stamp.

The whole big picture is a celebratory Smurf Party! The Miniature Sheet depicts Smurfs having a fun time with party hats, streamers, great food and a little bubbly!

Austria

More fantastic trains have arrived...this time from Austria, thanks to Edna!

It is also a registered cover...I dont usually get those, unless the postage covers it or some special mail items are sent...and I do the same with the outgoing mail.
This cover has 4 different train stamps, and ill try to give a brief, or not so brief, description about each of them.

1. The top left

Date of Issue: 20 June 2009
Primary theme:  Transportation (Rail) (Locomotive & trains)
Subject: 100 Years of the Wachau Railway
Width: 42.0 mm
Height: 32.0 mm
Denomination: 0.75 €
Number in set:  1
Layout/Format:  sheet of 50
Perforations: 13.5 by 13.5
Stamp issuing authority: Osterreich Post AG
Number of Copies: 500.000
Printing Style: Engraved-recess printing

The romantic railway line has operated through the Danube regions of Wachau, Nibelungengau and Strudengau since 1909, linking the towns of Krems, Grein and St. Valentin. The journey is full of variety, running past vineyards and historical sites, always following the course of the Danube.

2. Top right :

Date of Issue: 10 September 2008
Primary theme: Transportation (Rail) (Locomotive & trains)
Subject: Railways - CS "Empress Elizabeth Western Railway"
Width: 42.0 mm
Height: 32.25 mm
Denomination: 1.00 €
Number in set: 1
Layout/Format: sheet of 50
Perforations: 14 by 14
Stamp issuing authority: Osterreich Post AG
Number of Copies: 500.000
Printing Style: Photogravure and Intaglic

The Austrian Western Railway was originally known as the Imperial and Royal Privileged Empress Elizabeth Railway, and runs from Vienna to Salzburg via Linz, with a branch line running from Wels to Passau. Although at that time the link between Vienna and Salzburg was relatively insignificant as compared with the north-south routes, a railway connection was agreed as early as 1851 in a treaty between Bavaria and Austria

3. Bottom left

Date of Issue: 4 October 2009
Primary theme:  Transportation (Rail) (Locomotive & trains)
Subject: 120 Years of Drösing-Zistersdorf local railway
Width: 42.0 mm
Height: 31.9 mm
Denomination: 1.00 €
Number in set:  1
Layout/Format:  sheet of 50
Perforations: 13.5 by 13.5
Stamp issuing authority: Osterreich Post AG
Number of Copies: 400.000
Printing Style: Offset

The Drösing – Zistersdorf local railway is a branch line in Lower Austria that has yet avoided closure above all because of the importance of its freight traffic. It branches at Drösing from the Northern Railway towards Zistersdorf, where there used to be a connection to the former Stammersdorf local railway, to Dobermannsdorf and via Bad Pirawarth and Gross Schweinbarth to Stammersdorf


4. Bottom right

Date of Issue: 4 August 2007
Primary theme:  Transportation (Rail) (Steam engines)
Subject: Bregenz Forest Railway
Width: 42.0 mm
Height: 32.25 mm
Denomination: 0.75 €
Number in set:  1
Layout/Format:  sheet of 50
Perforations: 14 by 14
Stamp issuing authority: Osterreich Post AG
Number of Copies: 500.000
Printing Style: Photogravure and Intaglic

The Bregenz Forest Railway, a typical Austrian 760 mm narrow-gauge railway, provided access to the area of the Bregenz Forest that had previously only been reachable from the Rhine Valley via mule tracks. The first section of the route was 19 km long, and ran from the Vorarlberg capital Bregenz through the wild and romantic valley of the Bregenzer Ache to Egg, the largest town of the Bregenz Forest.

Canada

Here is one fantastic cover i received from Canada, sent by Laura. The stamps she had chosen are just more than precious!

I will start with the 3 cents one, with the redish colour, which was issued in the distant 1937....it portrays the coronation of H.M. George VI and H.M Queen Elizabeth. George VI was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions from 11 December 1936 until his death (6 February 1952). He was the last Emperor of India (until 1947), the last King of Ireland (until 1949), and the first Head of the Commonwealth. Elizabeth was the Queen consort of King George VI and the British Dominions from 1936 until his death in 1952. After her husband's death, she was known as Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother to avoid confusion with her daughter, Queen Elizabeth II. She was the last Queen consort of Ireland and Empress consort of India.
The coronation took place on 12 May 1937.
And this stamp IS somehow related to trains since King George and Queen Elizabeth were present at the
New Zealand government offices in  London, 19th October, 1939, when a model of  “J” Class locomotive  was presented to the  New Zealand government railways by the manufacturers, the North British Engineering CO. LTD., Glasgow.

The small grey  6c stamp is a definitive from 1970.

The stamp in the top right corner is from a set of 3 Christmas stamps issued in 1979.

The 64c stamp was issued in a set of 4 stamps in 1983, and it shows the Adam Brown locomotive, type 4-4-0, while the other two 32c stamps were issued the following 1984, also in a set of four. The one on the left shows the Countess of Dufferin type 4-4-0 locomotive, which was the first steam locomotive to operate in the Canadian prairie provinces.The stamp next to it shows the Scotia 0-6-0 type locomotive.

Sorry if you are getting an overdoes of trains here..but you know i simply LOVE them!

And thank you sooooooo much Laura for such a precious cover!

Steam Locomotives, Croatia

Another train ride...this time in Croatia, featured by these two great steam-locomotive stamps sent by Agi!

Value: 7,1 kn
Author: Tatjana Strinavić, designer, Zagreb
Motifs: a steam locomotive of SüdB 18 series and a steam locomotive of MÁV 326/JŽ 125 series
Size: 48,28 x 29,82 mm
Paper: white 102g, gummed
Perforation: Comb,14
Technique: Multicoloured Offsetprint
Date of issue: 29.3.2010
Quantity:100000


2010 is the year when Croatian railroads celebrate their 150th anniversary, so these two locomotives were chosen to be portrayed on the stamps issue. These two locomotives were among the first participants in the Croatian railroad traffic and they, therefore, tell their own story of this year’s anniversary.
Steam locomotives of the SüdB 18 series were designed by Austrian constructors between 1859 and 1872. They were used to pull the passenger trains on the lowland railroads and also pulled trains on the first Croatian railroad tracks between Čakovec and Kotoriba, and Zidani Most, Zagreb and Sisak. The locomotive’s power amounted to 258 kW (350KSi), it was 8105 millimetres long, weighed 32.90 tons and could reach the maximum of 60 km/h. The locomotives were a part of the Croatian traffic since 1922. Not a single locomotive of this series remains preserved in Croatia today. A steam locomotive of the MÁV 326/JŽ 125 series Steam locomotives of the MÁV 326/JŽ 125 series were built between 1882 and 1897 in factories in Vienna, Linz and Munich, and since 1888 in Budapest as well. They were primarily used to pull the cargo trains but they were used for transport of passengers as well. These locomotives first operated on a railroad track between Budapest and Zagreb, and then they were also used on the Rijeka railroad. The power of the locomotive amounted to 302kW (410KSi), it was 15.131 mm long, including the tender, it weighed 48.750 kg, also including the tender, and it could reach a maximum of 45 km/h. Locomotives of this series were used for transport for sixty years. Only one locomotive of this series (mark 125-052) has been preserved in Croatia. It is now a part of the Croatian Railway Museum and it is on display on the Main Railway Station in Zagreb. The locomotive was built in 1891 in Budapest and it is the oldest vehicle in the Museum’s collection.

125 Years of the Macedonian Railways, Macedonia

This could probably be considered as my favourite Macedonian FDC...no need to explain why :)

It was issued back in 1998 when I was only admiring stamps and went to the philately in order to get them for my letters to my penpals...my mum was the one in charge of getting the stamps for the collection...but she never got FDC's....and not so long ago, during my last stamps-shopping, I was more than happy and excited to add this FDC on my purchase list :D

As the title says, the issue is commemorating the 125 years of the Macedonian Railways, and on the picture you can see the railway line from Skopje to Thessaloníki in Greece, showing the stops in Veles, Gradsko and Gevgelija...Gevgelija is also the border-control town if you are going by train and it also acts as a rail depot between Macedonia and Greece.

Details about the stamp on the left:

Face Value: 30 denars (equals to 0.50 euros)
Sheet: 9 stamps
Perforation: Comb 13 1/4
Size: 30 x 40,5 mm
Printing Technique: multicolour offset
Motif: The Railway station in Gradsko, showing a locomotive, while the background shows a Turkish bond.

Details about the stamp on the right:

Face Value: 60 denars (equals to 1 euro, more or less)
Sheet: 9 stamps
Perforation: Comb 13 1/4
Size: 40,5 x 30mm
Printing Technique: multicolour offset
Motif: The first locomotive in Macedonia