Darjeeling Himalayan Railway…

 

Indian themes on foreign stamps…

- Kenneth Sequeira

 

The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR)  nicknamed the "Toy Train", is a 2 ft railway from New Jalpaiguri to Darjeeling in West Bengal, run by the Indian Railways.

It was built between 1879 and 1881 and is about 86 kms.  Four modern diesel locomotives handle most of the scheduled services: however the daily Kurseong-Darjeeling return service and the daily tourist trains from Darjeeling to Ghum (India's highest railway station) are handled by vintage British-built B Class steam locomotives. Since 1999 the train has been a World Heritage Site as listed by UNESCO along with the Niligiri Mountain Railway as an extension to the original destination. Its the 2nd railway to have this honour bestowed upon it, after Semmering Railway of Austria.

A broad gauge railway connected Calcutta (now Kolkata) and Siliguri in 1878. Siliguri, at the base of the Himalayas, was connected to Darjeeling by a cart road (the present day Hill Cart Road) on which "Tonga services" (carriage services) were available. Franklin Prestage, an agent of Eastern Bengal Railway Company approached the government with a proposal of laying a steam tramway from Siliguri to Darjeeling. The proposal was accepted in 1879  by Sir Ashley Eden, the Lieutenant Governor of Bengal

Gillanders Arbuthnot & Co. constructed the railway. The stretch was opened on 23 August 1880, while the official opening of the line up to Darjeeling was on 4 July 1881. Despite natural calamities, such as an earthquake in 1897 and a major cyclone in 1899, the DHR continued to improve with new extension lines being built in response to growing passenger and freight traffic. However, the DHR started to face competition from bus services that started operating over the Hill Cart Road, offering a shorter journey time. During World War II, the DHR played a vital role transporting military personnel and supplies to the numerous camps around Ghum and Darjeeling.

After the independence of India, the DHR was absorbed into Indian Railways and became a part of the Northeast Frontier Railway zone in 1958. In 1962, the line was realigned at Siliguri and extended by nearly 6 km to New Jalpaiguri (NJP) to meet the new broad gauge line there.

Bhutan & Gambia released stamps on this railway line as part of the Famous Trains / Locomotives across the world.

India Post issued  a commemorative stamp on Centenary of  The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway on 18 December 1982.

- Kenneth Sequira, Dubai (UAE) : email -  kenneth.sequeira@hotmail.com

Also Read….The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway and its Locomotives by Vikas Singh

New special Covers..

 

150 Years of Narrow Gauge in India

20 April 2012 – Mumbai

 

 

175th Birth anniversary of Sadguru Shri Siddhartha Swamiji

 

15 February 2012- Hubli

 

 

Code breakers put their stamp on fashion.

For the “Great British Fashion” stamp issue on 15^th May Bletchley Park Post Office has taken a 1940’s theme. The first day cover that will carry the new stamps takes inspiration from the work of iconic fashion illustrator, René Gruau. A familiar figure to the fashion designers featured on the stamps and Bletchley Park’s wartime code breakers reading the fashion magazines of the day.

The double sided cover has the ten stamps set over the Union Flag with a fashionable code breaker providing the design theme for the first day of issue postmark. The well dressed code breaker on the rear reflects the combination of glamour and sensuality with humour that was such a feature of Gruau’s work.

The cover will be issued as a numbered limited edition of 500 and is only available from Bletchley Park Post Office. Price is £15 plus post & packing. It can be previewed on the web site at www.bletchleycovers.com Further information is available from BPPO, The Mansion, Bletchley Park, Milton Keynes MK3 6EB, Tel: 01908 363489

- Terry Mitchell

 

  :  Ashwani Dubey, Akhilesh Arka,Terry Mitchell

Special Cover on Railways..

 

150 Years of Locomotive Workshop, Jamalpur (Bihar)

Date of Issue : 8 February 2012

  : Ashwani Dubey - Gorakhpur

Club News

 

Smithsonian's National Postal Museum Opens New "Fire & Ice: Hindenburg and Titanic" Exhibit

 

Fire & Ice: Hindenburg and Titanic

Open March 22, 2012 to January 6, 2014

"Fire & Ice:Hindenburg and Titanic," an innovative new exhibit, opened  at the Smithsonian's National Postal Museum. The exhibit brings together two marvels of transportation. Titanic and Hindenburg served demands for rapid worldwide communication and transportation. Both operated as the world's largest mobile post offices. Each in its day promised the fastest possible worldwide mail service. Each offered onboard gentility and opulence. Each met a tragic end.

 

As the largest, fastest, and most glamorous ships of their eras, Hindenburg and Titanic share many similarities. The human tragedy associated with each stunned the world . . . a shock that affects people to this day. Both offered travelers elegant accommodations, and both provided postal services. In each era, the public trusted modern technology to provide safety and speed. And as anniversaries of the disasters are marked in 2012—seventy-five years since Hindenburg burned and a century since Titanic sank—many questions remain unanswered.

The Zeppelin Company of Friedrichshafen, Germany, completed the 804-foot long LZ-129 Hindenburg in 1936. Financed in part by the Nazi regime, the rigid airship, designed to use non-flammable helium for lift, confirmed Germany’s technological prowess as Adolf Hitler prepared for war. The U.S. refused to sell helium to the Zeppelin Company, which instead used highly flammable hydrogen for Hindenburg’s lift. On May 6, 1937, carrying ninety-seven passengers and crew, Hindenburg burst into flames at Lakehurst, New Jersey. The disaster destroyed the ship in thirty-four seconds, ending the magnificent era of lighter-than-air commercial travel.

Between 1909 and 1911, Harland & Wolff, Belfast, Ireland, built the massive, 882-foot long Titanic for Britain’s White Star Line, owned by American J.P. Morgan. On April 10, 1912, the lavish Titanic left Southampton, England, on its maiden voyage. Bound for New York, the ship hit an iceberg in the North Atlantic late night April 14, and sank in fewer than three hours.  Of its 2,229 passengers and crew, only 712 survived, predominantly women and children.

Titanic was the world's largest floating post office of its day, and Hindenburg still holds the record as the world's largest flying post office. This year-2012-the National Postal Museum raises visitors' awareness of the two giant ships' postal operations with its new exhibit. And this year-2012-both mark anniversaries. Hindenburg burned 75 years ago, and Titanic sank 100 years ago. The exhibition will be open through Jan. 6, 2014.

Exhibit highlights include a very rare piece of mail sent from Titanic and burnt mail salvaged from Hindenburg. Other items include mail, postcards, menus, photographs, keys from Titanic's post office and the salvaged postmark device from Hindenburg.

"Although many visitors to "Fire & Ice: Hindenburg and Titanic" will be very familiar with some of the iconic imagery shown, I believe that they will be amazed to see documents, artifacts and photographs that have never been publicly displayed before," said Cheryl R. Ganz, museum curator for the Hindenburg-related aspects of the exhibit. "These salvaged objects and newly discovered photos bring the story to life in new ways."

The exhibit is organized into themes that compare and contrast the large, fast, glamorous ships: 20th-century icons, technological advancements, life onboard, mail ships and disaster. Survivor stories portray the human tragedy associated with each shocking disaster: shocks that reverberate to this day.

"This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to reflect on the hundredth anniversary of Titanic's sinking in the presence of real objects from the ship and her passengers," said Daniel Piazza, museum curator for the Titanic-related aspects of the exhibit. "A century later, her brief life and tragic end still haunt and captivate us."

Visitors will be able to recreate the onboard letter-writing experience by applying a cachet to postcards and mail that identify the item as from the exhibition. Stamps and a postmark are available in the U.S. Postal Service philatelic shop in the museum to post the cards. A booklet available in the museum's gift shop and online will accompany the exhibit.

A virtual edition of the exhibit is available on the museum's website: www.postalmuseum.si.edu/fireandice.

: Smithsonian's National Postal Museum

New Stamps from Germany..

 

 

500th anniversary of the birth of Gerhard Mercator

 

Date of Issue : 5 March 2012

 

The German Post has issued a stamp to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the birth of Gerhard Mercator, (5 March 1512 - 2 December 1594), a German cartographer.

Flemish geographer and cartographer, resident in Germany from 1552 Gerhard Kremer (Gerhard Mercator is a Latinized name) invented the system of map projection that is named after him. This proved a very useful information to many navigators who could using his map sail across the entire ocean on approximately straight paths (called rhumb lines).

125 years in the Harz narrow-gauge railways

Date of Issue : 9 February 2012

 

Winter holidays in Germany

Date of Issue : 2 January 2012.

New Special Cover on Railway Staff College …

 

Diamond Jubilee of Railway Staff College, Vadodara

Date of Issue : 31 January 2012

 

Railway Staff College, Vadodara Silver Jubilee

Date of Issue : 31.1.77

 

 

: Prashant Pandya - Vadodara

New stamps on Railways..

 

To mark the 100th Anniversary of the opening of the Alishan Forest Railway  , Chunghwa Post (Taiwan Post) is issuing a souvenir sheet.

Hi ! Here is a beautiful souvenir sheet to be issued by Taiwan post and just wish to share with all of you. It is a wonderful item for the collectors of Railways and Tourism themes. Now I am on way to Bhubaneshwar to attend stamp fair  and pleased to write about this souvenir sheet  on Railways while travelling in train.. Well a Post on Railways from the train…Just for you !!

The souvenir sheet has a bright color scheme with mountains and a route map in the background. Four different trains are featured. One of the two stamps features one train pulled by a No.31 steam engine passing through flowering cherry trees (NT$25); and the other, headed by a diesel engine, is coming out of the No.1 tunnel (NT$5). Elsewhere on the sheet there is a train on the No.13 Bridge over the Niuchou River and a train being pulled by the No. 25 steam engine.

100th Anniversary of the Alishan Forest Railway Stamp

Alishan, with its beautiful natural scenery and rich ecological resources, is a world famous tourist destination. The Beimen to Erwanping section of Alishan Forest Railway officially opened to traffic on December 25, 1912. Along with the mountain's sacred trees, sunrise, sunset, and sea of clouds, the railway is one of the "Five Wonders of Alishan." The Alishan Forest Railway was once a very busy train track because of logging on the mountain. With changes to Taiwan's economic structure, the railway's role has shifted from a transporter of lumber to a cultural asset with its scenic spots and historical architecture dating from a century ago.

Christmas stamp from Ukraine…

 

Merry Christmas !!

Date of Issue : 23 December 2011

On the Christmas day I am giving here the last issue of this year’s Christmas Stamp from Ukraine. Ukraine Post issued it very late…as  it might have been late for those who wished to send Christmas Card using this stamp ….But this sheetlet is wonderful  with Santa and Christmas Tree !! It features Santa Claus carrying a bag of presents and people standing in front of a Cathedral.

New Stamp from Israel

The Valley Railway

“The Valley Railway” (Rakevet HaEmek) is the Hebrew nickname for the Haifa branch line of the famed Hijaz Railway, which was built in the latter days of the Ottoman Empire to connect Damascus to Medina and Mecca in the Hijaz region of the Arabian Peninsula. This railway served both religious and military purposes.

Stamp  features Hijaz Railway “Hartmann 2-8-2” steam engine and a train against the background of the Jezreel Valley landscape.
The nice Tab attached to the stamp which is the specific feature of all Israeli stamps shows Turkish period buildings at the Kfar Yehoshua station, which were renovated and restored and currently serve as a visitor’s center Stamp Sheet Margins.

New stamps on Railways from Taiwan

 

 

 

Date of Issue : 12 November 2011

Chunghwa Post ( Taiwan Post )  issued a set of five stamps on railway branch lines. These stamps are  printed in the format of a vertical se-tenant .

 

11.11.11 covers

 

Received these nice 11.11.11 Covers created by Prof VS Yalvigi, Bangalore

Special Covers : SURPEX 2011

 

: Prashant Pandya. Vadodara

New Stamps on AIDS Prevention..

 

 

 

Date of Issue : 8 June 2011

Fiji Post issued a set of four stamps on 8 June 2011 in global  response to HIV AIDS Prevention. Fiji is made up of about 332 islands covering some 650,000 square kilometres of ocean. From 1874 to 1970, Fiji was a British colony. The population totals some 700,000 people.Fiji is classified as a low HIV prevalence country; however the number of new HIV infections is increasing.

Stamp Designs

Protect youth from HIV and Zero new infections (20c stamp, 40c stamp)

In Fiji HIV is mostly transmitted through unprotected sex, and there is a potential high risk of infection among young people. In 2010 more than half of all new infections, 23 of 33, were in young people aged 10-29. The high prevalence of sexually transmitted infections especially among young people, potentially increases the risk of HIV infection. It is therefore essential that young people are empowered to protect themselves from HIV infection.

Prevent mothers and babies from HIV (65c stamp)

In 2010 there were 33 new reported cases of which 12 were pregnant women, but there were no babies born HIV positive in 2010. Government has ensured the prevention of parent to child transmission as one of its main focus areas in the national response to HIV. The awareness of the availability and benefits of voluntary counselling and testing for pregnant mothers resulted in the increase of testing in the ante-natal clinics from 46% in 2006 to 67% in 2010.

Zero discrimination ($5 stamp)

HIV related stigma and discrimination continues to hamper the AIDS response. This year the Fiji Government enacted the HIV Decree. When enacted to its capacity the Decree safeguards the privacy and rights of people living with or affected by HIV, including confidentiality of personal information.

Special Covers

Many collectors often enquire about special covers issued by different postal circles.The series of special Covers, issued in different states of India is being published for the cross reference of thematic collectors. The cancellations on the covers  might become a  part of their topical collections.

Maharashtra

Telecommunications Consultants India Ltd. : 4 August 2011

 

150 glorious years of Railways in India :  28 September 2003

: Ashwani Dubey, Gorakhpur