EMD F-units; on Sierra Leone 1850 (Scott) sheetlet

If there is one locomotive series that paved the way for dieselization in North America more than any other, it would have to be the F-series locomotives of General Motors Electro-Motive Division. The first true F unit was the FT, first produced in 1939. F units were originally designed and sold as two-unit pairs of, usually, one cab-equipped A unit and cabless B unit drawbarred together like the Denver & Rio Grande set of F9s at the Colorado Railroad Museum (shown here). EMD built almost 1,000 FT units in the A and B configurations together, while later models were produced in even higher numbers. With their high production numbers and widespread use on both passenger and freight trains up through the 1970s in regular service, the EMD F series has appeared on numerous stamp issues. Let's take a closer look at one set from Sierra Leone...

This miniature sheet of 12 stamps from Sierra Leone, listed in the Scott catalog as number 1850, is part of a series of three miniature sheets depicting railroads of the world. While the other two sheets include images of diesel and electric equipment from around the world, this sheet contains images only of United States railroads and except for two of them, only EMD F series locomotives. The locomotives depicted are:

Denver & Rio Grande Western EMD FT	Central of Georgia 802 EMD E7	Seaboard Coast Line EMD FT
Missouri Pacific EMD E3	Santa Fe EMD FT	Milwaukee Road EMD FT
Texas & Pacific EMD F7	Soo Line 2225-A EMD F7	Western Pacific 901 EMD FT
Great Northern EMD FT	Baltimore & Ohio EMD FT	Rock Island EMD FT

In the eight stamps depicting EMD FT locomotives, we get an idea of just how widespread the purchases of this model were. There are images of FTs in service on southwest (Rio Grande and Santa Fe), west and northwest (Western Pacific and Great Northern), midwest (Milwaukee Road), south central (Rock Island), southeast (Seaboard Coast Line) and northeast (Baltimore & Ohio) railroads. The other railroads represented here further show how widespread the F and later 6-axle E unit series had become.

EMD was given a boost during World War II as wartime restrictions on domestic production were put into effect across the country. Alco and Baldwin, which had also begun building their own diesel locomotive models in the late 1930s, were ordered to build steam locomotives to proven designs. Alco had been in the steam locomotive business since its creation in 1901 (through the merger of several smaller manufacturing companies that dated back to the mid 1800s), and Baldwin had been building steam locomotives starting with a demonstration model built by Matthias Baldwin in 1831. Since EMD had never been a steam locomotive builder, the company was allowed to continue diesel locomotive production. By the end of the war, EMD had built almost 1,000 FT units, and was about to begin production of about 100 F2 locomotives, followed shortly by the beginning of F3 production in 1946. Eventually, EMD built almost 1,800 F3s and over 3,800 F7s before the mid 1950s.

With diesel locomotives like these, North American railroads were able to operate longer and heavier trains with only one engine crew. Diesels also didn't need extensive water supply facilities, since their power is not derived from steam. The railroads that adopted diesel power saw cost savings in operations and maintenance, and the EMD F and E series helped lead the way.

Early locomotive construction depicted on worldwide postage stamps

The current issue of Topical Time, the bimonthly publication of the American Topical Association, arrived in my mailbox yesterday. The important item here for us ferroequinologists is the first cover story about the history of early steam locomotive development as depicted on postage stamps of the world. I read through it today and while there were a couple of typos (e.g. "Ross Winang" when it should be "Ross Winans", and "Golden Stake" when it should be "Golden Spike"), I didn't see anything glaringly wrong in the history. Now I wonder if I should submit my article titled "EMD F-units; on Sierra Leone 1850 (Scott) sheetlet" from a year ago. Maybe I will after adding information on other F-unit appearances on postage stamps. Or maybe it's time to put together the article I've been thinking about writing on the RPO inception and development.

George Stephenson; on Hungary 2697 (Scott)

George Stephenson (June 9, 1781 - August 12, 1848) is sometimes considered to be the "Father of Railways" for his pioneering work on British railway lines in the early 19th century. On this 2 forint stamp from Hungary (Scott catalog number 2697), issued on June 12, 1981, to commemorate the 200th anniversary of his birth, Stephenson is pictured with a plan drawing of a locomotive of his design.

The locomotive is similar in appearance to Rocket, which he designed in 1829 to participate in the Rainhill Trials. The Scott catalog says that the locomotive pictured is Nonpareil, but it also bears a strong resemblance to Stourbridge Lion, built by Foster, Rastrick and Company in 1828. Stourbridge Lion should be familiar to US rail historians as it is cited as not only the first locomotive to operate in the United States but the first locomotive to operate anywhere outside of England. Although Stephenson didn't work on Stourbridge Lion, John Rastrick (the Rastrick part of the company name) was a judge at the Rainhill Trials, where Stephenson displayed Rocket. Stephenson's first locomotive, Blücher, built in 1814, also looks very similar to the locomotive pictured here.

After building his first locomotives, Stephenson met with the owner of the Stockton and Darlington Railway. The railway was originally planned to use horse-drawn wagons, but opened on September 27, 1825, using a steam locomotive remarkably similar to the one pictured on this stamp named Locomotion. That locomotive is preserved and on static display at the Darlington Railway Centre and Museum in England.

Shortly before his death, Stephenson became the first president of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers in 1847. George Stephenson's son Robert (1803-1859) followed in his footsteps forging his own place in railroad history.

RPO service in the US turns 148 today

The first official mail transport by rail in the world occurred in 1830 when the UK's General Post Office shipped mail on the Liverpool and Manchester Railway. Then, in 1838, the General Post Office again achieved another first when the first Travelling Post Office car was introduced on the Grand Junction Railway, enabling sorting of mail while en route. Here in the US, the first mail was carried in a baggage car in 1831 on the South Carolina Rail Road, and Congress designated all US railroads as official postal routes in 1838. In 1862, the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad began regularly carrying mail in purpose-built mail cars. But it was August 28, 1864, that interests us most today, because that was the date that George B. Armstrong, a postmaster who had been promoted through his service in Chicago, established the first permanent RPO route in the US. It wasn't much longer until RPO cars looked more like what we think of today, as the mail hook was patented in 1867. The last regular RPO service in the US ended on June 30, 1977, with the last run of the route between New York and Washington, DC.