[adapted from a PostNL press releasae] [click on any of the pictures for larger versions]
Mail Trains
Issue Date: 16 May 2022

Appearance: 5 personal stamps in 5 different designs, marked with ‘1’, the denomination for items up to 20 grams in weight destined for delivery in the Netherlands
Item number: 820049
Design: Karen Polder, The Hague

On 16 May 2022, PostNL will issue the Mail Trains stamp sheet to mark the fact that 25 years ago on this day, the last mail train travelled through the Netherlands. The denomination on the Mail Trains issue is ‘1’, the denomination for items weighing up to 20 grams destined for the Netherlands. All mail trains on the stamps can be viewed at the Expeditie Posttrein exhibition at the Utrecht Railway Museum held from 17 May to 27 November this year. With a number of special collection pieces, the exhibition gives an overview of mail transport by train from the mid-19th century to 1997, the year of the last mail train journey in our country.

On 16 May 1997, exactly 25 years ago, the mail train made its last journey through the Netherlands. It heralded the end of the important role that the railways had played in mail transport for many years. In the early years, the mail was transported on passenger trains. Later, special mail trains were built. From the 1930s onwards, these often ran at night between the various postal dispatch and sorting centres in our country.

The stamps included in the Mail Trains issue feature five notable Dutch postal trains. The HIJSM 4 ‘Diligence’ (weight 3.2 tons, top speed 45 km/h) is a 1938 replica of the original from 1839, when mail was still sent along with passenger trains. This first-class carriage belonged to De Arend, the first steam locomotive in our country. The NS PEC 8502 (weight 38 tons, top speed 125 km/h) dates from 1938 and had the nickname deukneus (dented nose). The name refers to the chunk that seems to be missing from the nose, required to couple carriages to both electric and diesel electric locomotives. The mail carriage NS P 7920 (weight 43 tons, top speed 140 km/h) started its life in 1952 and was equipped with pigeon holes, mail deposit tables, mail bundle cabinets and mailbag racks. The carriages of the NS mP 3031 (weight 52 tons, top speed 140 km/h) from 1966 were equipped with 3 large sliding doors on both sides to facilitate the quick loading/unloading of rolling containers with mail bags. The last stamp features the Hbbkkss 043-5 (weight 16.5 tons, top speed 120 km/h) which was in use from 1978. These postal carriages, which were used outside the regular timetable, were able to run faster than the 100 km/h that was usual during the day.

Although the last mail train ran 25 years ago, transport by rail is not completely extinct. For example, since February 2022, PostNL has been dispatching a trailer with mail and parcels by rail on the Coevorden-Oslo route every week. PostNL outsources this international transport to a long-distance carrier. This carrier sends a lorry with a trailer to the sorting centre for international mail and parcels in the Hague. The lorry then takes the mail and parcels for Norway to Coevorden railway station, where the trailer is put on the train to Oslo. In Oslo, the trailer is picked up from the train and delivered to Norway Post. PostNL wants to investigate whether this alternative transport can contribute to its sustainability targets. According to initial calculations, the use of a train on this route should lead to an annual reduction of 30 tonnes of carbon emissions.

Each stamp features a cut-out of a photo of a train used for transporting mail. The oldest train dates from 1839 and the newest from 1978. Each stamp has its own background colour with gradient. The background colours on the stamps continue onto the sheet edge. On the stamps, the type numbers of the trains are shown in the top right-hand corner. The upper part of the sheet features a collage of postal items in a rectangular frame. The title of the stamp sheet is printed on the upper left-hand edge of the sheet, the PostNL logo is printed on the upper right-hand edge and that of the Utrecht Railway Museum is printed on the lower left-hand edge of the sheet. The upper edge of the image area on the stamps features a faux perforated border. The same applies to 3 of the 4 edges of the large rectangle on the sheet edge.

The design of the Mail Trains stamps was produced by Karen Polder, a graphic designer from the Hague. For PostNL, she also designed the 2018 and 2021 PostEurop stamps featuring Dutch Bridges and Endangered Bees. The Mail Trains issue was the first time that Polder designed a set of personal stamps. ‘It’s not quite the same thing, because the typography on the stamp frame is a given. This also applies to the images I got from the Utrecht Railway Museum. I asked them whether I could photograph the trains myself. But at the time, not all mail trains that were to be featured on the stamps were present in the museum. By the way, I was happy with the images I was given to work with. They were taken by enthusiastic train spotters who took the photos when the trains were outside. All in daylight, and usually as free-standing as possible. I received a number of pictures of each mail train.’

Selection of trains
The selection of the trains by the experts of the Railway Museum was subject to some discussion, however. Polder: ‘That was mainly to do with the ‘Diligence’ featured on the first stamp. You can’t tell from the outside of the HIJSM that it is a postal carriage. The interior, however, was equipped especially for postal workers. So the Railway Museum sent me alternative photos of a much newer mail train. I did experiment with that, but it was too similar to the other trains. Moreover, the Diligence significantly increased the length of the period we were working with. It easily added a century. So that is why we stuck with the original selection.’

Technical Details:
Stamp size (wxh): 30 x 40mm
Sheet size (wxh): 170 x 122mm
Printing colours: cyan, magenta, yellow and black
Paper: normal with phosphor print
Gum: gummed
Printing technique: offset
Print run: 5,000 sheets
Format: sheet of 5 stamps in 5 different designs
Design: Karen Polder, The Hague
Printing company: Koninklijke Joh. Enschedé B.V., Haarlem
Item number: 820049

[These are not yet listed on the PostNL website. This link goes to Personalized Stamps in general. We will update this page when the stamps are listed. —VSC]