Updated January 29th:
“Three new stamps in a pane of 18 mark the 150th anniversary of the completion of the transcontinental railroad, a massive engineering feat that reduced travel time across the country from as many as six months to about one week and made the American West an integral part of the nation. Two different stamps feature the Jupiter and the No. 119 locomotives that powered the trains carrying the officers and guests of two train companies to the “Golden Spike Ceremony,” held when the two rail lines were joined at Promontory Summit in Utah. A third stamp portrays the famous golden spike that was a prominent part of the ceremony. Art director Greg Breeding designed the issuance. Michael J. Deas painted the Jupiter and No. 119 stamps. Kevin Cantrell illustrated the stamp depicting the ceremonial golden spike and did the border treatments and typography for all three stamps.”
No date or first-day city were given. Further updates will appear below, in order announced.
The Scott catalogue numbers for this issue are
5378 Jupiter Locomotive
5379 Golden Spike
5380 No. 119 Locomotive
a. Horiz. strip of 3, #5378-5380
Updated January 30th:
These stamps will be issued May 10th in Promontory Summit, Utah.
Updated March 11th:
[press release]
U.S. Postal Service Celebrates 150th Anniversary of the Transcontinental Railroad
What: Marking the 150th anniversary of the completion of the transcontinental railroad, the U.S. Postal Service will commemorate this 19th century marvel with a magnificent set of Forever stamps.
The first-day-of-issue event for the Transcontinental Railroad Forever stamp is free and open to the public. News of the stamp is being shared with the hashtag #RailroadStamps.
Who: Michael Mirides, District Manager Salt Lake City District, U.S. Postal Service
When: Friday, May 10, 2019 at 3:30 p.m. MT
Where: Golden Spike National Historic Site
6200 North 22300th Street West
Promontory Summit, UT 84037
Event parking is available through the Spike 150 Foundation website.
RSVP: Dedication ceremony attendees are encouraged to rsvp at: usps.com/transcontinentalrailroad
Background: Building the transcontinental railroad during the 1860s was one of the great achievements of the era. The completion was marked by the “Golden Spike Ceremony,” held on May 10, 1869, when rail lines built by the Central Pacific from the west and the Union Pacific from the east were joined at Promontory Summit in Utah.
A large immigrant labor force — including a majority of Chinese and Irish laborers — carried out most of the backbreaking and often dangerous work that made the achievement possible. The workforce, totaling more than 20,000 at its peak, also included immigrants from many nations — Germany, Italy, Russia, Czechoslovakia, Poland and others — as well as African-Americans and former Civil War soldiers from both the Union and Confederate armies. Many crews of Mormon workers helped make the final push across Utah.
Reminiscent of traditional 19th century oil painting techniques, the three distinct designs of the Transcontinental Railroad Forever stamps evoke the spirit of the era. Two separate stamps feature the Jupiter and the No. 119 locomotives that powered the trains carrying the officers and guests of the two train companies to the “Golden Spike Ceremony.” Centered between them, a third stamp portrays the famous golden spike that was a prominent part of the ceremony.
Also, the Golden Spike National Historic Site (National Park Service) has a webpage with information about the 150th anniversary celebration (although it doesn’t mention the stamps). It also has links to other sesquicentennial celebration pages. —VSC
Updated March 29th, from the Postal Bulletin:
On May 10, 2019, in Promontory Summit, UT, the U.S. Postal Service® will issue the Transcontinental Railroad stamps (Forever® priced at the First-Class Mail® rate) in three designs, in a pressure-sensitive adhesive pane of 18 stamps (Item 570400). The stamps will go on sale nationwide May 10, 2019, and must not be sold or canceled before the first-day-of-issue. The Transcontinental Railroad pane of 18 stamps may not be split and the stamps may not be sold individually.
Three new stamps in a pane of 18 mark the 150th anniversary of the completion of the transcontinental railroad, a massive engineering feat that reduced travel time across the country from as much as 6 months to about 1 week and made the American West an integral part of the nation. Two different stamps feature the Jupiter and the No. 119 locomotives that powered the trains carrying the officers and guests of two train companies to the “Golden Spike Ceremony,” which was held when the two rail lines were joined at Promontory Summit in Utah.
A third stamp portrays the famous golden spike that was a prominent part of the ceremony. Each of the stamps and the header feature gold-foiled highlights that produce a glimmering effect. Art director Greg Breeding designed the issuance. Michael J. Deas painted the Jupiter and No. 119 stamps. Kevin Cantrell illustrated the stamp depicting the ceremonial golden spike and did the border treatments and typography for all three stamps.
Availability to Post Offices: Item 570400, Transcontinental Railroad (Forever Priced at the First-Class Mail Rate) Commemorative Pane of 18 Stamps: Stamp Fulfillment Services will make an automatic push distribution to Post Offices of a quantity to cover approximately 30 days of sales.
How to Order the First-Day-of-Issue Postmark:
Customers have 120 days to obtain the first-day-of-issue postmark by mail. They may purchase new stamps at their local Post Office™ or at The Postal Store® website at usps.com/shop. They must affix the stamps to envelopes of their choice, address the envelopes (to themselves or others), and place them in a larger envelope addressed to:
FDOI – Transcontinental Railroad Stamps
USPS Stamp Fulfillment Services
8300 NE Underground Drive, Suite 300
Kansas City, MO 64144-9900
After applying the first-day-of-issue postmark, the Postal Service™ will return the envelopes through the mail. There is no charge for the postmark up to a quantity of 50. There is a 5-cent charge for each additional postmark over 50. All orders must be postmarked by September 10, 2019.
Technical Specifications:
Issue: Transcontinental Railroad Stamps
Item Number: 570400
Denomination & Type of Issue: First-Class Mail Forever
Format: Pane of 18 (3 designs)
Series: N/A
Issue Date & City: May 10, 2019, Promontory Summit, UT 84307
Art Director: Greg Breeding, Charlottesville, VA
Designer: Greg Breeding, Charlottesville, VA
Typographer: Kevin Cantrell, Salt Lake City, UT
Artist: Michael J. Deas, New Orleans, LA
Modeler: Sandra Lane/Michelle Finn
Manufacturing Process: Offset
Printer: Banknote Corporation of America
Press Type: Gallus RCS
Stamps per Pane: 18
Print Quantity: 50,400,000 stamps
Paper Type: Phosphor, Block Tagged
Adhesive Type: Pressure-sensitive
Processed at: Banknote Corporation of America
Colors: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black
Other: Gold Foil
Stamp Orientation: Horizontal and Vertical
Image Area (w x h): 1.7828 x 1.1592 in./45.283 x 29.444 mm
0.8395 x 1.1592 in./21.323 x 29.444 mm
Overall Size (w x h): 1.9228 x 1.2992 in./48.839 x 33 mm
0.9795 x 1.2992 in./24.879 x 33 mm
Full Pane Size (w x h): 5.82 x 10.32 in./147.828 x 262.128 mm
Press Sheets Size (w x h): 11.64 x 20.64 in./295.656 x 524.256 mm
Plate Size: 72 stamps per revolution
Plate Numbers: “B” followed by four (4) single digits
Marginal Markings:
Front: Header: Transcontinental Railroad: 150th Anniversary • Plate number in bottom two corners of pane
Back: ©2019 USPS • USPS logo • 2 barcodes (570400) • Plate position diagram • Promotional text
Updated April 13th:
Here are the first-day cancels for this issue:
The Digital Color Postmark measures 3.00″ x 0.86″ 
The B&W pictorial measures 3.00″ x 1.5″
Updated May 6th:
Note that the stamps are nearly five inches wide when displayed as three se-tenant!
One would figure that the stamp, or hopefully stamps, should be announced by February 1.
I would also suggest that a topic be started for the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings. I would find it hard to believe that no stamp will be issued. There are still a large number of veterans alive from WW2. Honor them now before they are a memory…
No Info in the 31 JAN 2019 Postal Bulletin…
I agree 100%. They missed the boat in 2012 with the sinking of the Titanic (100 yrs) and yet many Americans died. Was told the USPS don’t issue stamps for tragic events How about the Sullivan brothers who died on their ship during WWII and other tragic event where issues were released. The Advisory Board ought to think more about our history than on flowers, art, etc. So sad.
Ideas for stamp subjects should be mailed to:
CITIZENS’ STAMP ADVISORY COMMITTEE
U.S. POSTAL SERVICE
475 L’ENFANT PLAZA SW, ROOM 3300
WASHINGTON, DC 20260-3501
England has planed to issue a D-day stamp I don’t see why we , the USA, would not do it. Waiting for the 1st
Some events related to this:
https://www.up.com/aboutup/community/great-race/index.htm
https://www.nps.gov/gosp/planyourvisit/2019-150th-anniversary-of-the-completion-of-the-transcontinental-railroad.htm
( closed during shut-down )
https://www.sltrib.com/news/politics/2018/08/16/ready-party-like-its/
https://spike150.org/events/
http://cs.trains.com/trn/b/staff/archive/2018/04/29/journey-to-promontory-commemorating-the-150th-anniversary-of-the-transcontinental-railroad.aspx
From Post Bull 28 March: Will be on Auto-Distrib. No Cancellation images. Sold as Full Pane of 18 Only. 2 Plate Numbers LL & LR Bxxxx. As PIPEX ( Portland Oregon ) Is this weekend, MAYBE a First-Day-of-Sale Cancel available at the show, or at the Round-House of the SP&S 700 Steam Engine museum. ( Believe it when you see it … )
prpa@sps700.org Portland OR – Train Organization that runs the SP&S 700 Steam Engine & a few others. I left them a note, maybe they’ll be at PIPEX for a First Day of Sale…
I was at PIPEX, and stopped by the PDX Hoyt St Office & bought some of these. I then proceeded on the TRI-MET Yellow/Orange Line down to the OR RR Museum to show these to the folks that maintain the SP&S 700. They had not heard of the stamps, and no special cancellations. I then took the train back to the PIPEX Event, and sold all of the stamps I had bought. There was NO USPS representation at PIPEX At All. ( Hasn’t been for years – USPS & Over-time $$ ) Go Figure….
Model trains are a huge hobby in this country and those fans would be thrilled to have a sheet of really beautiful examples of real trains to use on their mailings.
I whole-heartedly agree. Trains are still a good sized part of our commerce and contributed to our nation’s history–especially the westward expansion. I would hate to think the USPS relegated it to just one stamp but rather dedicated, as Michael states, a sheet of both new and bygone era trains, bridges, tunnels, etc.
150th anniversary of the MT. Washington Cog railway, America’s oldest RR still in operation… another missed opportunity by the USPS
What about the cog railway that climbs the Whie Mountains in NH. Dosen’t it count?
What about the cog RR in NH that climbs the White Mountain? don’t that count?
One would hope that the event which was the single most ambitious feet of its time and linked our nation coast to coast would be recognized. However, up to this time the post office has failed to recognize either the 50th anniversary of this event in 1919 nor the 100th anniversary in 1969. And lately, stamp issues seem to be focused more on pop culture rather than national historical events. Only six of the nineteen commemorative issues in 2018 were related to historical events while seven were associated to pop culture (the remaining six were on other subjects). Also, I certainly hope there is more than one stamp associated with the Moon Landing anniversary.
Amen Brother! You are spot on!
As an example, suggestion, have a full pane of Twenty, depicting the logos of the railroad companies that had train lines cris-crossing the USA!
I wonder how many people will throw away the middle stamp, not realizing it IS a stamp?
I’m sure there will be a few! I think these are lovely though!
A sneaky trick by the revenue office of the USPS…
I think this set of three stamps will be very popular with not only those who are interested in RailRoad memorabilia but also the general public. The middle stamps appears to look more like a label than a valid postage stamp, and because of that, I feel that some people may just throw it away or ignore it altogether. These should be a good seller among those who collect RR topicals or perhaps those who have a high interest in model RailRoading.
570404 – Pane of 18 **Available for Pre-Order on April 10th**
Available for purchase on the Day of Issue:
570410 – DCP Keepsake(Pane of 18 w/set of 3 DCP’s)
570416 – FDC set of 3
570421 – DCP set of 3
570430 – Ceremony Program
Thank you, Marilyn, for the order numbers for this and other issues.
2019 is also the 150th anniversary of the beginning of professional baseball. All teams will wear a commemorative uniform patch this season. Any rumors on a stamp to celebrate baseball?
I think this the most handsome issue in a long time. Thanks USPS!!!
As a collector I would hope that the USPS would consider issuing more stamps with this type of subject matter. It is aEAL quality issue and I am looking forward to obtaining this issue
The Advisory Committee has their minds made up about stamp designs until 2013. I do not think there will be any deviation.
Wow … do you see the size of these stamps. I make first day covers and after providing space for the stamp and the cancel there is no more room on the envelope for a cachet! I will need to be very creative on this issue.