All Aboard! 20th Century American Trains

One of five All Aboard! 20th Century American Trains commemorative stamps issued by the USPS. Here, Santa Fe locomotive #6 (an EMD E1 unit) is seen painted in the Super Chief's distinctive Warbonnet livery.

In August 1999, the United States Postal Service issued a set of 33¢ postage stamps entitled All Aboard! 20th Century American Trains to "pay tribute to American industry and design, and specifically to the heritage of our railroads." Artist Ted Rose^[1] created five watercolor images depicting the following celebrated American named passenger trains from the 1930s and 1940s:

• the Congressional of the Pennsylvania Railroad;
• the Daylight of the Southern Pacific Railroad;
• the Hiawatha of the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad;
• the Super Chief of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway; and
• the 20th Century Limited of the New York Central Railroad.

Descriptive text regarding each of the trains was listed on the gummed side of each stamp.^[2][3]

At the same time, the USPS offered for sale a booklet of "20 U.S. Postal Service Ready-To-Mail Stamped Postal Cards" which contained four sets of the five paintings.

References

1. "Ted Rose, 61; Artist Whose Locomotives Were Put on Stamps". Los Angeles Times. August 3, 2002. pg. B.17. Retrieved from ProQuest.
2. Mike Del Vecchio. "New stamps will showcase Ted Rose, streamliners". Trains. May 1999. Vol. 59, Iss. 5; pg. 17. Retrieved from ProQuest.
3. Bill McAllister. "All Aboard for Classic Design". The Washington Post. August 13, 1999. pg. N.66. Retrieved from ProQuest.

External links

• All Aboard! 20th Century American Trains 1999 USPS Stamp Program

Further reading

• Anthony J. Bianculli. Railroad History on American Postage Stamps. Astragal Press, 2004. 1931626200