L2401

TRANSPORTATION

Cog Railway

Collins Cover Announcement 

COG RAILROAD - 1870's

This past summer Linda and I along with our two youngest children took a few days off and drove up to New Hampshire. We stayed in Lincoln and it was a great location for all of the area's natural attractions. It was an easy jaunt to the world famous rock formation - "The Old Man of the Mountain" - which we enjoyed. One of the highlights of our trip was our accent up spectacular Mount Washington via the cog railway.

Our ride was breathtaking. It was the first cog railway in the world and the design and operating principles are virtually unchanged since 1875. The ascent is steep and in the 70 minute three mile trip to the top the small, sturdy steam locomotive consumes a ton of coal and 1000 gallons of water.

On the summit, we were greeted by clear, crisp views of the Presidential Range. At the ranger station, hikers were registering their plans for safety reasons. Christy and Ryan had their picture taken at the very tip-top rocky pinnacle of the summit. We were now ready for the descent to the base camp far below. And going down in the single, small passenger car was as exciting as going up. It was a day to remember.

This new issue is a memorable one because it marks the last stamp in the long and popular "Transportation Series". I think this is a fairly significant milestone in cover collecting and so my cachet clearly identifies the cog railway as the last Transportation stamp.

The main cachet area features a small locomotive and its attached coal car making the ascent up Mount Washington on the famous "Jacob's Ladder" trestle. It is painted a bright green with red and yellow trim. These colors are very accurate from my in-person research and numerous photos I took.

A couple of extra touches to this COLLINS cachet provides more interest. I've added a small vignette of the "Old Man of the Mountain" rock formation profile to give the cover a solid New Hampshire flavor. Also, in the text title, I've substituted the geared "cog" that propels the engine in place of the letter "O".

It's been fun doing the Transportation Series cachets. The sold-out ones are actively sought on the open market. This final COLLINS Cover in the series featuring a pair of stamps will be an important one for collectors to own. It portrays a locomotive that began in the Age of Steam and has continued in regular operation to the present day. It portrays an American first in the world of transportation. It portrays the last in an American postage stamp series. The Cog Railroad. Item #L2401. $11.00.

Winter 2020 Mail Sale Commentary 

Lot 21 L2401 — Cog Railroad — (6-9-95)

This was the last stamp to be issued in the very popular and long running Transportation series. It is so noted on my cachet. The hand painted cachet depicts the cog engine making its way up Mount Washington in New Hampshire. I researched this cover while on a family outing, and we rode from the base to the summit in a 70-minute three-mile ride. The ascent was breathtaking, and the vistas were spectacular. Several of our grandchildren in years since have joined us for a cog railroad adventure. A silhouette of a famous New Hampshire rock formation "The Old Man of the Mountains," also appears on the cover. A pair of the new stamps is tied to the cover with a first day of issue bullseye postmark.