Narrow Gauge Railway Stamps (Hardback)
A Collector's Guide
Imprint: Pen & Sword Transport
Series: Transport Philately
Pages: 64
Illustrations: 250
ISBN: 9781473871786
Published: 15th November 2017
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This, the first of four books, looks at the treatment of varying aspects of public transport with the aid of postage stamps, either issued by the postal authorities of most of the world's nations, or some of the railway companies themselves, especially heritage operators.
It has long intrigued the author as to why narrow gauge systems throughout the world have demanded a far greater attention from the public and stamp producers than railway subjects from the standard gauge lines, which make up the vast majority of the western worlds major railway systems. The conclusion he has reached is that in most cases they are considered cute a truly abominable term, which is (thankfully) gradually fading from our vocabulary, but just how the author felt on first seeing engines of the Talyllyn Railway, in mid-Wales, from the top of the station approach at Tywyns Wharf Station: tiny little kettles in sparkling, rich green and lots of brass.
The Talyllyn has the double honour of being the world's first railway to be taken-over and operated by a preservation society in 1951, and also the first railway in the modern era to issue its own Railway Letter Service stamps, a practice that can be traced back to the very earliest of times, which allowed people in outlying areas to send letters by the railways to the nearest post office for onward transport. The Talyllyn's first stamps were issued in 1957, and today the lucky collector can demand a substantial premium on the paltry issue value.
From whatever origin or country, there is a huge variety of stamps covering narrow gauge railways, and usually they are attractive miniature works of art that make them very collectable. The author has not set out to cover every country or issue in these books, but to present a wide selection of those stamps that are note-worthy.
"These well researched books are profusely illustrated with examples from many countries."
York Model Engineers Newsletter - November 2021
High quality drawings and layout, in addition to a great amount of information.
Unes Cuantos Trenes Blog, Jorge del Valle
Read the full Spanish review here
The author's enthusiasm for narrow-gauge railways shines through this light, but informative book and takes us on a world tour of some of the hundreds of these on all the five continents.
Gibbons Stamp Monthly, April 2018 reviewed by David Rennie
Philatelists and railway buffs will love Narrow Gauge Railway Stamps in which Howard Piltz cover the globe.
Evergreen, Spring 2018
Although Philatelists are its primary focus, readers interested in the more exotic permutations of ‘trains’, may also find it of interest, with even children perhaps getting pleasure from viewing Thomas’ relatives. Despite the images being stamp-centred, readers who just want ‘nice’ pictures of trains might also find it worthy of their attention. Artists with an interest in ‘Things railway’, might also find the volume a useful resource.
NZ Crown Mines
Wilmslow author Howard Piltz has written a fascinating new collectors book on narrow gauge railway stamps.
Knutsford Guardian, 18th January 2018
Howard Piltz clearly knows his subject and has worked hard to dig out the various stamps, some of which are highly attractive and which are well illustrated in the quality colour illustrations.
Narrow Gauge World, January-February 2018
The book starts with UK stamps and in each chapter covers a separate continent, describing how the various postal authorities came to issue stamps. There is also advice on collecting in what is an interesting and novel title on an unusual subject.
About Howard Piltz
Howard Piltz was born in Hazel Grove, in Cheshire, where his bedroom overlooked the crossing of two railway lines, and grew up in the final years of Stockport’s trams. He is a life-long transport enthusiast with a special interest in railways and buses. For many years Howard has collected stamps and more recently specialised on transport subjects of almost all kinds. This series of books is the result of many years research into the stamps and their origin.
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