Steam age heroes celebrated on railway stamps

Royal Mail

Royal Mail is paying tribute to the ‘workhorses’ of the railways with its latest set of stamps, Classic Locomotives of England.

Issued today (Tuesday 1 February), the sheet of four stamps is the first in a series highlighting the role played by hardworking steam engines during the Victorian era and well into the 20th Century.

Throughout this period steam locomotives of all shapes and sizes were the lifeblood of many industries, as they faithfully hauled their loads around the nation’s rail networks.

One example is Thor, a Pecket 1689 locomotive which features on the 60p stamp. Built in 1925 for the Tunnel Cement Company of Purfleet, Essex, Thor worked for 40 years as part of a fleet of engines, shunting wagons and hauling materials around the site before being decommissioned in 1965.

The three other stamps feature a Dean Goods Class Locomotive, which pulled passenger trains on rural lines, a 1093 class locomotive, and an ‘Austerity’ class locomotive which was used during World War II to transport goods and troops.

Philip Parker, Royal Mail Stamps, said: "For many people the age of steam meant brightly liveried passenger locomotives, but there was also a huge number of other ‘steam machines’ which played a major role during the industrial revolution and beyond.

"Our new Classic Locomotives series of stamps takes a look at the fascinating working lives of some of the hardworking locomotives which powered their way around the UK’s railways."