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Locomotiva Pasarea Maiastra (Romania)
Sorry that our header misses the extra symbols but this is a fine postcard on both sides, though it does not qualify as a maximum card because (A) there’s no cancellation on the front, and (B) the stamp design is not a match. Never mind all that, the card was mailed in 2021 with large stamp and sticker, and special postmark. If you like unusual trains, this one’s for you. Grade: 1
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Tellovoz (Russia)
Wonderful postcard from St. Petersburg’s Museum of Russian Railroads, mailed in 2021 with two different railroad stamps and large postmark. For collectors of railroad postcards, it’s hard to imagine doing better. Grade: 1
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Train (Taiwan)
Extensive Chinese-language captions on the back of this B&W card will tell you more about the photo, but we can tell you the card was mailed in 2021 with stamp and extraordinarily large and clear special cancellation. Grade: 1
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Bullet Trains at Tokyo Central Railroad
Unused card. The front is fine but the card had been in an album and the reverse is badly abraded. Grade: 5
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Tour Eiffel
The closest station to the Eiffel Tower is Champ de Mars/Tour Eiffel. You can take Metro or RER services to this stop. Then, simply hop off and stroll for less than ten minutes along the Seine to get to the monument. This unused postcard, however, has never seen Paris or been anywhere close. It was made in China and has Chinese notations here and there on front and back. Grade: 1
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Chihshang, Taitung (Taiwan)
The rice fields become “gently swaying rows of dancers in golden costumes” on this unused card. Grade: 1
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Duoliang Station, Taitung (Taiwan)
The unused card calls this the “loveliest station in Taiwan” and while we’ve not seen them all, this is definitely a contender. Grade: 1
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Gulf, Mobile & Ohio
Mailed in 1949, the stamp and postmark and some extra writing and what looks like a stain from a cup are there — along with two small holes in the upper right corner, probably from a staple. Not in good condition, but useful if you’re looking for a space-filler for this particular railroad. Grade: 4
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Omaha, Union Pacific R.R. Bridge (Nebraska, USA)
What you see here began to be upgraded in 1916 (we think) but the mailed card’s postmark is not fully readable. So the bridge over the Missouri River to Iowa in this view has been replaced. The stamp is there, and the writer used this card to try to coax another person to swap. Hope she was successful! Some foxing and staining on the reverse. Grade: 3
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Anaheim Disneyland, A World on the Move (California, USA)
Unused card with “Sleek Monorail Trains, individual PeopleMover systems, and Skyway Gondolas” helping Tomorrowland go through its daily motions. Grade: 1
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Cog Railway (Romania)
Unused card published by the National Museum of Romanian Peasant. The bilingual caption identifies: “Cog railway – Viseul de Sus, XX-th century” but we’re not certain what connection the train has with the museum. Grade: 1
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Royal Hudson along Howe Sound (Canada)
The stamp and an Airmail sticker are there, but otherwise this card from 1982 can only be considered as a space filler. Grade: 5
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Penang Hill Railway (Malaysia)
Unused older Tichnor Bros. Lusterchrome card K-8046, with minor age foxing on the reverse. Grade: 2
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Tokyo Station (Japan)
Unused mid-20th-century card whose left edge is a bit ragged as if it had been bound into a set. Only for this reason, we assign: Grade: 2
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Osaka, Umeda Station (Japan)
Although there’s no English caption on this unused old postcard, we did a bit of work with the long Japanese explanation, and the signboards, and now believe the card shows Osaka’s Umeda station. It was, in any case, a picture from decades ago. Grade: 1
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Cairns Scenery, multiple views (Australia)
The four corner views, including Kuranda train at Stoney Creek Falls, are identified, but maybe we need a refresher course in fauna because we’re not certain if the being in the circle is a fish or a bird. Or what. Mailed in 1985 with stamp and postmark. Grade: 1
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Wilton, Chicago & Northwestern Railway (Wisconsin, USA)
Unused Mary Jayne card MJ121. It’s artwork, not a photo. Grade: 1
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Wonewoc, Railway Station (Wisconsin, USA)
We really liked Wonewoc’s Wikipedia entry, and are condensing it slightly here for you: “The name “Wonewoc” is of Indigenous American origin, probably meaning “howling hills”. However, at the time of colonization, the site and subsequent town were known to the native Hoocąk (Winnebago) people as Wonį́wąk which derives ultimately from an infinitive meaning, “to be wicked, bad.” However, Josephine White Eagle says that wōnį́wąk means more precisely, “you are naughty, foolish, not thinking.” Apparently, a settler asked a native resident, “What do you call this place?” and the man replied, “You’re a knucklehead.” The town was incorporated as a village in 1878, and once the railroad was built, village growth exploded, (but) when the railroad era ended Wonewoc’s growth halted. Wonewoc is now a quiet town known for its beauty and close-knit community.” It sounds like our kind of place. The card was mailed in 1909 with stamp and postmark. Grade: 1
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120th Anniversary of the State Railway (Thailand)
Issued by Thailand Post, and there’s much more information — in Thai — on the front of the card. Unused, and we have three of these. Grades: 1
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Development of Railway Services in Hong Kong (set of 8)
Issued by Hongkong Post in November 2023 as “Postage Prepaid Picture Card Series No. 73”, this brilliant and definitive set of eight unused railroad-themed postcards is in its original Cello-wrap and each card has a multi-coloured cancellation. Grade: 1
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Melbourne, multiple views (Australia)
The views are identified in the reverse caption (Yarra River, Flinders Street Railway Station, Cook’s Cottage, Fitzroy Gardens) but what makes the card a little bit special is that when it was mailed in 1999 (stamp’s still there), the postmark was applied backwards. Rare, but it happens. Grade: 1
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Penang, Clock Tower, Malayan Railway Station (Malaya)
Mailed pre-Independence, in 1961, with stamp and full postmark. Grade: 1
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Chicago Metra Trains (USA)
The 2024 postmark is at the bottom reverse of this card, so the Global Forever stamp was not cancelled. Minor creasing at lower left corner. Grade: 2
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KATY 350 (USA)
Missouri-Kansas-Texas 350, a General Electric U23B, on a postcard mailed in 2024 with Global Forever stamp and full postmark. Grade: 1
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Museumseisenbahn in Bruchhausen-Vilsen (Germany)
Mailed in 2024 with: 3 different stamps, Priority label, postmark, extensive caption, and even more extensive message. Lots to see here. Grade: 1
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Locomotora Antigua “El Encanto”, Los Teques (Venezuela)
Unused card, rounded corners. Abrasions along the lower front edge. Grade: 3