Showing posts with label Martin Ramirez. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Martin Ramirez. Show all posts

Thursday, May 12, 2016

Diesel Train in the Royal Gorge


Postcard US-3689818 to Russia shows a diesel train in the Royal Gorge, on the Arkansas River, passing underneath the Suspension Bridge - "The World's Highest Bridge", near Cañon City, Colorado, Cañon City, with a population of 16,400 as of 2010 and known as the "Corrections Capital of the World for having nine state and four federal prisons and penitentiaries, is one of the few U.S. cities that have an eñe in its official name.

Two train stamps, among others, were affixed to the card. One was a 33-cent "The Congressional of the Pennsylvania Railroad" from a set of five 1999 stamps entitled All Aboard! 20th Century American Trains. The other “Untitled (Trains on Inclined Tracks),” showing a gouache, colored pencil, and graphite drawing on pieced paper from circa 1960–1963, was one of the five Forever stamps, issued on March 26, 2015, featuring the work of Mexican artist Martín Ramírez who had been confined to psychiatric hospitals for more than 30 years.


I had the sender's address since November 6, 2015. However, the card didn't get posted until December 4, 2015 due to delay from my training for my first half marathon and my encounter of a failed armed robbery. The card had since expired after 60 days, and it was automatically registered by Postcrossing on May 11, 2016 when the account of the receiver was closed.

Thursday, June 18, 2015

Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway


Postcard US-3429537 to France shows a northbound San Diegan train, in the form of two Budd-built Rail Diesel Cars (RDC's), pulls out of Santa Ana, California. The photo was taken by Thomas H. Gildersleeve on July 3, 1952. Those cars were brand new and were placed in service on May 21, 1952.

According to Thomas H. Gildersleeve, "the first San Diegan was inaugurated as a diesel powered streamlined train on March 27, 1938, and it soon evolved into an entire fleet of Los Angeles - San Diego trains encompassing three sets of equipment, each of which made two daily round trips. After the RDC was introduced, Santa Fee purchased this one pair to replace one of the conventional streamliner sets in San Diegan service."

"The RDC San Diegans lasted until January of 1956, at which time they were reassigned to train No's 311 and 312 between Newton and Dodge City, Kansas, as it was felt they lacked sufficient seating capacity for continued service on the popular San Diego line. In their new assignment, the cars displayed a more conventional Santa Fe paint scheme with the usual red and yellow front end, and one of the cars sported a baggage section, making it similar in appearance to an RDC-2. The cars climaxed their career on the Santa Fe by operating out of Carlsbad, New Mexico."

The card features two of the five 1999 33-cent USPS commemorative stamps titled "All Aboard!" The original water color illustrations used on the stamps depict art deco-style passenger trains of the 1930s and 1940s. On the far left was the Super Chief, famous for carrying motion picture people between Chicago and Los Angeles, also known as the "Train of the Stars." On the second left was the Congressional which followed a route between New York and Washington, D.C. Its slogan was "Every Mile Electrified."

The stamp on the far right shows one of the five 2015 Forever USPS commemorative stamps with Mexican artist Martín Ramírez's drawings from circa 1960–1963, a gouache, colored pencil, and graphite drawing on pieced paper “Untitled (Trains on Inclined Tracks).”