Description

— New stock added —

Set of three emergency provisionals issued by the Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Light Railway in 1982, featuring handstamped “+5p” overprints on previous 15p definitives.

Only 1,400 copies of each value were produced, making this among the most sought after of Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Light Railway issues.

U/M / Unmounted Mint / MNH / Mint Never Hinged.

About the Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Light Railway

In 1957, the Talyllyn Railway became the first UK railway to issue its own modern railway letter stamps. Such labels were popular as souvenirs for the railway's visitors, but also performed a postal function, paying for the carriage of mail via the railway's own letter delivery service.

Over the years, many other preserved railways followed suit with their own issues. The Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Light Railway, which operates a 13½-mile line in Kent, released its first issues in 1977.

As the Railway Philatelic Group explains, however, subsequent changes to the agreement between the Royal Mail, British Rail and independent railways - most recently in 1998 - has seen the number of railways offering a letter service dwindle, with the final Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Light Railway issue appearing in 1986.

As of 2024, only the Talyllyn Railway, Ffestiniog Railway and Nene Valley Railway are understood to still be running a railway letter service on the UK mainland.

For details of all Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Light Railway issues, see the excellent Philatelic Compendium website.