NORTH AMERICAN
CACHETED RAILROAD COVER CATALOG

Here is a short explanation of the data included and the abbreviations used in the NORTH AMERICAN CACHETED RAILROAD COVER CATALOG:

COVER NO. - Year-Month-Day A,B,C etc. are used when more than one cover was issued on the same date. ff (for "few following") signifies covers with multiple cancellation dates -the earliest usage date is shown.

DESCRIPTION - A limited, somewhat cryptic description of the cachet is given - a photograph is really needed to do the covers justice-these will be included in the catalog when it is published. Numbers for the First Flight Covers are for cross-reference with the AMERICAN AIR MAIL CATALOGUE. "Text" means words only in the cachet - most others have some railway illustration or logo. NAMW-National Airmail Week

CACHET - P-Printed,AOP-All-over,R-Rubber Stamp,T-Typed,H-Handmade,L-Label,LG-Large,SM-Small

COLOR - Color listed first is predominate - envelope color is not included. B-Black, BL-Blue, BR-Brown,G-Green, GO-Gold, GR-Grey, M-Maroon, O-Orange, P-Purple, PI-Pink, R-Red, S-Silver,V-Various,W-White,Y-Yellow

CANCEL - FDOI-First Day of Issue, H-Hand, HPO-Highway Post Office, M-Machine, P-Pictorial, RMS-Railway Mail Service, RPO-Railway Post Office, S-Slogan. Cities should be self-explanatory.

RAILROAD - Standard railroad abbreviations are used. S - Streetcars

TYPE - AD-Airport Dedication, AN-Anniversary of some historic event such as a centennial celebration, FDC-First Day Cover, FF-First Flight or other aviation event, FR-First Run of a train, FT-Freedom Train, LR-Last Run of a train, P-Patriotic cover, PC-Pictorial Cancel, POD-Post Office Dedication, RA-Rail Anniversary commemorating some historic railroad event, RE-Rail Event, SC-Show Cover or Special Cancel

RARITY - A 10 level code is used similar to that used by the Mobile Post Office Society for RPOs:

• A - Abundant - Can be found at several dealers at almost every stamp show.
• VC- Very Common - Can be found at almost every show.
• C - Common - Can be found at most shows.
• FC- Fairly Common - Can be found at large shows (More than 50 dealers)
• UC- Uncommon - Can be found at least once in a year.
• S - Scarce - Only found once in five years.
• R - Rare - Only found once in twenty years (This is how long I have been looking & have seen only one).
• VR- Very Rare - Only found once in a lifetime of collecting.
• ER- Extremely Rare - Exists only in the top collections and not available.
• U - Unique - Only one exists, usually hand made for personal collection.

PRICE - This is my retail price and is an average based on all the factors going into the value of a cover. You may find the covers at both higher and lower prices depending on the knowledge and expenses of the owners. Prices are included only for those covers where several are available for sale to minimize "Sold Outs".

This is a work in progress; I am continually adding to it and up-dating it but it is a slow process. Thank you for your patience and understanding as you work with this partially completed version. If you have covers not listed here, please send a photocopy so that they can be included in the next edition. Your comments and suggestions for improving this catalog are also solicited. Thank you for your consideration.