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The Rail Philatelist December 2000 Newsletter |
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The Rail Philatelist December 2000 Newsletter |
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The
Rail Philatelist
Volume 6 ............... PRICE $1.00 (10 ISSUES FOR $8.00)................Number 1 December 1, 2000
Dear Fellow Rail Philatelist:
It is hard to believe that this is my 51st newsletter -
time really does fly when your are having fun! Thanks to all of you who have
been with me from the beginning (over four years ago) as well as to those of you
who have joined me along the way - I couldn't have made it this far without your
comments, suggestions and support, not to mention all the orders each month that
actually pay the freight. Keep them coming and I'll try to hold up my end of the
bargain too!
NEW
TITLE: In case you didn't notice, I've changed the title of my newsletter
slightly. Thanks to the quick-witted Chuck McFarlane, dba Ausdenmoor-McFarlane,
who suggested the title after reading a copy of my newsletter during the APS
STAMPSHOW in Providence in August. I considered running a contest to suggest
names, but , upon reflection, I realized that Chuck's suggestion captured both
the tone of my writings as well as the theme (or topic). Actually, my writing is
more rambling than rants, raves or rails based on a strict dictionary definition
since neither Webster's rail - "to utter bitter complaint or vehement
denunciation" nor rale - "to make a rattling sound in the throat"
accurately describe my deathless prose.
I don't think I've yet stooped to Funk & Wagnalls "To use scornful, insolent, or abusive
language" either but I've probably come close on occasions. Should I stick
with this or do you have another suggestion?
MAIL
BID SALE #1: Enclosed you will find my Mail Bid Sale #1 consisting of 23 lots of
Belgium imperforate train stamps. Since I only have one of each, I am responding
to the numerous customer requests to make such material available in an open
forum to the highest bidder rather than at net prices to the first respondent as
in my Monthly Specials. If this works, I will try to conduct similar sales each
month or two, depending on how much material I can come up with. Meanwhile, the
Monthly Specials will also continue. I hope you enjoy this new feature and wish
you success in your bidding.
MAIL
ORDER/WEB SALES: Since I made a big point about the fall-off in show sales in
last month's newsletter, I decided I should comment on my mail order and web
sales this month. Thus far I haven't segregated mail order from web sales since
they both involve mailing the merchandise to the client and they both originate
from the same basic price lists, albeit via different media. If I get active on
eBay, as I plan to soon, I'll keep those sales statistics separate. Creating my
web page and starting this monthly newsletter in 1996 were probably the smartest
moves I've ever made for my business. My quarterly mail sales doubled
immediately after I made those improvements. (I don't track monthly sales, just
quarterly when I file my sales tax returns - I don't have time to worry about
the numbers every month as long as the checking account balance stays slightly
positive!). While there are variations from quarter to quarter, average mail
sales in 1998 were up only one percent from 1997 but 1999 mail sales increased
42%, mostly because of the plethora of new issues I think. The first three
quarters of 2000 are equal to the 1999 averages even though the July-Sept.
quarter was down due to my extensive travel & consequent neglect of new
issues. So far mail sales seem to be holding up well in the fourth quarter, so
2000 mail sales should at least match 1999. If you ALL send in orders from these
lists, I can exceed 1999's mail sales. Thank you for your
support!
TRAIN
REPORT: I haven't yet reported on my trip to Filatelic Fiesta in Santa Clara in
September because there wasn't a lot to report. Yes, I did see a lot of great
trains along my favorite trails but there wasn't much out of the ordinary except
the following: (1) Because of a sink hole that developed in the Lucin cutoff
across the Great Salt Lake on the former Southern Pacific line, Union Pacific is
running about twice as many trains over the former Western Pacific route. That
explains why I saw more trains near Silverzone pass this trip. (2) Descending
toward Colfax,CA on the way on the way out, I saw an AMTRAK train off to my left
circling the mountain. Thinking it was the westbound, I rushed to pull off at
Colfax to see it come through. Stopping in the passenger car used by the Chamber
of Commerce for tourist info, I learned that what I had seen was the eastbound.
When I inquired when the westbound was due (since I knew the timetable showed
they both passed Colfax about the same time) an elderly gentleman responded that
"We never know for sure, but since it is still Friday I guess its on time". I
learned in the Roseville station that it was running a couple hours late. (3) On
the return trip, I stopped in Green River, WY and the first train I saw as I got
to the footbridge was an EB stackpack lead by UP4000 painted with the new winged
logo that is a throw-back to the heyday of streamlined train travel - it was a
beautiful sight!
RAIL
THOUGHT OF THE MONTH: An early description of the Trans-Siberian railway as
"rusty streaks of iron through the vastness of nothing to the extremities of
nowhere" makes one marvel at the pioneering spirit and engineering skill of
early railroaders.
RAIL
FACTS AND FEATS:The highest station is Condor, Bolivia at 15,705 feet on the
meter-gauge Rio Mulato - to - Potosi line.
HUMAN
NATURE: I had the pleasure of spending four hours on the Tuesday before
Thanksgiving as a volunteer Salvation Army Bell Ringer, one of my SERTOMA
(SERvice TO MAnkind) club's service projects. I was pleasantly surprised to find
that almost half the passers-by donated something, most put folding money,
including $5 bills, in the kettle, not just their change. That's in sharp
contrast to the petty thefts that occur at shows. When filling orders since the
Buffalo ATA show, I have encountered numerous 102 cards with used stamps in them
while the markings and pricing indicate mint. Obviously, one of my trusted
customers who spent a lot of time at my table made several switches to save
himself a few bucks when I hastily added up his purchases. I've isolated who it
was and you can bet I'll watch him carefully if I ever see him again. But the
pain of having my trust violated won't heal. So I'm glad to know that he is a
very small minority and that there are so many more generous, giving people in
our society. I hope you encounter only the
milk of human kindness and enjoy all the blessings of the Holiday
Season!
STAMP
OF THE MONTH: This postcard depicting an 1876 Christmas scene at the Pleasant
Valley, NY railway station brings you my best wishes for a Joyous Holiday
Season.
AL
PETERSON
JOIN THE CASEY JONES
RAILROAD UNIT OF THE AMERICAN TOPICAL ASSOCIATION
Dues $8.00. Contact Oliver
Atchison, PO Box 31631, San Francisco, CA 94131
.
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