Railway Stamps : Isle of Man Definitives 1988-92 : Trains & Trams

The Isle of Man, for its size, has a remarkable number of different railway and tramway systems and they formed the basis of very attractive definitive stamps, first introduced in 1988. Further printings were required of certain values between 1989 and 1991 and they appeared with new imprint dates in the bottom margin of the stamps.

These later printings, along with two new values in 1992, were mainly produced in the form of special sheets for the production of booklets in revised denominations, which were needed in order to keep pace with the change in postal rates. This article provides a summary of printings, booklets and the special sheets from which the booklet panes emanated.
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1988 : Original Issue : From normal sheets :

All the stamps with Imprint Date '1988' (The 4 highest values were issued in 1989, but have 1988 imprint).

1p : Horse Tram in Douglas [ . ]
2p : Snaefell Mountain Railway [ . ]
3p : Tramcar on Marine Drive [ . ]
5p : Douglas Head Incline Railway [ . ]
10p : Maughold Head on the Manx Electric Railway [ . ]
13p : Cable Car in Douglas [ . ]
14p : Gob-y-Deigan on the Manx Northern Railway [ . ]
15p : Laxey Mine Railway [ . ]
16p : Tramway on the Port Erin Breakwater [ . ]
17p : Ramsey Harbour Railway [ . ]
18p : Isle of Man Railway No.7 at Foxdale [ . ]
19p : Baldwin Reservoir Tramway [ . ]
20p : Isle of Man Railway near St. Johns [ . ]
25p : Isle of Man Railway near Douglas Station [ . ]
50p : Groundle Glen Railway [ . ]
£1.00 : The Royal Train [ . ]

The 15p, 17p, 19p and 50p designs were re-issued later with amended imprint dates (see lower down).

Of the stamps with 1988 imprint, only the 3p, 13p and 16p were also printed in composite sheets/50 for use in booklets. These are described after the table below, which provides an overview of all the issues.

The table is marked ' Yes ' where a stamp exists in normal sheets (and in some cases in booklet format as well) and ' Yes* ' where the stamp with that imprint was produced wholly or predominantly for use in booklets, although it should be noted that the composite sheets/50 printed for the booklets were on sale to the public.

Value	Design	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992
1 p	Horse Tram in Douglas	Yes	.	.	.	.
2 p	Snaefell Mountain Railway	Yes	.	.	.	.
3 p	Tramcar on Marine Drive	Yes	Yes*	.	.	.
4 p	Cable Car in Douglas	.	.	.	Yes	.
5 p	Douglas Head Incline Railway	Yes	.	.	.	.
10 p	Maughold Head, Manx Electric Rly	Yes	.	.	.	.
13 p	Cable Car in Douglas	Yes	.	.	.	.
14 p	Gob-y-Deigan, Manx Northern Rly	Yes	Yes*	.	.	.
15 p	Laxey Mine Railway	Yes	.	Yes	.	.
16 p	Tramway, Port Erin Breakwater	Yes	.	.	.	.
17p	Ramsey Harbour Railway	Yes	Yes*	.	Yes*	.
18 p	IOM Railway No.7 at Foxdale	Yes	.	.	.	.
18 p	TPO SPECIAL - new 18p design	.	.	.	.	Yes
19 p	Baldwin Reservoir Tramway	Yes	.	Yes	.	.
20p	IOM Railway near St.Johns	Yes	.	.	.	.
21 p	Gob-y-Deigan, Manx Northern Rly	.	.	.	Yes	.
23 p	Douglas Double-Decker Tram	.	.	.	.	Yes
25 p	IOM Railway, Douglas Station	Yes	.	.	.	.
50 p	Groundle Glen Railway	Yes	.	.	.	Yes
£ 1.00	The Royal Train	Yes	.	.	.	Yes
Value	Design	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992

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General note applicable to 50p booklets in this article : Although all were sold at 50 pence, the 50p booklets contain face values ranging from 50p to 53p, whereas the higher value booklets were all sold at face value.

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Booklet Sheet : 1988 : 3p, 13p, 16p

There were two composite sheetlets produced from the 1988 definitives for use in booklets, one combining the 3p, 13p and 16p stamps, the other only the 13p and 16p.

The above sheet was used in the 50p and £ 1.99 booklets below:

The booklet is found in similar quantities either affixed by the selvedge at the top or affixed by the selvedge at the bottom.

50p Booklet : 16p + 3p + 13p + 3p + 16p - Selvedge at Top [ . ]
- ditto - Selvedge at Bottom 16p + 3p + 13p + 3p + 16p [ . ]

Sheet/50 composite : 16p + 3p + 13p + 3p + 16p ten times in the sheet (Face Value £ 5.10) [ . ]
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Booklet Sheet : 1988 : 13p and 16p only

The above sheet was used, in conjunction with the first composite sheet shown higher up, to produce the £1.99 booklet:

The booklet comprises two panes: a vertical strip of 10 stamps, twice folded, from the 13p/16p composite sheet and a vertical strip/5 from the 3p/13p/16p composite sheet, this latter affixed above the folded 13p/16p pane, thus concealing it. As a consequence, a scan of the interior of the booklet looks very similar to that of a 50p booklet and we have, therefore, not provided a scan of it.

£1.99 Booklet : 16p+13p vertical strip of 5 pairs plus 16p+3p+13p+3p+16p strip/5 - Both Selvedges at Top [ . ]
- ditto - Both Selvedges at Bottom [ . ]

Sheet/50 composite : 16p + 13p twenty-five times in the sheet (Face Value £7.25) [ . ]
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1989 : New Printings (for booklets) with Imprint 1989.

3p (1989) : Tramcar on Marine Drive [ . ]
14p (1989) : Gob-y-Deigan on the Manx Northern Railway [ . ]
17p (1989) : Ramsey Harbour Railway [ . ]

These booklet stamps were printed in two different sheets/50, one combining all three values, the other made up only with the 14p and 17p stamps.

Booklet Sheet : 1989 : 3p, 14p and 17p

The above sheet was used in the 50p and £ 2.09 booklets below:

50p Booklet : 14p + 3p + 17p + 3p + 14p - Selvedge at Top [ . ]
- ditto - Selvedge at Bottom 14p + 3p + 17p + 3p + 14p [ . ]

Sheet/50 composite : 14p + 3p + 17p + 3p + 14p ten times in the sheet (Face Value £ 5.10) [ . ]
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Booklet Sheet : 1989 : 14p and 17p only

The above sheet was used, in conjunction with the first composite sheet shown higher up, to produce the £2.09 booklet:

The booklet was composed of a vertical strip of 10 stamps, twice folded, from the 14p/17p composite sheet and a vertical strip/5 from the 14p/3p/17p composite sheet, this latter affixed on the top, concealing the folded strip underneath. As before, the interior of the booklet looks all but identical to that of the corresponding 50p booklet and no scan has been provided.

£2.09 Booklet : 17p+14p vertical strip of 5 pairs plus 14p+3p+17p+3p+14p strip/5 - Both Selvedges at Top [ . ]
- ditto - Both Selvedges at Bottom [ . ]

Sheet/50 composite : 17p + 14p twenty-five times in the sheet (Face Value £7.75) [ . ]
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1990 : New Printing (for booklets) with Imprint 1990.

15p (1990) : Laxey Mine Railway [ . ]
19p (1990) : Baldwin Reservoir Tramway [ . ]

These two stamps were used for two new booklets, with only one style of composite sheet being required to produce both.

50p Booklet : 19p + 15p + 19p - Selvedge at Top [ . ]
- ditto - Selvedge at Bottom 19p + 15p + 19p [ . ]

Sheet/50 composite : 19p + 15p twenty-five times in the sheet (Face Value £ 8.50) [ . ]
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£ 1.74 Booklet : 19p + 15p in strip of 5 pairs - Selvedge at Top (only) [ . ]
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1991 : New Printing (for booklets) with Imprint 1991.

4p : Cable Car in Douglas (new value) [ . ]
17p (1991) : Ramsey Harbour Tramway [ . ]
21p : Gob-y-Deigan on the Manx Northern Railway (new value) [ . ]

These are not new designs, but two of them have a revised face value. The 1988 13p now appears denominated 4p, whilst the 1988 14p becomes a 21p. The 17p, already seen with 1988 and 1989 imprints, puts in a third (and final) appearance with imprint 1991.

These three stamps were used for two new booklets from the same composite sheet/50. However, only the first 8 rows of the new composite sheet were used for booklet production. The 4p and 21p values in the last two horizontal rows were sent out as new issues with any remaining stamps from those two rows probably going to post office counters.

50p Booklet : 17p + 4p + 21p + 4p + 4p - Selvedge at Top (only) [ . ]

Sheet/50 composite : Five columns of 17p+4p+21p+4p+4p+17p+17p+17p+4p+21p (Face Value £ 6.30) [ . ]
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£ 1.00 Booklet : 17p+4p+21p+4p+4p+17p+17p+17p in a strip (folded 3 times) - Selvedge at Top (only) [ . ]

The booklet cover for the £ 1.00 Booklet above is smaller but we have shown it in the same size as the previous booklets, resulting in the stamps seeming larger, which they are not. This comment also applies to the final two booklets shown lower down.

The two new values for 1991 also appear in a miniature sheet:

1991 : 50p miniature sheet : 4p (x2) and 21p (x2) [ . ]

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1992 : New Designs (with imprint 1992).

18p : TPO Special at Douglas (new design) [ . ]
23p : Douglas Double-Decker Horse-Car (new design) [ . ]

In the four years since these definitives were first introduced in 1988, the IOM Post Office had simply reissued stamps with new imprint dates or re-used a design but with amended face value. Curiously, at this late stage in the life of this definitive series, they chose to introduce two new designs. They were issued both in normal sheets and in a composite sheet; examples from normal sheets are shown above.

These new stamps were used for two new booklets, both produced from the same composite sheet/50.

£ 1.00 Booklet : 18p + 23p + 18p +23p +18p (once folded) - Selvedge at Top [ . ]
- ditto - Selvedge at Bottom (not seen, assumed) [ . ]

Sheet/50 composite : Five columns of 18p + 23p + 18p +23p +18p + 18p + 23p + 18p +23p +18p (Face Value £ 10.00) [ . ]
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£ 2.00 Booklet : 18p+23p+18p+23p+18p+18p+23p+18p+23p+18p in a strip (folded 4 times) - Selvedge at Top (only) [ . ]
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