SPAIN.  Epelsa - Mobba issues  2OO1 46
Ferrocarriles ( 3 ). Locomotora 030, 2103 - Norte 1405 (1861) /
Railways ( 3 ). Steam locomotive 030, 2103 - "Norte" 1405 (1861)
Date of issue :
April 2001 ( 1st know date of use : 9.04.2001, Phil. Service)
47 x 27 mm. - Format type 2
Paper :
Thermal self adhesive - multicoloured 
Imprint :
Thermal on black
Imprint varieties : 6 ( Mobba and Epelsa with 4, 5 and 6 digits )
Design :
FNMT
Printer :
FNMT. Fábrica Nacional de Moneda y Timbre
Printing :
50.000.000 of labels
Click on the image to enlarge it

Third issue of the ATM set that during 2001 is dedicated to the Railways history in Spain.

The June 3rd., 1855 the Ley de Ferrocarriles ( Railroads Law ) is approved and, imbued of the spirit of economic liberalism, definitively adopted the special line wide of 1.668 mm. and introduced a new reform in the railway concessions that open them to the foreign capital. 
The first of the great railway societies that operated in Spain were the Compañía de los Caminos de Hierro del NORTE de España ( Spain North Iron ways Company ), well known as the Compañía del NORTE ( North Company ). French majority capital, its objective were to build the railway connection between Madrid and the French border of Irún, objective that was reached in 1864. Later they constructed and operated other railway sections in North Spain. 
The Compañía del NORTE made its orders of steam locomotives to French constructors, mainly Schneider & Cie, from Le Creusot, losing the English manufacturers the predominance that they had had until then. Between these orders there are 69 units of type 030 for merchandise. In Spain one of the main problems of the railway lines was the orographic difficulty, reason why they need powerful locomotives ; the series 030 and 040, with three and four axles connected respectively. 
 

The locomotive that illustrates this issue would be ; series 030, machine 2103 in the numeration of RENFE and machine 1405 in the original numeration of NORTE.

( RENFE -Red Nacional de los Ferrocarriles Españoles- was created in 1941 with the government intervention and the unification of the different private railway companies in Spain, and it assumed his railway lines, steam locomotives and other material ).

Steam locomotive Series 030.

MAXIMUM CARDS

We show here some examples of Cards with the ATM issue Railways - 3.
 

Steam locomotive 030/2413-2450 ex-Norte 1654-1689 ( 1881 )
As for the other ATM issues in Spain, there is no First Day Covers- FDCs, or commemorative cancellations.


¿ 030, 2103  /  141, 2040 ?
The first group of digits in the denomination of the locomotives makes reference to the number and disposition of axles : The first number is the front free axles ; the second, the number of connected axles ; third, the rear free axles. The second group of numbers is the numeration, that is made after the number of cylinders. Then, the locomotive 030 - 2103 mean that it's a machine with no front free axles, 3 connected axles and no rear free axles. It has 2 cylinders and his number is 103... Check the ATM !

Railways and philately

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