Leiden – Woerd

On an auction site, I came across a stamp bearing the postmark “Leiden – Woerd”. As a Leiden collector, my curiosity was piqued. I know of no post office in Leiden named “Woerd”. So where does this postmark come from?   Fucked up A street in Leiden is called Hogewoerd (formerly Hoogewoerd), where I knew a post office used to stand. On the website of the Dutch Academy of Philately http://www.nedacademievoorfilatelie.nl/index.php, I found the Leiden-Hoogewoerd stamp. That is nice, but I couldn't find “Leiden-Woerd” anywhere. I couldn't figure it out and consulted the ultimate expert on stamps, Cees Janssen. His answer came quickly: The stamp book of the Museum for Communication contains no impression of the stamp LEIDEN-WOERD. However, there are impressions of the stamp LEIDEN-WOERDEN. Leiden-Woerden In 1862, the government decided on the necessity of constructing a railway line between Scheveningen, Leiden, and Woerden. A separate railway company was established for the realization of the Leiden-Woerden section. Such a company leased the railway lines constructed by the government and bore only the costs of maintenance and the purchase of rolling stock. The connection was put into service on October 15, 1878. Such a company also transported the mail. And when mail is transported, stamps also come into play. The image of the Leiden-Woerden stamp was kindly made available by Cees Janssen. If I place the two stamps side by side, I suspect that the letters “en” from Woerden have been omitted from the stamp. My mystery is solved (again), thanks to Cees Janssen.