Steam locomotives

PostNL will issue the Steam Locomotives frame stamp sheet on September 28, 2026, featuring 10 different stamps.

A steam locomotive is a train locomotive powered by a steam engine. By boiling water using fuel (usually coal), high-pressure steam is produced. This steam sets pistons in motion, which drive the wheels via a linkage system. After the use of electric trains had been rolled out throughout the Netherlands, the very last steam train ride took place in January 1958.

The stamps depict five different steam locomotives in two versions: a drawing and a photograph. The following steam locomotives are featured: the Nestor, the Blauwe Brabander, the Blikken Tinus, the Beul, and the Grote Jumbo.

A steam locomotive is a train locomotive powered by a steam engine. By boiling water using fuel (usually coal), high-pressure steam is produced. This steam sets pistons in motion, which drive the wheels via a linkage system. After the use of electric trains had been rolled out throughout the Netherlands, the very last steam train ride took place in January 1958.

The stamps depict five different steam locomotives in two versions: a drawing and a photograph. The following steam locomotives are involved.

The Nestor was built in Berlin in 1880 for the Hollandsche IJzeren Spoorweg-Maatschappij (HSM), at that time the only railway company in the Netherlands that gave names to its locomotives. Additionally, The Nestor was assigned the number 89. The locomotive is known for its wooden driver's cab. The boiler could deliver the then-high pressure of 10 atmospheres; the locomotive was designed for express train service. It could reach 90 km/h, was 14,16 meters long, and weighed 63.900 kilograms.

The Blauwe Brabander is the name of a series of locomotives built in Manchester in 1908 on commission from the Noord-Brabantsch-Duitsche Spoorweg-Maatschappij (NSDS). They were the first locomotives in the Netherlands with three coupled drive axles and a boiler pressure of 14 atmospheres. They had to be fast and able to make up for delays, as they were deployed as mail trains on the NSDS's own line via Boxtel between Vlissingen, where the mail boat from England docked, and Oberhausen in Germany. The operation of the Blauwe Brabanders was taken over in 1919 by the Maatschappij tot Exploitatie van Staatsspoorwegen , which began collaborating with the Hollandsche IJzeren Spoorweg-Maatschappij (HSM) under the name Nationale Spoorwegen (NS). The Blauwe Brabander was then assigned the number NS 3500. A characteristic feature was its dark blue color, edged with black bands and red piping. He weighed 99.900 kilograms, was 17,88 meters long, and could reach 100 km/h.

The Blikken Tinus owes its nickname to the typical sound the rattling connecting rods made at high speed. The locomotive was built in Berlin in 1914 for the HMS for high-speed international connections and was later renumbered NS 2104. The wheels were exceptionally large (2.10 meters in diameter). Because these locomotives were not easy to drive, they were also used for train driver exams. The Blikken Tinus weighed 105.000 kilograms, measured 17,73 meters, and could reach a speed of 110 km/h.

The *Beul* was built in Berlin in 1931 on commission from the NS and was given the number NS 6317. The NS had an urgent need for stronger locomotives, particularly in South Limburg, where more and more coal was being extracted from the mines. The *Beul* became the heaviest tender locomotive in Europe, but gigantic quantities of coal were needed to maintain sufficient pressure in the boiler. This meant that the stoker had to work exceptionally hard. Hence, this locomotive was nicknamed 'The Beul'. The behemoth weighed 127.000 kilos, was 17,39 meters long, and reached a speed of 90 km/h.

The Grote Jumbo (NS 3901) dates from 1929 and was built in Kassel for the NS. As more and more wooden passenger carriages were being replaced by steel carriages, locomotives with more tractive force and power were needed. In terms of the design of the boiler, cylinders, and driver's cab, it was an enlarged NS 3700 with a more powerful boiler. The cylinders were given a diameter of 420 mm instead of 400 mm. This increased both the tractive force and power by about 15 percent. Remarkably, the Grote Jumbo was also equipped with wind deflectors to prevent the wind from blowing smoke out of the chimney into the driver's view. This large locomotive weighed 147.000 kilograms, was 20,41 meters long, and could reach a speed of 110 km/h.

Railway Museum

The Nestor is a showpiece of the Railway Museum in Utrecht, and the Blikken Tinus can also be viewed there in its entirety. The Beul is part of the indoor attraction 'Stalen Monsters' and can therefore only be seen from a small cart that speeds past it. A 1:10 scale model of the Blauwe Brabander is present. The Grote Jumbo is not on display, but its smaller predecessor, the Jumbo, is.

About the designers

Jan van Mechelen is based in Rotterdam and has been working as a designer under the name ZEE for over thirty years. He works primarily for the cultural sector, but also for the business community. His clients include organizations such as Museum Boijmans van Beuningen, Conny Janssen Danst, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Heineken Building Rotterdam, Kunsthal Rotterdam, TU Delft, Nederlands Fotomuseum, Stadsherstel Historisch Rotterdam, and many individual artists. Van Mechelen previously designed the stamp sheets for PostNL: TT Assen 100 years 1925-2025 (2025), 80 years of freedom in Brabant (2024), 75 years of Solex Netherlands (2023), and Volvo Ocean Race Pitstop The Hague (2015).

Iwo Tuleya has just graduated from the Willem de Koning Academy and is based in Rotterdam. He interned with Jan van Mechelen a year and a half ago and also contributed to the TT Assen 100 Years 1925-2025 stamp sheet (2025) during that period.

Source: PostNL Press Release.