Deutsch-Ostafrika
Mittellandbahn Bahnpost b
In 1869, German missionaries established the first German presence in the territory that would become German East Africa. In 1884, the Company for German Colonization was founded by German explorer Carl Peters, and immediately began establishing treaties with local chiefs in the coastal region.
Over the next decade, the newly-founded German East Africa Company would increase German influence in the area by opening customs houses and forming agreements with local chiefs and Sultans. In the last years of the 1880s, however, Arabs opposed to the increased European presence began raiding and killing German settlers. The German East Africa Company requested assistance from the Imperial government, which quickly came in the form of ships and men under the command of newly-appointed Imperial Commissioner Hauptmann Hermann von Wissmann. Within a year, the insurrection was crushed, and in 1891, Germany acquired sovereignty over the entire territory.
The Mittellandbahn (Mid-Country Railway or Central Railway) began construction at Dar-es-Salaam in 1905, with the eventual goal of reaching Kigoma on Lake Tanganyika at the western border of the colony. The line ran through the major settlements of Morogoro, Kilossa, Dodoma, and Tabora, before construction finally reached Kigoma in 1914, just prior to the outbreak of World War I. The line cut the travel time to cover the total distance of approximately 1,250 km to just under 60 hours. The line remains in use today, and is the largest remnant of the German colonial period in present-day Tanzania.
In 1912, Bahnpost cancellers were introduced for use. Cancels were issued for Zugs 1-37, though not all saw use. Even numbers typically indicated an eastbound train and odd numbers indicated a westbound train, though exceptions are known. Letters “a”,’’ “b”, and “c” were used to indicate which conductor used the canceller.
Train of the Mittellandbahn
Postmark Information
Catalog:
- Friedemann BP 2 b
- ArGe Kolonien MITTELLANDBAHN BAHNPOST (DEUTSCH-OSTAFRIKA) b ZUG 2
Dates of Use:
-
c. 1913 to c. 1914
Notes:
-
Zug number “2” slug known in two types
Postmark Information
Catalog:
- Friedemann Unlisted
- ArGe Kolonien MITTELLANDBAHN BAHNPOST (DEUTSCH-OSTAFRIKA) b ZUG 3
Dates of Use:
-
c. 1914 to c. 1916
Notes:
-
With provisional “15” year slug – 1915
-
With provisional large “16” year slug – 1916
-
With provisional Berlin “16” year slug – 1916
Postmark Information
Catalog:
- Friedemann BP 2 e
- ArGe Kolonien MITTELLANDBAHN BAHNPOST (DEUTSCH-OSTAFRIKA) b ZUG 4
Dates of Use:
-
c. 1914
24 January 1916 (front)
24 January 1916 (rear)
Postmark Information
Catalog:
- Friedemann BP 2 d
- ArGe Kolonien MITTELLANDBAHN BAHNPOST (DEUTSCH-OSTAFRIKA) b ZUG 5
Dates of Use:
-
c. 1914 to c. 1916
Notes:
-
Zug number “5” slug known in two types
-
With provisional “15” year slug – 1915
-
With provisional large “16” year slug – 1916
-
With provisional Berlin “16” year slug – 1916
Postmark Information
Catalog:
- Friedemann BP 2 d
- ArGe Kolonien MITTELLANDBAHN BAHNPOST (DEUTSCH-OSTAFRIKA) b ZUG 7
Dates of Use:
-
c. 1913 to c. 1914
Postmark Information
Catalog:
- Friedemann BP 2 c
- ArGe Kolonien MITTELLANDBAHN BAHNPOST (DEUTSCH-OSTAFRIKA) b ZUG 8
Dates of Use:
-
c. 1914 to c. 1916
Notes:
-
Zug number “8” slug known in two types
-
With provisional “15” year slug – 1915
-
With provisional large “16” year slug – 1916
-
With provisional Berlin “16” year slug – 1916
Postmark Information
Catalog:
- Friedemann BP 2 e
- ArGe Kolonien MITTELLANDBAHN BAHNPOST (DEUTSCH-OSTAFRIKA) b ZUG 12
Dates of Use:
-
c. 1916
Notes:
-
Zug number “12” slug known in two types
- With provisional large “16” year slug – 1916
-
With provisional Berlin “16” year slug – 1916
Postmark Information
Catalog:
- Friedemann BP 2 g
- ArGe Kolonien MITTELLANDBAHN BAHNPOST (DEUTSCH-OSTAFRIKA) b ZUG 13
Dates of Use:
-
c. 1916
Notes:
-
With provisional large “16” year slug – 1916
-
With provisional Berlin “16” year slug – 1916
Postmark Information
Catalog:
- Friedemann BP 2 c
- ArGe Kolonien MITTELLANDBAHN BAHNPOST (DEUTSCH-OSTAFRIKA) b ZUG 14
Dates of Use:
-
c. 1913 to c. 1914
Postmark Information
Catalog:
- Friedemann BP 2 f
- ArGe Kolonien MITTELLANDBAHN BAHNPOST (DEUTSCH-OSTAFRIKA) b ZUG 15
Dates of Use:
-
c. 1914 to c. 1916
Notes:
-
Zug number “15” slug known in two types
-
With provisional “15” year slug – 1915
- With provisional large “16” year slug – 1916
-
With provisional Berlin “16” year slug – 1916
Postmark Information
Catalog:
- Friedemann BP 2 e
- ArGe Kolonien MITTELLANDBAHN BAHNPOST (DEUTSCH-OSTAFRIKA) b ZUG 20
Dates of Use:
-
c. 1914 to c. 1916
Notes:
-
Zug number “20” slug known in two types
-
With provisional “15” year slug – 1915
- With provisional large “16” year slug – 1916
-
With provisional Berlin “16” year slug – 1916
Postmark Information
Catalog:
- Friedemann BP 2 f
- ArGe Kolonien MITTELLANDBAHN BAHNPOST (DEUTSCH-OSTAFRIKA) b ZUG 21
Dates of Use:
-
c. 1913 to c. 1916
Notes:
-
Zug number “21” slug known in two types
-
With provisional “15” year slug – 1915
-
With provisional large “16” year slug – 1916
-
With provisional Berlin “16” year slug – 1916
Postmark Information
Catalog:
- Friedemann BP 2 e
- ArGe Kolonien MITTELLANDBAHN BAHNPOST (DEUTSCH-OSTAFRIKA) b ZUG 24
Dates of Use:
-
c. 1913 to c. 1914
Postmark Information
Catalog:
- Friedemann BP 2 g
- ArGe Kolonien MITTELLANDBAHN BAHNPOST (DEUTSCH-OSTAFRIKA) b ZUG 31
Dates of Use:
-
c. 1914
Postmark Information
Catalog:
- Friedemann BP 2 d
- ArGe Kolonien MITTELLANDBAHN BAHNPOST (DEUTSCH-OSTAFRIKA) b ZUG 34
Dates of Use:
-
c. 1913 to c. 1915
Notes:
-
With provisional “15” year slug – 1915
28 April 1916 (front)
28 April 1916 (rear)
Postmark Information
Catalog:
- Friedemann BP 2 a
- ArGe Kolonien MITTELLANDBAHN BAHNPOST (DEUTSCH-OSTAFRIKA) b ZUG
Dates of Use:
-
c. 1912 to c. 1916
Notes:
-
Zug number missing
-
With provisional “15” year slug – 1915
- With provisional large “16” year slug – 1916
-
With provisional Berlin “16” year slug – 1916
Mittellandbahn Bahnpost b
PO Information
Opened: 1 October 1910
Closed: November 1914
In 1869, German missionaries established the first German presence in the territory that would become German East Africa. In 1884, the Company for German Colonization was founded by German explorer Carl Peters, and immediately began establishing treaties with local chiefs in the coastal region.
Over the next decade, the newly-founded German East Africa Company would increase German influence in the area by opening customs houses and forming agreements with local chiefs and Sultans. In the last years of the 1880s, however, Arabs opposed to the increased European presence began raiding and killing German settlers. The German East Africa Company requested assistance from the Imperial government, which quickly came in the form of ships and men under the command of newly-appointed Imperial Commissioner Hauptmann Hermann von Wissmann. Within a year, the insurrection was crushed, and in 1891, Germany acquired sovereignty over the entire territory.
The Mittellandbahn (Mid-Country Railway or Central Railway) began construction at Dar-es-Salaam in 1905, with the eventual goal of reaching Kigoma on Lake Tanganyika at the western border of the colony. The line ran through the major settlements of Morogoro, Kilossa, Dodoma, and Tabora, before construction finally reached Kigoma in 1914, just prior to the outbreak of World War I. The line cut the travel time to cover the total distance of approximately 1,250 km to just under 60 hours. The line remains in use today, and is the largest remnant of the German colonial period in present-day Tanzania.
In 1912, Bahnpost cancellers were introduced for use. Cancels were issued for Zugs 1-37, though not all saw use. Even numbers typically indicated an eastbound train and odd numbers indicated a westbound train, though exceptions are known. Letters “a”,’’ “b”, and “c” were used to indicate which conductor used the canceller.
Postmark Information
Catalog:
- Friedemann BP 2 b
- ArGe Kolonien MITTELLANDBAHN BAHNPOST (DEUTSCH-OSTAFRIKA) b ZUG 2
Dates of Use:
-
c. 1913 to c. 1914
Notes:
-
Zug number “2” slug known in two types
Postmark Information
Catalog:
- Friedemann Unlisted
- ArGe Kolonien MITTELLANDBAHN BAHNPOST (DEUTSCH-OSTAFRIKA) b ZUG 3
Dates of Use:
-
c. 1914 to c. 1916
Notes:
-
With provisional “15” year slug – 1915
-
With provisional large “16” year slug – 1916
-
With provisional Berlin “16” year slug – 1916
Postmark Information
Catalog:
- Friedemann BP 2 e
- ArGe Kolonien MITTELLANDBAHN BAHNPOST (DEUTSCH-OSTAFRIKA) b ZUG 4
Dates of Use:
-
c. 1914
24 January 1916 (front)
24 January 1916 (rear)
Postmark Information
Catalog:
- Friedemann BP 2 d
- ArGe Kolonien MITTELLANDBAHN BAHNPOST (DEUTSCH-OSTAFRIKA) b ZUG 5
Dates of Use:
-
c. 1914 to c. 1916
Notes:
-
Zug number “5” slug known in two types
-
With provisional “15” year slug – 1915
-
With provisional large “16” year slug – 1916
-
With provisional Berlin “16” year slug – 1916
Postmark Information
Catalog:
- Friedemann BP 2 d
- ArGe Kolonien MITTELLANDBAHN BAHNPOST (DEUTSCH-OSTAFRIKA) b ZUG 7
Dates of Use:
-
c. 1913 to c. 1914
5 April 1916
Postmark Information
Catalog:
- Friedemann BP 2 c
- ArGe Kolonien MITTELLANDBAHN BAHNPOST (DEUTSCH-OSTAFRIKA) b ZUG 8
Dates of Use:
-
c. 1914 to c. 1916
Notes:
-
Zug number “8” slug known in two types
-
With provisional “15” year slug – 1915
-
With provisional large “16” year slug – 1916
-
With provisional Berlin “16” year slug – 1916
Postmark Information
Catalog:
- Friedemann BP 2 e
- ArGe Kolonien MITTELLANDBAHN BAHNPOST (DEUTSCH-OSTAFRIKA) b ZUG 12
Dates of Use:
-
c. 1916
Notes:
-
Zug number “12” slug known in two types
- With provisional large “16” year slug – 1916
-
With provisional Berlin “16” year slug – 1916
Postmark Information
Catalog:
- Friedemann BP 2 g
- ArGe Kolonien MITTELLANDBAHN BAHNPOST (DEUTSCH-OSTAFRIKA) b ZUG 13
Dates of Use:
-
c. 1916
Notes:
-
With provisional large “16” year slug – 1916
-
With provisional Berlin “16” year slug – 1916
Postmark Information
Catalog:
- Friedemann BP 2 c
- ArGe Kolonien MITTELLANDBAHN BAHNPOST (DEUTSCH-OSTAFRIKA) b ZUG 14
Dates of Use:
-
c. 1913 to c. 1914
Postmark Information
Catalog:
- Friedemann BP 2 f
- ArGe Kolonien MITTELLANDBAHN BAHNPOST (DEUTSCH-OSTAFRIKA) b ZUG 15
Dates of Use:
-
c. 1914 to c. 1916
Notes:
-
Zug number “15” slug known in two types
-
With provisional “15” year slug – 1915
- With provisional large “16” year slug – 1916
-
With provisional Berlin “16” year slug – 1916
Postmark Information
Catalog:
- Friedemann BP 2 e
- ArGe Kolonien MITTELLANDBAHN BAHNPOST (DEUTSCH-OSTAFRIKA) b ZUG 20
Dates of Use:
-
c. 1914 to c. 1916
Notes:
-
Zug number “20” slug known in two types
-
With provisional “15” year slug – 1915
- With provisional large “16” year slug – 1916
-
With provisional Berlin “16” year slug – 1916
Postmark Information
Catalog:
- Friedemann BP 2 f
- ArGe Kolonien MITTELLANDBAHN BAHNPOST (DEUTSCH-OSTAFRIKA) b ZUG 21
Dates of Use:
-
c. 1913 to c. 1916
Notes:
-
Zug number “21” slug known in two types
-
With provisional “15” year slug – 1915
-
With provisional large “16” year slug – 1916
-
With provisional Berlin “16” year slug – 1916
Postmark Information
Catalog:
- Friedemann BP 2 e
- ArGe Kolonien MITTELLANDBAHN BAHNPOST (DEUTSCH-OSTAFRIKA) b ZUG 24
Dates of Use:
-
c. 1913 to c. 1914
Postmark Information
Catalog:
- Friedemann BP 2 g
- ArGe Kolonien MITTELLANDBAHN BAHNPOST (DEUTSCH-OSTAFRIKA) b ZUG 31
Dates of Use:
-
c. 1914
Postmark Information
Catalog:
- Friedemann BP 2 d
- ArGe Kolonien MITTELLANDBAHN BAHNPOST (DEUTSCH-OSTAFRIKA) b ZUG 34
Dates of Use:
-
c. 1913 to c. 1915
Notes:
-
With provisional “15” year slug – 1915
28 April 1916 (front)
28 April 1916 (rear)
Postmark Information
Catalog:
- Friedemann BP 2 a
- ArGe Kolonien MITTELLANDBAHN BAHNPOST (DEUTSCH-OSTAFRIKA) b ZUG
Dates of Use:
-
c. 1912 to c. 1916
Notes:
-
Zug number missing
-
With provisional “15” year slug – 1915
- With provisional large “16” year slug – 1916
-
With provisional Berlin “16” year slug – 1916
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