n the city of Ankh-Morpork the fishmongers have a problem. No-one really wants to buy what can be found in the turgid waters of the River Ankh (which would make the cooking pots of Genua look normal), but transporting fish and shellfish the 100 miles from Quirm is costly and plenty of ice is required in Summer. The same applies to everything from watercress to strawberries. Vetinari is obviously aware of the problems

The Merchants Guild three pence sponsored by the fishmongers.
Issued in the Year of the Prawn.

Dick Simnel`s family moved from Sheepridge to near Sto Lat after his father is killed in an engineering accident. It is the result of a steam boiler failure and Dick spends 10 years discovering and preventing the cause. Using slide-rules, sines and cosines, and even tangents, he perfects steam traction. Using his grandfather`s inheritance, a chest of pirate gold for finance, he builds the Iron Girder locomotive in secret.

The Sto Lat two pence stamp showing Vetinari`s bust
indicating perhaps the growing influence of the rule of
Ankh-Morpork across the towns of the Sto Plains.
This stamp was only available with the trading scheme
as part of the Wormherder package.

Havelock Vetinari is having a very uncomfortable coach journey to Uberwald. It is over 1200 miles and takes two weeks. But sometimes a little hardship is needed if you want to discuss politics, especially if in Vetinari`s case it is with Lady Margolotta. Though the Koom Valley accord has been signed some dwarfs are not happy, seeing their dwarfdom being eroded away.

Dick knows that Harry King may be the person to take his idea of a railway forward. He can certainly finance it. And for Harry it may be the opportunity of rising above the epithet of King of the Golden River. Harry brings in his troll lawyer, Mr Thunderbolt, who, seeing both of them so keen to go forward, will act for them both. A short loop of track is set up behind boards and Iron Girder takes Morporkians of all ages for a $1 a ride trip. It proves to be a big hit and soon comes to the notice of the Patrician.

Uberwald tourist postcard showing the conclusion of a
journey by coach to Lady Marolotta`s castle.

Moist von Lipwig and Adora Belle Dearheart are now living in a nice house in Scoone Avenue and even have goblin servants, but their peace is set to be disturbed. Vetinari summons Moist to the Palace for a face to face meeting. He points out that though Moist runs the Post Office, the Bank and the Mint, they are all so well oiled that he cannot actually have much to do. He has a proposition for him, and obviously it concerns the railway.

The Scoone Avenue label from the Naming of the Streets               The face to face meeting between the Penny Patrician Sinister from the
sheet. These were only available from the trading scheme               Year of the Spinning Mouse and the Penny Moist from the 10th
or as single stamps in an LBE.                     .                               Anniversary sheet.

The city has grown in recent years and a considerable number of new communities have sprung up outside the city walls. Vetinari and Moist cross the city wall near the River Gate and continue to Harry King’s empire on the far outskirts. Though he has misgivings about the railway, Vetinari gives it provisional approval. Dick provides the engineering know-how and Harry the finance. They will be equal partners in the Ankh-Morpork and Sto Helit Hygenic Railway. The city itself will have one controlling share. Moist`s task is to make sure it happens, negotiating with landowners if the railway crosses their estates. Dick Simnel unveils his locomotive - Iron Girder.

The River Gate $5 triangle stamp issued in the
Year of the Frog Ascendant

The Iron Girder Five Pence stamp
This the first Discworld railway stamp

While this is going on the deep-down dwarfs, the grags, are mobilising their troops, the delvers. In Llamedos a wedding between a man and a dwarf woman is disrupted and she is left dead. In Uberwald and even closer to Ankh-Morpork, in Sto Kerrig, clacks towers are being burned down. The leader of the insurgency seems to be Ardent who stirred up trouble during the events at Koom Valley. However, Albrecht who had challenged for the throne, is firmly on King Rhys`s side now.

The third issue One Ffyrling stamp from Llamedos still suggesting that the rain thereis persistent

The 10 pence Morporkia stamp postmarked Sto Kerrig A Clacks Tower on a Grand showing the range of the Ankh
-Morpork Post Office Trunk 3 pence surcharge stamp

The railway soon spans the 25 miles between Swinetown near Sto Lat where Dick has his workshops and Ankh-Morpork. Queen Keli of Sto Lat has the privilege of hammering in the Golden Spike, the last one to complete the track, Not only does the railway provide employment but leads to house price rises in Sto Lat as people become commuters. There has to be guards on the workshops after an attempted dwarf sabotage.
Moist is then told that the line to Quirm is a priority. Vetinari sees its potential as a mercantile weapon, ferrying goods into and out of the city. Negotiations with Quirmians will be difficult he is told by the Marquis of Aix en Pains. Land is divided between all descendants and he will need to negotiate with many who will want a high price. Instead the railway will loop round by the coast through unoccupied scrubland. Unoccupied that is apart from bandits who are ejected and goblins who are enlisted to help. But an attack on the workmen by delvers leaves many dead. Moist himself joins in the fray under influence of the infusion of a goblin infusion and kills several dwarfs. Their micromail is given to Moist.

Queen Kelirehanna on the Sto Lat two pence
stamp from the Year of the Signifying Frog

The Quirm four pence stamp shows their love
of viticulture.This stamp was only available
with the Wormherder series

.
The sport for the Year of the Spinning Mouse
Cabbage Fields stamp shows Iron Girder
pulling a train across the Sto Plains,

The grags step up operations. They have a hit list which includes Moist, Vetinari and Vimes, Rhys, the Low King is annoyed and saddened by the deaths of the railway workers. But he is out of Uberwald in discussions with Diamond, King of Trolls. Dwarfs are leaving Uberwald to live in Ankh-Morpork but the grags are busy stirring unrest there. Ardent takes his chance and takes the Scone of Stone. Messages get through to Vetinari about the situation.

Dick has been busy. He now has a new locomotive; streamlined and fast; No 2. Plans are made to deliver Rhys back to Schmalzburg from Quirm. It will be a long journey and Moist points out that the line all the way has not been completed. The bridge over the Ankh has not really even begun. Vetinari points out that Moist is employed to get things done. He does not need to know the details of the problems. From Ankh-Morpork the Low King will travel in disguise on a regular train pulled by No 2. There will be guards and member of the Watch. Vetenari`s Dark Clerks are conspicuous by being inconspicuous. Two decoy coaches with the King`s arms foil delvers holding them up. One contains Watchmen and the other Harry`s henchmen.

Rhys Rhysson, the Low King.
The Uberwald 30 Bizot stamp

The end of the regular service is at Zemphis. Here they board a train pulled by Dick`s favourite engine, Iron Girder. The micromail from the dwarf attack has been used as shielding for engine and coaches. They are ambushed passing the Paps of Scylla, but the boulders just bounce off the armour. At the (nonexistent) bridge there is a thick mist, but Moist convinces the driver to steam straight across. He has used the buried golems against Vetinari`s command that he did not want to find any evidence the Golems had been used. There is one last attack on the train, but it makes it safely into Bonk.
Rhys enters Schmaltzburg and retakes the throne with little resistance. Here he makes an announcement. Vetinari already knew, Moist had guessed, and now it is official. The Low King is actually a Low Queen called Blodwen, and is expecting a child by her secretary Aeron.

Blodwen, the Low Queen on the Uberwald 30 Bizot stamp

The Double-headed Bat on the
100 Bizlot stamp of Bonk, issued in
the Year of the Reversed Ptarmigan

Ardent will be given a fair trial but with the families of those he has bereaved taking part.. For their parts in bringing about such success it is now Sir Dick Simnel and Lord Harry King. Moist`s reward to is to continue to live. Vetinari reveals that he was aboard the train in disguise; he was the stoker who dispatched several dwarfs with his coal shovel. And no, because of the mist he saw no evidence of the forbidden use of Golems.