NEW YORK – On Wednesday, May 29th at 1 p.m., U.S. Rep. Grace Meng (D-Queens), joined by officials from the U.S. Postal Service and the Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA), will hold an unveiling ceremony for new postage stamps commemorating the 150th anniversary of America’s Transcontinental Railroad, and the contributions that Chinese immigrant laborers made in building it. This month marks the 150th anniversary of the railroad’s completion.

Between 1865 and 1869, approximately 12,000 Chinese laborers worked under extremely dangerous and challenging conditions to help construct the railroad which connected the United States from coast-to-coast. The Transcontinental Railroad has long been considered one of the most remarkable engineering feats of the 19th century. It reduced cross-country travel times from six months to a single week.

What:

The Transcontinental Railroad Anniversary stamp set – which includes three stamps, including one illustrating the fabled Golden Spike -- is now available for sale at post offices nationwide and at the Postal Store online at usps.com.  It will also be sold as part of the ceremony on Wednesday at MOCA.

When:

Wednesday, May 29, 2019 at 1 p.m.

Where:

Museum of Chinese in America,
215 Centre Street (between Howard and Grand Streets and one block north of Canal Street) in Manhattan.

Who:

U.S. Rep. Grace Meng; officials from the Museum of Chinese in America;
U.S. Postal Service A/Manager of Customer/Delivery Programs Ann Ko;
Larry Lee, a descendent of one of the railroad workers;
President of the National Council of Chinese Americans Haipei Shue;
Chinese American community leaders and officials from Chinese American advocacy organizations.

VISUALS:  Enlarged photos of the new Transcontinental Railroad stamps, pictures of the Chinese railroad workers, curtain rising to unveil the stamps, onsite stamp sales by uniformed postal clerks and speakers.

The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.

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