Special Stamps on Gotthard Base Tunnel– Switzerland 2016
Switzerland issued a special pair of se-tenant stamps with a vignette to commemorate the opening of Gotthard Base Tunnel on 01 Jun 2016. The tunnel is the longest railway tunnel in the World with a length of 57 kilometres. It connects North (Erstfeld) of Switzerland to Bodio in the South.
Special Stamps– 28 million tonnes of material was removed from the mountains out of which 15 kilos of Gotthard rock went to Swiss Post. The Gotthard rock was ground into dust and then applied in this form to the 104 mm X 37 mm “Gottardo” special stamp using a particular kind of printing with special varnish.
The two stamps of 100 c each featuring the bridge show the relief of the Saint Gotthard Massif along with Alpine panorama and north and south portals. At each end of the tunnel stands an SBB locomotive, one in the colder north, depicted in blue, and the other in warmer south, depicted in yellow. The locomotive in North (Erstfeld) is an SBB Electric Locomotive Re 484 Cargo and locomotive in South (Bodio) is an SBB Re 460 Loco 2000.
Stamp Digest 