Bicentenary of the birth of Isambard Kingdom Brunel

Isambard Kingdom Brunel was a true genius of the Industrial Age, whose vision and daring produced some of the greatest engineering wonders of Victorian Britain. To mark the 200th anniversary of Brunel’s birth Royal Mail worked with eminent Brunel historians to select six examples from his incredible portfolio of work.


1st class - Royal Albert Bridge (1854-1857). The magnificent Royal Albert Bridge, designed and built to carry the Cornwall Railway at a height of 100 feet across the waters of the River Tamar at Saltash, must surely be recognised as one of his most outstanding works. Its unique design and handsome proportions, set in an idyllic location between the hills of Devon and Cornwall, give an aura of grace and majesty all of its own. As the “Gateway to Cornwall” it forms a fitting and lasting memorial to this great Victorian engineer. The stamp features a steel engraving of the Royal Albert Bridge, Saltash by Cornish artist R T Pentreath.

40p - Box Tunnel (1836-1841). This was the most difficult engineering problem that Isambard Brunel had to solve when building the London to Bristol line. Positioned between Bath and Swindon, Box Hill consists mainly of limestone. Five miles east of Bath and still in use today, it was built to bring the Great Western Railway down to Bristol from Swindon. The first train passed through on 30 June, 1841. The stamp image is taken from a coloured lithograph West Entrance to Box Tunnel on the Great Western Railway by John Cook Bourne, 1846.

42p Paddington Station (1849-1854). Brunel was ambitious in the design of the GWR’s London terminus, which he was charged with rebuilding in 1849 to accommodate the crowds expected to converge on London for the 1851 Great Exhibition. He was asked to construct a flexible covered space without columns to accommodate the railway’s future needs and to outshine the London terminus of the GWR’s arch-rival, the Great Northern Railway, at Euston. In an age when the new railways were regarded as the acme of modernity and sources of future prosperity for provincial cities and towns, public interest in Brunel’s daring schemes for the GWR was intense. The stamp image is a photograph taken by York and Son between 1870 and 1890.

47p PSS Great Eastern (1858). The Great Eastern was designed by Brunel. She was the largest ship ever built at the time of her launch, and had the capacity to carry 4,000 passengers around the world without refuelling. She would only be surpassed in length in 1899 (by the SS Oceanic), and in tonnage in 1901 (by the SS Celtic). She was built in partnership with an experienced ship designer, John Scott Russell. Unknown to Brunel, Russell was in financial difficulties, and the two men disagreed on many details. It was Brunel’s final great project, as he collapsed after being photographed on her deck, and died a few days later. She was built by Messrs Scott, Russell & Co. of Millwall, London, the keel being laid down on May 1, 1854. She was launched on January 31, 1858. She was 692 feet (211 m) long, 83 feet (25 m) wide, 60 feet (18 m) deep (draught was 20 ft (6.1 m) unloaded and 30 ft (9.1 m) fully laden) and weighed 32,000 tons (her tonnage was 18,915). Little is known about this image apart from the fact that it is dated around 1860.

60p - Clifton Suspension Bridge (1831-1864). The story of the Clifton Suspension Bridge, spanning the Avon Gorge, began in 1754 with the dream of a Bristol wine merchant, who left a legacy to build a bridge over the Gorge. A competition in 1829 was held to find a design, being judged by Thomas Telford, the leading civil engineer of the day. Telford rejected all the designs and submitted his own but the decision to declare him the winner was unpopular and a second competition was held in 1830. Isambard Kingdom Brunel, only 24 at the time, was eventually declared the winner and appointed project engineer – his first major commission. The image is taken from the lithograph Clifton Suspension Bridge by G Childs, after a sketch by S Jackson circa 1834.

68p - Maidenhead Bridge (1838). Maidenhead Railway Bridge carryied the main line of the Great Western Railway over the River Thames in Maidenhead, Berkshire. The railway is carried across the river on two brick arches, which at the time of building were the widest and flattest in the world. Each span is 128 feet (39 m), with a rise of only 24 feet (7 m). The Thames towpath passes under the right-hand arch (facing upstream), which is also known as the Sounding Arch, because of its spectacular echo. As built, Maidenhead Railway Bridge carried two lines of Brunel’s broad gauge track. Subsequently the bridge has been widened, and now carries the four lines of standard gauge track that make up the Great Western Main Line out of London Paddington Station. The image is taken from a colour lithograph of the Maidenhead Bridge by John Cook Bourne.

Stamp Issue: 2006-02-23

Stonecutters Bridge

Stonecutters Bridge straddles the Rambler Channel at the entrance to the Kwai Chung Container Port. The approaches from Stonecutters Island on the east and Tsing Yi Island on the west are located near Container Terminals 8 and 9, respectively, and the connection forms a major part of the section of Route 8 between Tsing Yi and Cheung Sha Wan. Construction commenced in 2004 for commissioning in December 2009 after completion of the bridge deck in April 2009. Hongkong Post issues a set of special stamps to recognize this new icon of Hong Kong.

The dual 3-lane bridge is 1,596 metres long with a main span measuring 1,018 metres, the second longest cable-stayed span in the world. Supported by 224 cables running from two circular tapered towers of almost 300 metres in height, the bridge provides a navigation channel with 73.5 metres vertical clearance and 900 metres horizontal clearance for the safe passage of mega container vessels.

The bridge design is based on the winning entry of an international bridge design competition organised by the Highways Department in 2000. The two towers are constructed of steel and concrete with a stainless steel skin covering the upper portion. This unique composite design gives the bridge a modern look, echoing Hong Kong’s image as a cosmopolitan city in Asia.

The stamps showcase the splendour of the bridge from various angles — an upward view of the lofty girders and the tower ($1.40); a long shot illustrating the architectural ingenuity of this magnificent structure ($2.40); a view from sea level of the hustle and bustle of the container port under the bridge ($3); and a bird’s eye perspective of the tower demonstrating the beauty of the stay cables unfolding fanlike along its length ($5). Against the azure sky and the sapphire sea, birds glide over the bridge which stands majestically across the channel, busy with land and marine traffic, presenting a harmonious integration of technology into the environment.

Stamp Issue: 2009-12-17

The 50th Anniversary of Diplomatic Relations between Korea and Brazil

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Korea and Brazil. Over the past half a century, the two countries have engaged in very active exchanges and cooperation in various areas such as the economic, social, and cultural fields. In celebration of this 50th anniversary, Korea Post and its Brazilian counterpart ECT (Empresa Brasileira de Correios e Telegrafos) are issuing a set of joint stamps featuring bridges, hoping that through these bridges, the two countries located at the opposite sides of the globe can connect together and take a leap forward with each other.

Opened in October 2009, the Incheon Bridge is 18.5km long. Is the longest bridge in Korea and World’s No. 6 in length. The bridge is composed of various types of bridges such as cable-stayed bridge, arch bridge, viaduct, and extra-dosed bridge. The main tower is 238.5m high, and the cable-stayed section of the bridge extends 800 meter to become the 5th longest cable-stayed bridge in the world. Connecting Incheon International Airport with Songdo International City in Incheon, the bridge is expected to contribute to balanced regional development of Korea and to serve as a gateway that connects Korea with the world.

Octavio Frias de Oliveira Bridge is highly lauded as a beautiful bridge in architectural and aesthetic terms. The main towers that cross in an X shape support two curved roads. Opened in 2008 as a cable-stayed bridge, it is 1,600m long and 138m high. Connecting Journalist Roberto Marinho Avenue with the Rio Pinheiros Highway, the bridge significantly contributes to reducing traffic congestion in the region by accommodating 8,000 or so vehicles per hour, and is largely responsible for transforming the region into a tourist attraction.

Stamp Issue: 2009-10-30

Inaguration of the Seto Ohashi Bridge

The Seto Ohashi Bridge connecting Honshu (mainland) and Shikoku (large island in the Seto Inland Sea) is inaugurated on April 10, 1988. The bridge is 9.4 kilometers long, made up of six branch bridge across 8 small islands. It is a two-storied bridge; the upper for automobiles and the lower for rail ways. The bridge seen from both ends is depicted on a se-tenant strip of four.

Stamp Issue: 1988-04-08

Opening of Oh-Naruto Bridge

The Oh-Naruto Bridge is in the Honshu-Shikoku Conjunction Route, build over the faumos whirlpools of the Naruto Straits. The bridge is 876 meters main spain and 1,629 meters long. This is the suspension bridge largest in Asia and the 10th largest in the world. As a road-railway bridge, it is the largest in the world.

Stamp Issue: 1985-06-07

Technical Monuments – Bridge Kráľová at Senec

The bridge over the Čierna Voda river, on the road from Krmeš to Kráľová , was built in 1904. This type of bridge has a skeleton of stone, filled out with burnt bricks, and an artistic stone railing designed like a balustrade. The bridge had its stone predecessor from the 18th century.

The Italian constructors and stone-masons used some original Baroque material for its construction - mainly the stone balustrade. From the artistic point of view, this balustrade fully matches the fencing between the parsonage and the adjacent house. The bridge features Baroque and Art Noveau elements, but its style is best described as Neo-Baroque. Below the mansion was a wooden bridge till 1900. This bridge is a technical monument with artistic elements, secondarily registered as city planning and a historic monument. The bridge is set on four bearing rectangular pillars, spanning the river in three ellipsoid arks, the bridge-body ends in approximately 100 cm high pillars. Both ends of the bridge are filled with material from the road to the bank. The bridge is historic, associated with the Pálffy-clan in this location. The Pálffy-clan gradually allowed an extensive exemplary agricultural-industrial complex to be built - the modified mansion in Kráľová and the bridge connecting the closer surroundings on the right riverbank with the park and land behind the river on the left bank. Following the death of the last owner, Ján Pálffy, and the end of World War I, this complex started to be broken up: the land and parks were divided, and the bridge which was originally inside the mansion area ended up free standing. The original park-bridge became a road-bridge connecting the two local parts. The dimensions of the bridge: length - 4009 cm, bridge body width - 602 cm, road width - 470 cm, height of highest point above middle-ark - 680 cm.

The First Day Cover shows the Baroque stone bridge over the rivulet Sikenica in Bátovcie from 1780. The FDC Cancellation shows the Gothic bridge in Dravce.

Stamp Issue: 2007-09-05

Historical bridges - Wooden bridge in Kluknava

The wooden bridges were started to be built in the 13th century. Wood however remained the main building material till the 19th century. Only few of the noteworthy roofed wooden bridges, which were situated in Slovakia, were preserved.

The only preserved Slovak wooden covered bridge is the bridge across Hornád river in Kluknava in the local part called Štefanská Huta. It originated in 1832. Its construction is 27 m long and 3.4 m wide. The bridge in Kluknava was built for the transport of the building material for the factory construction in Štefanská Huta. It was never more seriously damaged, neither repaired.

The shingled covering and side boarding were renewed in 1832 - just hundred years after the bridge construction. In 1981 an extensive reconstruction of the bridge begun by its total dismantling. The bridge of Kluknava is according to the experts called the pride of the Slovak wooden covered bridges.

Stamp Issue: 2000-09-14

The Sturovo-Ostrihom Bridge

The Sturovo-Ostrihom Bridge, originally the Bridge of Maria Valeria, was built in 1895 as the third of the series of bridges dedicated to the Habsburg Dynasty at the Hungarian bank of the Danube river.

After the laying up because of destruction, the bridge was being reconstructed from 1919 up to 1927, but later ruined again at Christmas in 1944 as retraining German troops blew the three middle parts of the bridge up, whereupon the two supporting pillars were seriously damaged.
This war torso persisted at the Danube river for 56 years until the Slovak Republic and Hungary signed the international agreement on common restoration with the crucial financial help of EU.

The Sturovo-Ostrihom Bridge will enable constant connections across the border and contribute to the socio-economic development of contiguous Danube regions. At the same time, this work of renovation becomes a stable symbol of connecting and unifying of the European nations.

Stamp Issue: 2001-10-11

Anghel I. Saligny – 155 Years since his Birth

With the occasion of celebrating 155 years from the birth of a Romanian genius - Anghel I. Saligny, within the annual theme ROMANIAN POSTAGE STAMP DAY, Romfilatelia honors this event with the introduction into circulation of the postage stamps issue “Anghel I. Saligny – 155 Years since his Birth”.

The railroad line Adjud - Tg. Ocna with the first combined bridges in the country – highway and railway (1881-1882), the first grain silos in the world made of reinforced concrete in Braila and Galati (1888-1889), the bridge over Siret from Cosmesti (1888), the bridges complex in Fetesti-Cernavoda, the longest in Europe (1895), the arrangement of the harbor in Constanta (1889-1909), these are a few of the engineering works left by a famous Romanian: Anghel I. Saligny.

His father, Alfred Saligny, native from Alsacia has established before 1859 in Romania, Focsani, where he opened a boarding school – private education institution destinated to the young people whose parents with a high living standard wished their children to get consistent knowledges in the domains of literature and French language, in which he also had the position of teacher.

After the Union of the Romanian Principalities, the foreigners were asked to declare whether they wanted to become Romanian citizens, which Alfred Saligny done; so that his children as well: Anghel, Alfons and Sofia have acquired the Romanian citizenship.

One of the founders of the Romanian engineering, Anghel I. Saligny was born on 1854 at Serbanesti, in the county of Galati.

The primary school was attended at his father’s boarding school in Focsani. After finishing the secondary school in the same city, he attended the high school courses in Germany, Postdam together with his sister, Sofia.

In the period of 1870-1874 he studied the engineering within the Superior Technical School in Charlottenburg. He worked, under the supervision of professor G. Mahrtens, at the construction of the Cottbus-Frankfurt railway on Oder, and between the years 1877-1879, under the supervision of Gh. Duca, he worked at the construction of the Ploiesti-Predeal railway.
With the name of Anghel I. Saligny are related world premières in the field of construction engineering.

The most important work of the Romanian engineer, unanimously acknowledged, is the construction of the bridge complex at Fetesti-Cernavoda, which on its inauguration date was the longest bridge in Europe and the third in the world and also one of the metallic bridges with a wide opening in the world. In the accomplishment of this complex of bridges, Saligny has brought two great innovations: the new system of cantilever beams for the structure of the bridge and the use of soft steel instead of ball iron as construction material for the bridge decks.

The bridge that until 1976 will wear the name of King Charles I (renamed afterwards Eng. Anghel Saligny) has been built between the years 1890-1895. It has been inaugurated on September 26th 1895 by the Romanian monarch who wished to drive in the last silver rivet.

Being fully convinced of the durability of the bridge, Anghel I. Saligny stayed with the workers in a boat, under the bridge, while the first merchandise set of cars and a train with guests specially arrived from Bucharest passed upon it.

The complex of bridges, with a length of almost 4090 m, is formed of the bridge over the Danube (with an openings of 190 m and other four openings of 140 m, near a viaduct with 15 openings of 60 m, at 30 m over the Danube waters) and the bridge over the river arm Borcea (with three openings of 140 m, a viaduct with 11 openings of 50 m and a viaduct with 34 openings of 42 m).

18 centuries after the construction of the bridge of Apolodor in Damask, the banks of the Romanian Danube were again united by the bridge of Anghel I. Saligny.

Another two constructions of Anghel Saligny have been world-wide awarded, i.e. the reinforced steel silos in Braila and Galati. The silos, projected and constructed by Saligny in 1888 and 1889 had the capacity of 25000 tons of grains and the dimensions of 30 x 120 m at the base and 18 meters height. The walls of the hexagonal cells of the silos have been carried out in world premiere as well, of ground manufactured pieces, with form of plates. The prefabrication of the ground plates, the bracing and joint corners, the welding of the metallic bars and the mechanization on the assembling have represented another world - wide priorities.

A work which also bears the engineering signature of Saligny is the setting up of the Constanta harbor, which has been carried out between the years of 1889-1909. At the Constanta harbor, Saligny introduced for the first time in Romania the piles and the etched copper - plates made of reinforced concrete in the harbor constructions.

Today, in Romania when we speak about poetry, we say Eminescu, when we speak about sculpture we look towards Brâncusi, when we speak about music we hear the strings of Enescu´s violin, when we are in the plane which carries us over the clouds we think of Vuia and Coanda, and when we speak about bridges and cross over the Danube to the Romanian beaches, we remember Anghel Saligny.

Stamp Issue: 2009-07-30

40 Years of Diplomatic Relations Singapore-Philippines

To commemorate the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Singapore and the Philippines, Singapore Post and Philippines Post will release a joint stamp issue featuring five significant bridges in Singapore and the Philippines. The theme, ‘Bridges’ is chosen to signify the strong, multi-faceted ties between both countries.


The 80-cents stamp depicts the Henderson Waves and Alexandra Arch, bouth found along the Southern Ridges, were opened in May 2008. Presently Singapore's highest pedestrian bridge, standing at 36m above the Henderson Road. The Henderson Waves connects Mount Faber Park to Telok Blagah Hill Park, while the smaller bridge Alexandra Arch, connects Kent Ridge Park to Telok Blagah Hill Park via the Flora Walk.

The Cavenagh Bridge built in 1868, featured on the $0.65 stamp is the oldest bridge on the Singapore River. Built to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the founding of the Crown Colony of the Straits Settlement, it was converted to a pedestrian bridge.


The Bamban Bridge featured on the 1st local stamp, crossing the Sacobia-Bamban River system, along the MacArthur Highway between Mabalacat, Pampanga and Bamban, Tarlac, is one of the modern and sleek-looking bridges in the Philippines. The bridge’s arch has a span of 174 metres and contains 1,400 tons of steel. Completed around 1998, it is the longest bridge of its type in the world.

The Marcelo Fernan Bridge depicted on the $1.10 stamp is an extradosed cable-stayed bridge located in Metro Cebu. It spans across Mactan Channel connecting Cebu Island to Mactan Island. Opened in August 1999. The bridge has a total length of 1237 metres with a centre span of 185 metres. This bridge is one of the widest and longest bridge span in the Philppines, and is named after Senator Marcelo Fernan from Cebu City.

Stamp Issue: 2009-08-28