1901-11-16: Work on the Simplon Tunnel<br>From Wiki;<br>The Simplon Tunnel is an Alpine railway tunnel that connects the Swiss town of Brig with Domodossola in Italy, though its relatively straight trajectory does not run under Simplon Pass itself. It actually consists of two single-track tunnels built nearly 20 years apart. For more than half a century it was considered to be the longest tunnel in the world (see World's longest tunnels).<br><br>The Simplon tunnel was completed in 1906. The Italian king Victor Emmanuel III of Italy and the president of the Swiss National Council Ludwig Forrer opened the tunnel at Brig on May 10, 1906. The builders of the tunnel were Hermann Häustler and Hugo von Kager and the tunnel was 19.7 kilometers (12 mi) long. The second tube of the tunnel was opened in 1922; it was 19,824 meters (65,039 ft) long.<br><br>The tunnel was subject to major structural renovation works from 1985 to 2003 to increase its structure gauge by lowering the trackbed to accommodate rolling highway trains transporting heavy goods vehicles (HGV).<br><br>Over the weekend of 20–21 May 2006, festivities were held in the two cities principally joined by the Simplon Tunnel, Brig and Domodossola, to commemorate its centenary. The SBB issued special fare tickets for the journey to and from Brig from any point in Switzerland for people wishing to attend the celebration. Despite overcast weather, thousands came. There were displays of historic trains along the whole length of the Brig railway yard, including the modern incarnation of the famous Orient Express, the VSOE, which still operates along this main line from Paris to Vienna by way of Venice as a luxury tourist train. Free rides through the Simplon Tunnel were given every half hour and, additionally, special rides over the Simplon Pass by Postbus were given, all arriving in Domodossola where similar celebrations were being held. The Swiss Post Office issued a commemorative postage stamp for the centenary and collectors were able to get a special cancellation of the stamp on the First Day Cover.<br><br>[edit
