The Railways of Jamaica

[rogerfarnworth]

I have just finished reading a book about the railways of Jamaica which prompted a little research on-line. Jamaica still intends to reopen its railways system.

The Railways of Jamaica

I have just enjoyed reading, ‘The Railways of Jamaica’, written by Jim Horsford. It is a Locomotives International publication, published by Paul Catchpole Ltd, St. Austel, Cornwall. [1…

rogerfarnworth.com

 

[beardedbrit]

I fondly remember a fascinating day trip from Montego Bay up into the Maroon country and the Appleton Rum Distillery back in 1982. I hadn't realized that the system had completely shut down in the 90s.

 

[Calthrop]

@rogerfarnworth -- most interesting material -- thanks. That being so: it does strike me that Jamaica is a "Marmite" kind of place -- many people are captivated by it; while many have not a great deal of use for it. I confess to being, mostly, in the latter category: re the country (though I'd be open to the possibility of "conversion", should I ever go there), and its one-time railway. The videos and the pdf are interesting, for sure: but in honesty, the Jamaican railway-as-was, still fails greatly to charm me -- though one would wish it still to be in action, rather than not !

Charles S. Small -- globetrotting American enthusiast who did his thing in sundry far-flung spots some 60 - 70 years ago, and wrote about / illustrated same in his splendid book Far Wheels (published 1959) -- plainly loved Jamaica and its railway: a chapter of the book is dedicated thereto. He tells of a 1950s journey on the daily Montego Bay -- Kingston mixed train: pleasant description of a ride through lovely tropical scenes, up to Green Vale summit and down the other side, with diverting antics en route from railwaymen and passengers. At the time of Small's journey, the system was still mostly steam-worked; from his pictures, though: to my taste drearily so, in so far as steam traction can ever be dreary -- big, lumbering, ugly 2-8-0s and 4-8-0s, 1940s-built in North America (his mixed was hauled by a USATC 2-8-0 -- brutish-looking thing, "for my money"). Sorry -- I feel dreadfully hard-to-please here; but am being "pitilessly truthful". Post and its contents genuinely highly interesting, notwithstanding ! (Trinidad, at the other end of the Caribbean -- a slightly smaller British-as-was island, also with a quite extensive standard-gauge system -- had, to my mind, a considerably more attractive steam fleet: sadly, Trinidad's railways declined and ultimately ceased to be, a good deal earlier than Jamaica's -- last line there, closed in the late 1960s.)

Can't resist saying -- perhaps a bit naughtily -- love the "caption" faux pas in the illustrations to the pdf: as mentioned, the two captions mistakenly "swapped around" -- and one of them, refers to a "Diesel Electronic Locomotive" !

 

[rogerfarnworth]

Thank you Calthrop. Always enjoy reading your reflections.

 

[Trackman]

are there still tracks in place?

 

[rogerfarnworth]

Yes. However there are places where the line has been built over and there are, so I have seen reported, places where the rails have been lifted by metal thrives and sold as scrap. I guess that Jamaica also has very rapid vegetation growth as well.

 

[theageofthetra]

Wasn't it the first ever railway built outside of Europe? Given it's historical importance it's such a shame so little has been done to preserve it.

 

[rogerfarnworth]

Very early, 1845.

 

[Meole]

I fondly remember a fascinating day trip from Montego Bay up into the Maroon country and the Appleton Rum Distillery back in 1982. I hadn't realized that the system had completely shut down in the 90s.

The Appleton Express ran as a train for another 10 years, this tourist venture now uses air conditioned coaches of course.

 

[Calthrop]

There was for a few (very few, I believe) years in the 1960s: a regular steam tourist working on the spectacular coastal section of the Port Antonio branch, called the "Banana Boat Steam Train" (ghastly name IMO). After the end of regular commercial steam working on Jamaica's railways, a pair of 4-8-0s -- Canadian-built in 1944 -- were retained: of these two, No. 54 hauled the tourist trains; her sister loco was kept to provide spares at need. Before the end of the '60s, this steam-tourist-trains scene came to an end -- I gather, under circumstances characterised by a significant amount of "sleaze" and dodgy doings, occasioning much ill-feeling. I understand that No. 54 is still in existence, at Kingston; though not on public display.

 

[The DJ]

@rogerfarnworth -- most interesting material -- thanks. That being so: it does strike me that Jamaica is a "Marmite" kind of place -- many people are captivated by it; while many have not a great deal of use for it. I confess to being, mostly, in the latter category: re the country (though I'd be open to the possibility of "conversion", should I ever go there), and its one-time railway. The videos and the pdf are interesting, for sure: but in honesty, the Jamaican railway-as-was, still fails greatly to charm me -- though one would wish it still to be in action, rather than not !

What do you mean exactly? You are talking about a reasonably propserous island nation of 2½ million people just as we are an island nation of around 60 million people. Exactly how do you "have a use" for a country. A "Marmite" kind of place? Conversion? What a bizarre post. Either you eventually intend to visit Jamaica or you have no intention of ever going there. I have no intention of ever visiting Germany, for example, but I would not think of disrespecting either the country itseolf or its people without ever having seen it. People are possibly "captivated" by Jamaica due to its climate, its friendly people and the easy going way of life. In short a total break from the normal pressures of life in the UK.

 

[Calthrop]

What do you mean exactly? You are talking about a reasonably propserous island nation of 2½ million people just as we are an island nation of around 60 million people. Exactly how do you "have a use" for a country. A "Marmite" kind of place? Conversion? What a bizarre post. Either you eventually intend to visit Jamaica or you have no intention of ever going there. I have no intention of ever visiting Germany, for example, but I would not think of disrespecting either the country itseolf or its people without ever having seen it. People are possibly "captivated" by Jamaica due to its climate, its friendly people and the easy going way of life. In short a total break from the normal pressures of life in the UK.

If my post gave personal offence to you; then I apologise. Otherwise -- in my view, if (as seems rather to be the way in which things are going nowadays) it were to become a part of generally-acknowledged good conduct, that nobody might ever express a negative opinion about anything at all, for fear of feelings being hurt: then life would be in danger of becoming overall, insipid and rather barren.

There are various parts of the world which -- on what information I have come upon second-hand -- do not appeal to me much: Jamaica is one. If I were ever to visit those places and see them first-hand, I'd be open to the possibility of liking them more than I had thought I would -- that's what I meant by the "conversion" thing.

 

[S&CLER]

Wasn't it the first ever railway built outside of Europe? Given it's historical importance it's such a shame so little has been done to preserve it.

The USA had railways from 1830 (e.g. the Baltimore and Ohio), and I remember being told by our guide in Cuba that Cuba was the first Caribbean island to have a railway and , if I recall correctly, the 8th or 9th country in the world.

 

[Calthrop]

According to David Rollinson's Railways of the Caribbean, Cuba's first rail line -- Havana to Bejucal a little way to the south -- was opened in 1837: making Cuba, per that work, the seventh country in the world to have a public railway: eleven years before its then parent country Spain. Interesting that Cuba had, thus, 1435mm gauge from the start; whereas Spain's "standard" has been 1672mm -- but gauges worldwide, have always been pretty much of a "crapshoot".