The Bermuda Railway was a common carrier line that operated in

Bermuda Bermuda is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. The closest land outside the territory is in the American state of North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. Bermuda is an ...

for a brief period (31 October 1931 – 1 May 1948). In its 17 years of existence, the railway provided frequent passenger and freight service over its length spanning most of the

archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands. An archipelago may be in an ocean, a sea, or a smaller body of water. Example archipelagos include the Aegean Islands (the o ...

from St. George's in the east to Somerset,

Sandys Parish Sandys Parish ( "sands") is one of the nine parishes of Bermuda. It is named for English aristocrat Sir Edwin Sandys (1561–1629), and hence there is no apostrophe in the name. It is located in the south west of the island chain, occupying th ...

, in the west. Construction and maintenance proved to be exceedingly costly, as the Bermuda Railway was built along a coastal route to minimize the amount of land acquisition needed for the right of way. In so doing, however, extensive trestles and bridgework were necessary. More than 10 percent of the line was elevated on 33 separate structures of timber or steel construction spanning the ocean. In addition, the proximity to the ocean made rot and corrosion a significant problem. This, along with the introduction of private automobiles to the island after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, would ultimately doom the line.

Construction

The Bermuda Railway was a single-track,

standard-gauge A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), international gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge in Europe, and SGR in East Africa. It is the ...

line with 14 passing sidings. Construction began in 1926, two years after the Bermuda government granted a 40-year charter to the Bermuda Railway Company, but was not completed until 1931. The initial cost of construction and rolling stock purchase was about B$40 million (adjusted for inflation to dollars as of 2008), a staggering sum for such a short line with limited revenue potential. It was said to be one of the most expensive rail lines built, at a cost-per-mile of B$2 million.

Operation and equipment

Rolling stock The term rolling stock in the rail transport industry refers to railway vehicles, including both powered and unpowered vehicles: for example, locomotives, Railroad car#Freight cars, freight and Passenger railroad car, passenger cars (or coaches) ...

consisted of gasoline-powered passenger coaches built by Drewry Car Co. in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

in 1929–1931, including eight self-propelled coaches powered by petrol engines and six first-class cars. The new venture also acquired a few freight cars and, during World War II, two diesel locomotives imported from the United States. Two classes of passenger accommodations were offered: first-class or "Pullman", with individual wicker chairs, and standard coaches, called "toast racks" because of their walkover seats (that is, the seat backs can be moved across the seat to face either direction of travel). Regular passenger service began between Hamilton and Somerset on 31 October 1931, operating from 6 a.m. to midnight at one- to two-hour intervals, depending on the time of day. Operations began between Hamilton and St George on 19 December 1931. Bermuda Railway trains were widely used in the 1930s by commuters, schoolchildren, and shoppers, as private automobiles were not allowed in Bermuda until 1946. Tourists in particular enjoyed the spectacularly scenic ride alongside the ocean's edge and through Bermuda's flower-covered hills. Special sightseeing excursions were run for cruise ship passengers. Following heavy usage by U.S. and British armed forces during World War II resulting from the influx of military personnel and the build-up of naval and air force facilities in Bermuda, the railway's fortunes rapidly declined after war's end. The large number of wooden trestles were found to have deteriorated significantly. Meanwhile, passenger volume fell by more than half between 1946 and 1947 on the "Rattle and Shake", as the line came to be known, due to patrons switching to automobile travel. The cost of infrastructure rehabilitation, combined with falling passenger levels and ever-increasing deficits, led the government to conclude that the Bermuda Railway should be abandoned in favour of bus service. After 17 years of operation, the last train ran on 1 May 1948. The rolling stock was later shipped to

British Guiana British Guiana was a British colony, part of the mainland British West Indies. It was located on the northern coast of South America. Since 1966 it has been known as the independent nation of Guyana. The first known Europeans to encounter Guia ...

(now Guyana), where they continued to run for several more years in the 1950s.

Legacy

In 1984, of the defunct rail line's

right-of-way A right of way (also right-of-way) is a specific route that people, animals, vehicles, watercraft, or utility lines travel, or the legal status that gives them the right to do so. Rights-of-way in the physical sense include controlled-access h ...

were dedicated as the Bermuda Railway Trail for hiking and, on some paved portions, biking. The Bermuda Tourism Department publishes a pamphlet describing the Trail's highlights, which

Frommer's Frommer's () is a travel guide book series created by Arthur Frommer in 1957. Frommer's has since expanded to include more than 350 guidebooks in 14 series, as well as other media including an eponymous radio show and a website. In 2017, the com ...

travel guide calls one of its "Favorite Bermuda Experiences", extolling its "panoramic seascapes, exotic flora and fauna, and soothing sounds of the island's bird life". A small Bermuda Railway museum operated in the old Aquarium Railway Station, just east of Flatts Village. The museum closed shortly before the death of the owner in 2011. In 2015, ''

The Railway Magazine ''The Railway Magazine'' is a monthly United Kingdom, British railway magazine, aimed at the Railfan, railway enthusiast market, that has been published in London since July 1897. it was, for three years running, the railway magazine with the ...

'' reported that two of the former Bermuda Railway freight cars still existed in

Georgetown, Guyana Georgetown is the capital (political), capital and largest city of Guyana. It is situated in Demerara-Mahaica, region 4, on the Atlantic Ocean coast, at the mouth of the Demerara River. It is nicknamed the "Garden City of the Caribbean." It is ...

, prompting calls for their possible restoration and future exhibit in Bermuda.

References

Notes

Bibliography

External links

Bermuda Railway — ''Bermuda Online''
history and photographs
Bermuda Railway Pages
history and photographs
Bermuda Dept. of Tourism
(Railway Trail page) {{Coord, 32.3590, -64.7158, region:BM, format=dms, display=title Rail trails Hiking trails in Bermuda Standard-gauge railways in Bermuda Bermuda in World War II Railway lines opened in 1931 Railway lines closed in 1948