Bermuda Railway

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The Bermuda Railway operated for a brief period (October 31, 1931–May 1, 1948) in Bermuda. In its 17 years of existence, the railroad provided frequent passenger and freight service over its length of 21.7 miles (34.9 km), spanning most of the archipelago from St. George in the east to Somerset, Sandys Parish, 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 ten percent of the line was elevated on 33 separate structures of timber or steel construction spanning the ocean.^[1] This, along with the introduction of private automobiles to the island after World War II, would ultimately doom the line to a premature end.

Route Map of the Bermuda Railway (in red) between St. George, Hamilton, and Somerset in Sandys Parish

The Bermuda Railway was a single-track, standard-gauge line with 14 passing sidings. Construction began in 1926 but was not completed until 1931. The initial cost of construction and rolling stock purchase was about $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 railroads built, at a cost-per-mile of two million dollars.

Rolling stock consisted of gasoline-powered passenger coaches built in England in 1929-1931, a few freight cars, and two diesel locomotives.

Regular passenger service began on October 31, 1931, operating from 6 a.m. to midnight at one- to two-hour intervals, depending on the time of day. 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 railroad'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.^[1]

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 favor of bus service. After just 17 years of operation, the last train ran on May 1, 1948.

In 1984, 18 miles (29 km) of the former railroad right-of-way 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 travel guide calls one of their "Favorite Bermuda Experiences", extolling its "panoramic seascapes, exotic flora and fauna, and soothing sounds of the island's bird life".^[2]

A small Bermuda Railway museum operates at irregular hours in the old Aquarium Railway Station.

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[edit] References

^ ^a ^b Pomeroy, Colin A. (1993). The Bermuda Railway – Gone but not forgotten!. Bermuda: Bermuda Press Limited. ISBN 0-9521298-0-9.
^ Porter, Darwin, and Prince, Danforth (2002). Frommer's Bermuda 2002, p 163. ISBN 0-7645-6439-0.