Barbados Tramway Company
| Barbados Tramway Company | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Tram in Bridgetown, Barbados
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.jpg) Bridgetown Trams at Trafalgar Square
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| Route length: | 16 km |
| Gauge : | Unknown, probably 1067 mm |
The Barbados Tramway Company operated a network of horse-drawn narrow gauge - trams in Bridgetown on the island of Barbados with an unknown track of probably 1,067 mm (3 foot 6 inches ).
history
In late 1882, Scottish railroad engineer Robert Fairlie laid narrow-gauge tram tracks in Bridgetown. He had been given permission to build and operate a horse-drawn tram in Bridgetown. He then registered the Barbados Tramway Company on December 5, 1882, when the first 2 miles (3.2 km) of the St. Lawrence tram line to Hastings Rocks were completed.
The junction of the tram network was at the Lord Nelson statue in the former Trafalgar Square. The line to the south crossed the port in the Constitution River over the Chamberlain Bridge, about a block (200 m) from the terminus of the Barbados Railway , a narrow-gauge steam train that had been put into service on October 20, 1881.
The tram network consisted of five lines leading to Fontabelle, Belfield, Hindsbury, Belleville, and St. Lawrence. It had a route length of up to 16 km (10 miles). The Barbados Tramway Company operated up to 25 horse-drawn open carriages. Instead of numbers, they had names like ACTIVE, ALERT, and JUBILEE.
Petrol-powered omnibuses began to carry more and more passengers from 1907. In 1908 there were already several bus companies competing with the slower trams. Therefore, the tram company was sold to US investors in 1910 and renamed the Bridgetown Tramway Company . The American investors planned to build extensions north to Speightstown and south to Oistins Town, but their plans did not go ahead. Instead, operations ceased in 1925.
Individual evidence
- ^ The Tramways of Bridgetown Barbados
- ^ G. Pilkington: The History of the Barbados Railway. 2007.
Coordinates: 13 ° 5 ′ 48.3 " N , 59 ° 36 ′ 52" W.