Bathurst Decauville Tram
| Bathurst Decauville Tram | |||||||||||||
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Concreted in Decauville tracks along a drainage canal
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 Sketch map with route, War Office, March 1909
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| Route length: | 1.9 km | ||||||||||||
| Gauge : | 600 mm ( narrow gauge ) | ||||||||||||
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The Decauville tram from Bathurst was one of 1907 until the mid-1950s, hand-operated , 1.9 km long Decauville - tram in Bathurst in British Gambia (since 1973 Banjul , capital of the West African country Gambia ).
history
The Bathurst merchants, in collaboration with the colonial administration, wanted to lay a Decauville tram system on the city's main streets. The merchants wanted to move goods faster and easier, and the colonial administration hoped to regulate the flow of traffic throughout the city by restricting them to officially approved tram lines.
The first tram tracks were laid in 1907 on Wellington Street, which ran along the coast and where the department stores were located. The merchants and the colonial administration agreed in December 1907 to split the costs 50/50. In 1908, however, the merchants decided to withdraw from the partial financing of the maintenance of the tram and suggested that the colonial administration pay for the maintenance by taxing its use, which the colonial administration then did with the 1908 Tram Ordinance.
It was first estimated that it would take £ 900 to lay the tracks and then £ 70 a year to maintain them, but after a year of laying the administration asked for an additional £ 1200. Without the originally promised capital of the merchants, not enough money could be raised for the tram, so that construction activity slowed down. Lacking financial resources, the engineers tried to save costs by laying the rails on the road surface instead of setting them in concrete. In the long run, the rails were exposed to much more wear and tear, but the colonial administration lacked the money that would have been necessary to complete a track network embedded in concrete.
When the first trucks appeared in Bathurst in 1909, the reluctance of merchants to support the tram financially increased. While the tram was an improvement on the use of handcarts and carrying goods on one's head, it was no match for the speed and efficiency of the trucks.
In 1938 the tram was in a "deplorable condition": the rails and sleepers had already broken in many places, but the colonial administration lacked the means to lay new, heavier tracks that could have handled the transport volume.
The acting director for public works wanted to abolish the tram lines on June 11, 1928 and replace the Decauville lorries with trucks. However, the customs authorities realized that this would make their demand for the collection of transport duties impossible. She feared that without the tram lines, traders would drive their handcarts in all directions, goods would escape customs clearance and thefts would increase. Fearing such chaos, the colonial administration decided to keep the tram lines and raise additional money by registering and inspecting the carts. The tram system operated at least until the mid-1950s, although the condition of the tracks had not improved.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f Matthew James Park: Heart of Banjul: The History of Banjul, The Gambia, 1816-1965. (www.docplayer.net/60649656-Heart-of-banjul-the-history-of-banjul-the-gambia-matthew-james-park.html) Michigan State University, 2016.
- ↑ Wellington Street, Bathurst (now Banjul), capital city of The Gambia (West Africa)
- ^ Wellington Street, Bathurst (Now Banjul), The Gambia. 1953.
Coordinates: 13 ° 27'15.9 " N , 16 ° 34'22.8" W.