Stann Creek Railway

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Stann Creek Railway
Stann Creek Railroad at the Maccaroni Hill quarry
Stann Creek Railroad at the Maccaroni Hill quarry
Route length: 40.2 km
Gauge : 914 mm ( English 3-foot track )
Legend
   
 km (mi)
   
 0.0 (0) Commerce Bight Opened October 17, 1908
   
 14.8 (9¼) Hope Creek Opened October 17, 1908
   
 24.5 (15¼) Macccaroni Hill, Pomona Opened March 17, 1909
   
 30.0 (18) Valley Community Opened March 4, 1910
   
 40.2 (25) Middlesex Opened March 31, 1911

The Stann Creek Railway was a 40-kilometer narrow-gauge railway operated from 1908 to 1938 from Commerce Bight to Middlesex in Belize .

prehistory

The British Honduras Syndicate opened a mule- pulled railroad from their main office in Melinda to Sacred Heart Church on the pier in Stann Creek Town in 1892 , which came in handy.

construction

The route, financed by British bonds, was built by the colonial government with the help of immigrant workers, in particular from Jamaica , for a total price of BH $ 846,140 or around £ 123,000 , which is well above budget , which is around 15 million euros when adjusted for inflation. It had a track width of 914 mm (3 feet ) and was opened in sections from October 17, 1908 to March 31, 1911. It took a few detours through the banana plantations on Melinda Road and Old Mullins River Road. The bridges were designed as steel bridges with concrete foundations.

business

Four coal-fired steam locomotives were used for operation. They were stationed at Hope Creek, mile 15, mile 21, and Middlesex.

Diesel locomotives in a banana plantation

After banana production was reduced to 5,000 tufts per week in 1924 and the United Fruit Company ceased operations, the government procured two diesel shunting locomotives that could cover the entire distance at 13 km / h (8 mph).

Beginning in 1925, the US-based Tidewater Lumber Company used the railroad to transport mahogany wood from Middlesex to the Commerce Bight pier for shipping to the United States. After the logging industry in the Stann Creek Valley fell in 1929, the railroad was still used for passenger transport in the 1930s. The United Fruit Company used the Stann Creek Railway until 1937. The track was dismantled in 1938 and reused in other locations in Belize and Jamaica.

Web links

Commons : Stann Creek Railway  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c The Stann Creek Railway (1892-1938).
  2. ↑ Banana in the Stann Creek Valley (1880's – 1937).