Spanish Town to Ewarton railway explained

The Spanish Town to Ewarton railway was a railway in Jamaica, built to serve the citrus growing regions in the interior of Saint Catherine, particularly those around the towns of Bog Walk, Linstead and Ewarton. It operated from 1885 to 1992.

History

The of (standard gauge) track from Spanish Town to Ewarton were completed in 1885 at a cost of approximately £93,000.^[1]

The section from Linstead to Ewarton was closed in 1947.^[2] It was later reopened as far as the Bauxite processing plant just east of Ewarton.

The rest of the line closed to passengers in 1992 but it remains open for Bauxite traffic.

The Spanish Town to Bog Walk section reopened briefly for passenger traffic in 2009/10 while the A1 road through Bog Walk Gorge was closed for major repair work.^[3]

Gradients

The line climbs 700feet in (average gradient 1 in 106 or 0.0094%) from Spanish Town station (just under 1001NaN1) to its summit at Ewarton (800 feet^[4]).

Stations and Halts

There were 4 stations and 5 halts on the line:^{[5] [6]}

• Spanish Town Station (Branch Terminus)
• St. John’s Road Halt
• Angels Halt
• Crescent Halt
• Bog Walk Station
• Michleton Halt
• Linstead Station
• Sterling Castle Halt
• Ewarton Station] (Terminus)

Tunnels

There are 4 tunnels,^[6] from south to north:

• Number 1 ~100 m
• Number 2 ~160 m
• Number 3 ~110 m
• Number 4 ~665 m

Bridges

There are 7 significant bridges on the line:

• Viaduct ~70 m
• Thomas River ~15 m
• Rio Cobre ~40 m
• Viaduct (not visible in satellite imagery)
• Rio Magno Gully ~85 m
• Byndloss Gully ~20 m
• Unnamed Gully ~40 m

External links

• Jamaican train ride part 1 - Linstead to Bog Walk, Jamaicansol, youTube, 2011-08-09
• Jamaican train ride part 2 - Bog Walk - Bog Walk Tunnel, Jamaicansol, youTube, 2011-08-09
• Jamaican train ride part 2 - Bog Walk Tunnel - Angels, Jamaicansol, youTube, 2011-08-09

Notes and References

1. The Jamaica Railway 1845-1945 by H R Fox, General Manager, Jamaica Government Railway in The Railway Magazine of November & December 1945.
2. Web site: https://web.archive.org/web/20110810025732/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3884/is_200303/ai_n9209497/pg_11/ . 10 August 2011 . The rise and fall of railways in Jamaica, 1845-1975 . 11 . Journal of Transport History . March 2003 . Satchell, Veront M, Sampson, Cezley . 30 March 2019 .
3. Web site: Jamaica Train Ride - Linstead to Spanish Town (09 AUG 2011) Pt # 2. YouTube. 18 October 2014.
4. UK Directorate of Overseas Surveys 1:50,000 map of Jamaica Sheet G (1973).
5. http://www.mtw.gov.jm/general_information/reports/TransportStatisticsReport2003_2004.pdf Annual Transport Statistics Report: Jamaica in Figures 2003-2004
6. UK Directorate of Overseas Surveys 1:50,000 map of Jamaica Sheet L (1966).