St. Nicholas Abbey Heritage Railway
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| St. Nicholas Abbey Heritage Railway | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 A passenger train ascending the incline to Cherry Tree Hill.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Technical | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Line length | 1.5 kilometres (0.9 mi) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Track gauge | 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
St. Nicholas Abbey Heritage Railway (SNAHR) is a 1.5 kilometres (0.9 mi) long heritage narrow gauge railway with a 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) gauge, in the parish of Saint Peter on the Eastern Caribbean island of Barbados.[2]
The railway was conceived and financed by Barbadian architect Larry Warren, the current owner of the St Nicholas Abbey estate, and completed in 2018.
Operations were inaugurated on 21 January 2019, with a diesel service, the steam locomotive still undergoing a major rebuild and overhaul at that time. The formal opening ceremony was performed on 11 March 2019 by the Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Mottley, who ceremonially tolled a locomotive bell preserved on the site, and originally attached to one of the Baldwin Locomotive Works steam engines which operated the national Barbados Railway network following its re-gauging to 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) gauge, and which operated from 1883 to 1937, but was dismantled during the second world war.
SNAHR has the same gauge as the earlier Barbados Railway. It was built in a project with a budget of 2 million Barbados Dollars (1 million US dollars, 0.86 million €). It employs up to 15 full-time staff, for which 700 applications were originally received.[3]
Route
The heritage railway runs on a balloon-shaped track from St Nicholas Abbey to the panoramic view point Cherry Tree Hill. It offers locals and tourists a 45 minute long train ride, including a stop to enjoy the panorama overlooking the sea. The railway is designed to provide a family day-out for general tourists, but also a specialist experience for railway enthusiasts, with short lectures on Barbadian railway history offered (as an optional attraction) during the stop at Cherry Tree Hill, where volunteers are also recruited to assist in turning the locomotive on the manually operated turntable.[3][4]
The main loop encircles an ornamental lake. The loop and the incline up to Cherry Tree Hill are connected by a triangle of track, permitting various permutations of operational route. The main engineering and stock storage sheds are located alongside St Nicholas Abbey station.
There are three stations on the line:
- St Nicholas Abbey Station, with shop, toilet, catering, car-parking, and engineering facilities;
- Cherry Tree Hill Station, with run-round loop, and platform with access to the road;
- Croquet Lawn Halt, adjacent to the lake and estate house (alight only) for passengers visiting the rum distillery.
.jpg)
.jpg)