Bog Walk to Port Antonio railway

The Bog Walk to Port Antonio railway was a railway in Jamaica built to serve the banana, cacao, citrus and coconut districts of St Catherine, St Mary and Portland.[1]

Bog Walk to
Port Antonio railway
km
Main line to Spanish Town
0.0
 Bog Walk
0.2
Rio Cobre Bridge (
40 m
44 yd
)
0.5
Bog Walk Junction
Main line to Ewarton
0.6
250' contour
8.1
500' contour
8.5
 Crawle Halt
10.3
 Riversdale
11.9
Riversdale Tunnel (
130 m
142 yd
)
13.1
 Harewood Halt
14.4
Harewood Tunnel (
200 m
219 yd
)
14.6
Darling Spring Tunnel (
160 m
175 yd
)
14.8
 Darling Spring Halt
15.7
B2 & River Doro Bridge (
30 m
33 yd
)
17.3
 Troja
17.6
750' contour
18.6
Cromwell Mountain #1 Tunnel (
70 m
77 yd
)
18.8
Cromwell Mountain #2 Tunnel (
90 m
98 yd
)
19.1
Cromwell Mountain #3 Tunnel (
160 m
175 yd
)
19.4
Cromwell Mountain #4 Tunnel (
145 m
159 yd
)
19.6
Cromwell Mountain #5 Tunnel (
180 m
197 yd
)
20.0
Cromwell Mountain #6 Tunnel (
285 m
312 yd
)
20.4
750' contour
20.6
Cromwell Mountain #7 Tunnel (
215 m
235 yd
)
21.3
 Taja Halt
21.5
750' contour
21.6
Taja Tunnel (
245 m
268 yd
)
22.1
750' contour
22.8
Flint River Tunnel (
90 m
98 yd
)
23.5
500' contour
24.2
Bridge #1 (
20 m
22 yd
)
24._
Flint River Bridge #2
24._
Flint River Bridge #3
24.7
500' contour
25.0
Richmond Tunnel (
270 m
295 yd
)
25.4
500' contour
25.8
 Richmond
26.0
Orange River Bridge (
25 m
27 yd
)
26.6
500' contour
28.6
750' contour
29.1
 Highgate
29.4
Highgate Junction
30.2
750' contour
31.3
500' contour
34.2
 Baughs Halt
35.4
 Esher
36.1
 Albany
37.5
250' contour
39.1
100' contour
41.6
50' contour
44.5
 Belfield Halt
43.6
Wagwater Bridge (
combined
road & rail
)
 Grays Inn Halt
 Fort George Halt
Pencar River Bridge (
combined
road & rail
)
 Annotto Bay
Dry River Bridge (
combined
road & rail
)
 Fort Stewart Halt
 Windsor Castle Halt
White River Bridge (
combined
road & rail
)
Buff Bay River Bridge (
combined
road & rail
)
 Buff Bay
 Spring Garden Halt
Spanish River Bridge (
combined
road & rail
)
 Orange Bay
Rock Hill Tunnel (
150 m
164 yd
)
Hope Bay #1 Tunnel (
225 m
246 yd
)
Hope Bay #2 Tunnel (
50 m
55 yd
)
Hope Bay #3 Tunnel (
100 m
109 yd
)
Swift River Bridge (
combined
road & rail
)
 Hope Bay
 Robertson's Halt
 Saint Margaret's Bay
Rio Grande Bridge (
combined
road & rail
)
 Snow Hill Halt
 Passley Gardens Halt
 Norwich Halt
87
 Port Antonio
km

Construction, operation and closure

The railway operated from 1896 to 1978. It was temporarily closed from 1975 to 1977.[2] The line was 54 miles (87 km) long.[3]

Gradients

The ruling gradient was 1 in 63 with the line climbing approximately 550 feet (170 m) in 18 miles (29 km) (average gradient 1 in 173) from Bog Walk (approximately 250 feet (76 m)) to its summit at Highgate (approximately 800 feet (240 m)) then descending approximately 750 feet (230 m) in just 9 miles (14 km) (average gradient 1 in 63) to the Wag Water Bridge (just above sea level) and continuing for another 27 miles (43 km) more or less on the level and along the coast to Port Antonio.[4]

Stations and Halts

There were 13 stations and 15 halts:[4]

Buff Bay Station in 1960.

Tunnels
Rear of a train entering a tunnel near Troja c1896.

There were 17 tunnels:[4]

TunnelApproximate length
Riversdale150 metres (160 yards)
Harewood150 metres (160 yards)
Darling Spring200 metres (220 yards)
Cromwell Mountain #175 metres (82 yards)
Cromwell Mountain #2270 metres (300 yards)
Cromwell Mountain #3150 metres (160 yards)
Cromwell Mountain #4100 metres (110 yards)
Cromwell Mountain #5150 metres (160 yards)
Cromwell Mountain #6200 metres (220 yards)
Cromwell Mountain #7175 metres (191 yards)
Taja250 metres (270 yards)
Flint River250 metres (270 yards)
Richmond150 metres (160 yards)
Rock Hill150 metres (160 yards)
Hope Bay #1225 metres (246 yards)
Hope Bay #250 metres (55 yards)
Hope Bay #3100 metres (110 yards)

Bridges

There were ten significant bridges.[4] Approximate bridge lengths[6] are shown in the route diagram to the right.

Bibliography
  • Satchell, Veront M & Sampson, Cezley (2003), The rise and fall of railways in Jamaica 1845-1975, The Journal of Transport History
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See also
  • Railways of Jamaica

Notes and references
  1. Satchell & Sampson 2003, p. 6
  2. Satchell & Sampson 2003, p. 7
  3. Table 3.5 Mileage for JRC Stations, Halts & Sidings in relation to the Kingston Railway Terminus Archived March 15, 2013, at the Wayback Machine, Annual Transport Statistics Report: Jamaica in Figures 2003-2004, Ministry of Transport and Works, July 2005.
  4. UK Directorate of Overseas Surveys 1:50,000 map of Jamaica Sheets K, L & M c1970.
  5. Google satellite image resolution is at present insufficient to show this station/bridge.
  6. Bridge lengths were obtained using Wikimapia's GeoTools.

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