Bermuda Railway

Bermuda Railway
Bermuda Railway (in red) between St. George's, Hamilton, and Somerset in Sandys Parish
Overview
Status	Partially converted to rail trail
Locale	Bermuda
Termini	St. George's Somerset
Service
Type	Common carrier
Services	2
Depot(s)	Hamilton
History
Opened	1931 (1931)
Closed	1948
Technical
Line length	21.7 mi (34.9 km)
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Route map Legend Somerset Broom Street Scott's Hill Road Sound View Road Somerset Bridge Bridge Hill White Hill George's Bay Sandys Southampton Evan's Bay Frank's Bay Church Road Black Bay Lighthouse Southampton Warwick Riddell's Bay Khyber Pass Belmont Cobb's Hill Warwick Paget Ord Road Elbow Beach Rural Hill Serpentine Road Richmond Road Queen Street Pembroke Paget Hamilton–Front Street Middle Road Hospital Tennis Stadium Racecourse Pond Hill Pembroke Devonshire Prospect Devonshire Store Hill Devonshire Smith's Flatts Aquarium Smith's Hamilton Shelly Bay Crawl Bailey's Bay Coney Island Hamilton St. George's Ferry Point Oil Docks Mullet Bay Wellington St. George's This diagram: view talk edit

The Bermuda Railway was a 21.7-mile (34.9 km) common carrier line that operated in Bermuda for a brief period (October 31, 1931 – May 1, 1948). In its 17 years of existence, the railway provided frequent passenger and freight service over its length spanning most of the archipelago from St. George's in the east to Somerset, Sandys Parish, in the west.

Construction and maintenance proved to be exceedingly costly, as the Bermuda Railway was built along a coastal route to minimize the amount of land acquisition needed for the right of way.^[1] In so doing, however, extensive trestles and bridgework were necessary. More than 10 percent of the line was elevated on 33 separate structures of timber or steel construction spanning the ocean.^[2] In addition, the proximity to the ocean made rot and corrosion a significant problem. This, along with the introduction of private automobiles to the island after World War II, would ultimately doom the line.