THE TRAMWAYS OF KINGSTON - JAMAICA TOURIST ISSUE 14
Tramways were common throughout the industrialized world in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and charming streetcars are still a familiar sight in many cities around the world. A rail-borne vehicle of lighter weight and construction than a conventional railway car, tramcars operate on tracks that primarily run on streets, are designed for the transport of passengers and, very occasionally, freight between villages and towns. In addition to boasting one of the first railroads in the Americas, Kingston and its surrounding area enjoyed an extensive tramline network back in the ‘good ole days’.
Located approximately 100 miles south of Cuba and the same distance west of Haiti, Jamaica is about 50 miles wide and 150 miles long. A British colony from 1655, Jamaica became a province in the Federation of the West Indies in 1958 and a fully independent country in 1962. The nation’s affiliation with the Commonwealth has brought many modern advances to the island through the years, including in the area of transportation.
The first railway on the island opened in 1845, making Jamaica the second British colony in the world to boast a railway. Called the Western Jamaica Connecting Railway, it was one of the first railroads in the Americas, preceded only by railway lines in the United States, Canada and Cuba. The 12 mile steam locomotive railroad ran between the capital Kingston and Spanish Town serving the Kingston parish population of around 50,000 people.
In 1876, The Jamaica Street Car Company inaugurated the country’s first public tram system. Acquired from the John Stephenson Company in New York, its horse powered tram vehicles circled the central area of Kingston from Rae Town in the east, May Pen cemetery in the west to Constant Spring 6 miles north of the city.
Two decades later, in 1897, the Canadian registered West India Electric Company (WIEC) purchased the horse tramway and began electrifying Kingston’s first line. WIEC’s president was an officer of the Montreal Street Railway Company, and probably played an important role in the supply of Kingston’s first 30 electric trams, which were similar to the open tram cars that ran in Montreal in the 1890s.
The electric tram cars ran in both directions down a single track in the centre of the street for most of the route with a track gauge of 56 1/2 inches. Obviously, when two trams going in opposite directions met, they had to have some way to pass. In certain places there were two tracks and, Jamaica being a British colony, the streetcars passed each other on the left side. Passenger cars were given even numbers such as 10, 12, 14 and the different routes were identified by colored lights and destination boards on the ends and sides of the roof, just like in Montreal.
WIEC’s trams did good business transporting people and produce from rural areas to the Kingston markets. Extra cars were placed on the Constant Spring and Hope Gardens lines to serve the city’s markets. These cars were called the ‘Market Women’s Car’.
Tram cars for goods bore uneven numbers (11, 13, 15) and in the early years of the 20th century, the United Fruit Company ran banana trains over WIEC tracks from Constant Spring to Jubilee Market. Initially pulled by electric locomotives, the cars were later attached to WIEC's electric trams.
Disaster struck on January 14, 1907, a regular hot, sunny day without a cloud in the sky. At 3:32 pm, it was business as usual in the city of Kingston when suddenly, the sound of mighty rushing winds and roaring was heard. The earth began to shake violently and within 20 seconds, hundreds lay dead or dying beneath mounds of rubble and dust. By 3:33 pm three shocks had been felt. Every building in Kingston sustained damage, and many of the edifices in the lower part of the city were completely destroyed. The 1907 earthquake took 800 lives and damaged large sections of the Kingston tramway system.
The 1920s brought new prosperity to the city and a new operator to the tramway system. In 1923, the WIEC was absorbed by a new Canadian organization, Jamaica Public Service Company, which thereafter provided all electric utilities on the island. By 1924, The McGraw Electric Railway Directory reported 39 passenger motor cars (a tram with a motor and trolley pole on the roof that draws current from the overhead wire), 1 motor service car (possibly a fancy parlor car used by company staff), 1 motor freight car (a tram with a motor and pole that carries cargo, merchandise, and produce, but not passengers), 6 freight cars (a tram that carries cargo but has no motor and must be hooked onto a motor car) and 2 locomotives operating on 26.62 miles of track in Kingston.
By 1933, The World Survey of Foreign Railways recorded 44 passenger motorcars, 5 passenger trailers (a tram car without power which is hooked behind a motor car in order to carry extra passengers) and 2 freight trams running on 43 kms of track in Kingston. Business must have been good, as the numbers show that the length of the tracks had been expanded and many more passenger vehicles had been acquired after 1907, although no orders are recorded by US or Canadian builders.
Unfortunately, the Jamaica Public Service Co. closed the Kingston tramway system in 1948, claiming that they could not afford to maintain the network or construct the needed track extensions. Company records indicate that the Rockfort Gardens line continued its operation for several months after the closure of the other lines, due to public protest.
By the mid-20th century, the trams had disappeared from most British, Canadian, French and US cities. The Kingston tramway system was unusual in that all its passenger cars remained identical and unchanged throughout their existence. Superbly maintained, they were all sold for scrap in 1949. What a shame that not one of these magnificent vehicles – 50 years old, but as good as new – was preserved! The information and images for this article were generously supplied by Allen Morrison.
ALLEN MORRISON TRANSPORT HISTORIAN
Allen Morrison grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio, and took great pleasure in riding tramcars to school before they were replaced by buses. After living in Paris, Morrison obtained a Ph.D. in French language and literature at Columbia University in New York, where he has worked as a Professor for many years and resides to this day.
Morrison’s old fascination with trams was reignited on a trip to Mexico, which was to inspire 17 trips to research tramways in Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean and South America. An avid collector of old postcards featuring trams, his archive currently counts over 5,000. Morrison published an illustrated history of the tramways of Brazil in 1989, a similar volume on Chile in 1992, and a large album of photographs of Latin America tramways in 1998. A Spanish-language edition of his Chilean volume was published in 2008. Since 1998, Morrison has maintained more than 1,300 internet pages on the subject, including more than 2,700 photographs and 100 maps (www.tramz.com and www.tramz.com/jm/ki.html for the Kingston page).
Located approximately 100 miles south of Cuba and the same distance west of Haiti, Jamaica is about 50 miles wide and 150 miles long. A British colony from 1655, Jamaica became a province in the Federation of the West Indies in 1958 and a fully independent country in 1962. The nation’s affiliation with the Commonwealth has brought many modern advances to the island through the years, including in the area of transportation.
The first railway on the island opened in 1845, making Jamaica the second British colony in the world to boast a railway. Called the Western Jamaica Connecting Railway, it was one of the first railroads in the Americas, preceded only by railway lines in the United States, Canada and Cuba. The 12 mile steam locomotive railroad ran between the capital Kingston and Spanish Town serving the Kingston parish population of around 50,000 people.
In 1876, The Jamaica Street Car Company inaugurated the country’s first public tram system. Acquired from the John Stephenson Company in New York, its horse powered tram vehicles circled the central area of Kingston from Rae Town in the east, May Pen cemetery in the west to Constant Spring 6 miles north of the city.
Two decades later, in 1897, the Canadian registered West India Electric Company (WIEC) purchased the horse tramway and began electrifying Kingston’s first line. WIEC’s president was an officer of the Montreal Street Railway Company, and probably played an important role in the supply of Kingston’s first 30 electric trams, which were similar to the open tram cars that ran in Montreal in the 1890s.
The electric tram cars ran in both directions down a single track in the centre of the street for most of the route with a track gauge of 56 1/2 inches. Obviously, when two trams going in opposite directions met, they had to have some way to pass. In certain places there were two tracks and, Jamaica being a British colony, the streetcars passed each other on the left side. Passenger cars were given even numbers such as 10, 12, 14 and the different routes were identified by colored lights and destination boards on the ends and sides of the roof, just like in Montreal.
WIEC’s trams did good business transporting people and produce from rural areas to the Kingston markets. Extra cars were placed on the Constant Spring and Hope Gardens lines to serve the city’s markets. These cars were called the ‘Market Women’s Car’.
Tram cars for goods bore uneven numbers (11, 13, 15) and in the early years of the 20th century, the United Fruit Company ran banana trains over WIEC tracks from Constant Spring to Jubilee Market. Initially pulled by electric locomotives, the cars were later attached to WIEC's electric trams.
Disaster struck on January 14, 1907, a regular hot, sunny day without a cloud in the sky. At 3:32 pm, it was business as usual in the city of Kingston when suddenly, the sound of mighty rushing winds and roaring was heard. The earth began to shake violently and within 20 seconds, hundreds lay dead or dying beneath mounds of rubble and dust. By 3:33 pm three shocks had been felt. Every building in Kingston sustained damage, and many of the edifices in the lower part of the city were completely destroyed. The 1907 earthquake took 800 lives and damaged large sections of the Kingston tramway system.
The 1920s brought new prosperity to the city and a new operator to the tramway system. In 1923, the WIEC was absorbed by a new Canadian organization, Jamaica Public Service Company, which thereafter provided all electric utilities on the island. By 1924, The McGraw Electric Railway Directory reported 39 passenger motor cars (a tram with a motor and trolley pole on the roof that draws current from the overhead wire), 1 motor service car (possibly a fancy parlor car used by company staff), 1 motor freight car (a tram with a motor and pole that carries cargo, merchandise, and produce, but not passengers), 6 freight cars (a tram that carries cargo but has no motor and must be hooked onto a motor car) and 2 locomotives operating on 26.62 miles of track in Kingston.
By 1933, The World Survey of Foreign Railways recorded 44 passenger motorcars, 5 passenger trailers (a tram car without power which is hooked behind a motor car in order to carry extra passengers) and 2 freight trams running on 43 kms of track in Kingston. Business must have been good, as the numbers show that the length of the tracks had been expanded and many more passenger vehicles had been acquired after 1907, although no orders are recorded by US or Canadian builders.
Unfortunately, the Jamaica Public Service Co. closed the Kingston tramway system in 1948, claiming that they could not afford to maintain the network or construct the needed track extensions. Company records indicate that the Rockfort Gardens line continued its operation for several months after the closure of the other lines, due to public protest.
By the mid-20th century, the trams had disappeared from most British, Canadian, French and US cities. The Kingston tramway system was unusual in that all its passenger cars remained identical and unchanged throughout their existence. Superbly maintained, they were all sold for scrap in 1949. What a shame that not one of these magnificent vehicles – 50 years old, but as good as new – was preserved! The information and images for this article were generously supplied by Allen Morrison.
ALLEN MORRISON TRANSPORT HISTORIAN
Allen Morrison grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio, and took great pleasure in riding tramcars to school before they were replaced by buses. After living in Paris, Morrison obtained a Ph.D. in French language and literature at Columbia University in New York, where he has worked as a Professor for many years and resides to this day.
Morrison’s old fascination with trams was reignited on a trip to Mexico, which was to inspire 17 trips to research tramways in Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean and South America. An avid collector of old postcards featuring trams, his archive currently counts over 5,000. Morrison published an illustrated history of the tramways of Brazil in 1989, a similar volume on Chile in 1992, and a large album of photographs of Latin America tramways in 1998. A Spanish-language edition of his Chilean volume was published in 2008. Since 1998, Morrison has maintained more than 1,300 internet pages on the subject, including more than 2,700 photographs and 100 maps (www.tramz.com and www.tramz.com/jm/ki.html for the Kingston page).
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