The Kingston to Montego Bay railway was the main railway in Jamaica, which from 1845 to 1992 linked the capital Kingston with the second city Montego Bay, passing en route most of the major towns.

Construction, operation and closure

The first 14.5 mi of (standard gauge) track were laid from Kingston to Angels (just north of Spanish Town) in 1845 at a cost of £222,250, or £15,377 per mile against a budgeted cost £150,000. An 11 mi extension from Spanish Town to Old Harbour was added in 1869 at a cost of £60,000. A further 24.5 mi extension from Old Harbour to Porus was added in 1885 at a cost of around £187,000. The final 62 mi from Porus to Montego Bay was completed in 1895. Much of the line closed in October 1992 when all passenger traffic on Jamaica's railways abruptly ceased. Some sections remain in use for bauxite and aluminium freight while the section from Montego Bay to the Appleton Estate remained open for a while as a tourist attraction.

Gradients and curvature

From Kingston the line ran west along the coastal plain, within 50 ft of sea level, for about 40 mi before starting a gentle climb over 5.25 mi from Bodles to 250 ft near Lancaster Halt. From here there was a plateau for about 24.25 mi to the Milk River and the start of the 20 mi climb through Scotts Pass and Porus to 1500 ft just north of Kendal. Between Kendal and Mile Gully the line reaches its summit at around 1700 ft; in this section the ruling curvature was 300 ft and the ruling gradient was 1 in 30 (3.33%). From Mile Gully there was a gentle descent over 17 mi to 500 ft near Raheen. From here the line ran on the level across the Appleton Plain to Maggotty and the start of a climb to 1000 ft near Stonehenge. From here to Catadupa the line ran on the level then descended to 500 ft at Seven River. Another level section brought it to Long Hill Tunnel and the final descent into Montego Bay.

Stations and Halts

There were 22 stations and 17 halts:

Tunnels

There are 13 tunnels on the line:

Bridges

There were 51 significant bridges and one viaduct on the line

Junctions

There were three branch line junctions, three railway works junctions and four estate railway junctions on the line: Branch lines Railway works Estate railways Bauxite lines Piers

Notes and references