History This Week No. 18/2010
By Shammane Joseph
This instalment gives a brief overview of the History of the British Guiana West Coast Railway from 1896 to 1971. It will examine the development of the West Coast Railway and the reasons for its eventual closure.
The British Guiana government and the Demerara Company concluded a contract in 1896 to construct the West Coast Railway. The railway was completed by 1912 from Vreed-en-Hoop to Greenwich, West Coast Demerara. However, controversy arose during this period when Governor Walter Egerton persuaded the Demerara Railway Company to extend its West Coast line to Parika, securing a thorough communication link between the Essequibo and Demerara estuaries.
He was able to get finance for this project but there were so much uproar over the covert deal done by Governor Egerton, this extension was almost shelved. Nevertheless, by 1914 the railway track was extended 3 ½ miles to Parika. The completed track was 18 ½ miles long, with a 3ft 6ins gauge line. During its construction there were financial problems which plagued the company, more so the expectation of revenue was never achieved from this new railway. As such on 1st January 1919, the Company received from the government a guaranteed subsidy for each ½ year a sum equal to interest at the rate of 4% per annum on the sum of £52, 083. 6s 8d. An annual subsidy was also paid to the Company for the conveyance of mails, police and prisoners.
The woes of the railway continued and therefore in 1922, the government of British Guiana acquired the West Coast Railway from the Colonial Transport Department, then in 1931 it was nationalised by Ordinance 31 and run by the Transport and Harbours Department. This was done in the hope of improving its services to the community.
The railway followed the contour of the seaboard and was two miles away from the edge of the sea, and close to the highway. It had no sharp course or steep gradients, and there was an unobstructed view of the track for at least ½ mile ahead. The line was unfenced and was freely trespassed by the public and cattle. The railway track was below sea level and during high tide became inundated. It crossed approximately 104 drainage canals and one steel bridge. It had 1 ¾ miles of sidings, loops and spurs. Seventy pounds rails were used as tracks, due to the soft nature of the foundation the maximum axle load permitted only nine tons. The maximum speed of the railway was 20 miles per hour.
There were eight stations and the principal ones were Vreed-en-Hoop and Parika. They had terminal stations with marshalling yards, locomotives running sheds, workshops and electric lighting plants. Only Parika had quarters for train crews. These were the only stations equipped with semaphore signals. Five of the six intermediate stations had facilities for crossing and shunting trains. Industrial sidings were situated at junction miles eight and thirteen. There were nine passenger halts where a shelter is provided and trains stopped to pick up and set down passengers. The rolling stocks were upgraded in 1955-56 when carriage frames and locomotives were acquired. This was like a heart transplant for the railway.
These additions included three Ford Industrial Diesel 64 B.H.P Bagley Locomotives which were made in 1942, one Ford V8 Petrol 32 HP locomotive created in 1954, and four Gardner 204 .H.P diesel mechanical locomotives. Three were created in 1955 and one in 1956. Apart from that there were twenty one passenger coaches with nine hundred and twenty-two seats, one cattle wagon and five vans. Of the 27 coaches in stock 10 were out of service since 1924. As for the goods vehicles they carried 310 tons of food.
The West Coast Railway provided the only reliable land link for passengers from the Essequibo islands, Adventure, and Bartica to Georgetown. This railway was taxed heavily each week, especially weekends when the trains connected with the mornings and evenings Parika/Adventure ferries. The absence of trucking services saw to the railway having prominence as the main mover of shop goods, molasses was dependent on rail transport, rice and sugar from Uitvlugt and Lenora estates.
Travel was even more intense on the days having outward Bartica ferry connections, since Bartica passengers travelled on the same train. In addition, many residents along the coastland from Vreed-en-Hoop to Parika made regular use of this service. The capacity of the West Coast Railway was affected by the capacity of the ferry services on the Demerara River.
The peak period of the ferry services was overloaded and the ferry schemes compounded peak train loadings due to the one hour interval in ferry sailings. Due to this overload the numbers of railway vehicles were insufficient for passenger traffic.
This West Coast Railway had its problems but it was not the fact that it was not making a profit or too expensive to maintain, the financial problem went deeper. When the British Guiana government agreed to pay the Demerara Railway Company annuity annually from January 1919, free taxation from all local taxation of G$123,849 and also 4% per annum on G$336,000 debenture stock, it took away valuable finance from the railway. The government paid a cash sum of $95,570.46 plus annual payments of lesser significance as life annuities of $1480 to Ms. Martin who was 80 years old, $1768 to Mr. Wigglesworth who was 70 years, five other persons appearing under the name of Williams were paid $2.16 each, Forde and Lewis collected $1.63 each, while Adams and Andrews received $1.68. Therefore, by 31st December 1968 the Guyana Government paid over six million tax free annuities alone and approximately one million dollars more in interest payments for debts inherited from the Demerara Railway Company.
The Government was paying for old rolling stocks which were less than 20 years old. With all of these financial payments of some seven million dollars the West Coast Railway was deemed a liability to the government and the people of Guyana.
The government during this period undertook impressive road building projects and saw the railway as added pressure on the coffers of the state. Between 1955 and 1970 feasibility studies were carried out on the transportation systems of Guyana. It was advised by the Transport Economist B.J Smodlaka on February 10th 1962, that “the West Coast Railway should not be withdrawn, but be maintained in service for both passenger and goods traffic. However, steps should be taken to operate it on basis of a Tramway System with additional halts and crossing facilities. Two Diesel Electric Locomotives and seven passenger coaches should be purchased for immediate use on the West Coast Railway”. By 1970 the government had not made any definite intentions to phase out this railway.
However, their intentions changed when the government hired De Leuw Cather & Company of Canada Limited. They advised that the West Coast Railway services be closed in 1971 and a bus service ought to be operated in lieu of the railway at an annual cost slightly over half the annual railway operating cost.
They claimed that the bus had greater flexibility, conveniences and a higher level of comfort. Twenty buses were deemed required to provide equivalent services and that the railway rights-of-way ought to be retained for future transport needs. This advice was considered and the West Coast Railway was replaced by a bus service which was believed by many that it would have been more adequate and less costly to maintain. The railway lines were later uprooted but this researcher could not find information on what happened to the tracks.