RIDING ST. KITTS SCENIC RAILWAY
By Jack M. Turner
Photos by John C. Turner
In late December 2013 my family and I journeyed
south and enjoyed a 10 night Eastern Caribbean cruise aboard “Emerald
Princess”, a member of the Princess Cruises fleet. The cruise
called at six islands where we took part in a number of sightseeing
activities. One of the highlights was the island of St. Kitts
where a ride on St. Kitts Scenic Railway awaited.
Christmas Day in the Caribbean was a nice contrast to the
winter weather in the United States and the beautiful clear skies
foretold a nice afternoon on the rails. The narrow gauge railroad
was constructed beginning in 1912 to connect the island’s copious sugar
cane fields and sugar mills at sugar plantations. The finished
product was then loaded onto ships that transported the sugar to
markets around the world. The St. Kitts sugar industry declined
and after 350 years the industry died off. With sugar cane
shipments almost dormant, investors opened the St. Kitts Scenic Railway
to offer sightseeing tours of the island beginning on January 28,
2003. The owners of the railway modeled the tour train after the
White Pass & Yukon train operation at Skagway, Alaska. As
with Alaska’s WP&Y, the cruise industry has been a boon for St.
Kitts Scenic as cruise ships with a 3,500 passenger capacity such as "Emerald Princess” visit
the island and deposit numerous potential train riders.
Today the train ride covers 18 miles as it circles from the northwest
coast, along the northern coast, to southeastern St. Kitts. Along
the way the tracks pass sugar cane fields, tropical rain forests whose
canopies encircle the tracks, villages of colorful houses and stone
churches, and ravines crossed by tall steel trestles. Ocean
views are plentiful during the journey as are friendly locals who
enthusiastically wave at the train.
The trip starts right beside the dock aboard shuttle
busses painted and lettered for the St. Kitts Scenic Railway. The
driver narrates scenic highlights as we pass through several villages,
a tree filled with egrets, and a scenic spot where we can see Brimstone
Hill Fortress high above on a hillside. The fortress is part of
the island’s history which saw it change hands multiple times between
the British and French. We reach the community of Fig Tree,
where we board the train, approximately a half hour after leaving the
dock at Bassaterre. Our train consists of five double deck cars,
pulled by a petite diesel engine and assisted by a power car that
provides electricity to the passenger cars. The 500 horsepower
engine came from Romania while the power car was built in
Colorado. The passenger cars were constructed in Seattle
especially for the St. Kitts Scenic. Passengers can choose to sit
in the open air upper level which contains padded bench seats along
each side of the car or downstairs in wicker chairs at tables where
they can enjoy air-conditioning and large picture windows.
Our departure point at Fig Tree is located on a
balloon track which allows trains to reverse direction without having
to run around a wye. We leave at 2:48pm and note 3,792 foot Mt.
Liamuiga, a dormant volcano, to the east. About 20 minutes later
the rails pass through sugar cane fields that once were part of the
island’s leading industry. Soon we pass stands of coconut palms
and note various forms of wildlife. Often passengers spot monkeys
roaming the forested terrain as over 40,000 monkeys make St. Kitts
their home. At 3:10pm the tracks come into sight of the
coast near Willet’s Bay and pass through the village of Dieppe Bay two
minutes later. This is the northernmost point on our train ride
and across a narrow channel the island of St. Eustatius (also known as
Statia) is visible.
The train boards at Fig Tree
The island of St. Eustatius stands just over 2 miles away across a channel
Mount Liamuiga, highest point on St. Kitts
Rounding a curve in front of Mt. Liamuiga
Locals wave at our train as it passes behind their home on Christmas Day 2013
The winding line rail offers many opportunities to
watch the diminutive engine with its steam engine-like drivers moving
its wheels. Our car attendant delivers complimentary piņa coladas
and rum punch to passengers as we join the Atlantic coast at 3:29 and
set a southeasterly course. Soon she will offer locally produced
sugar cakes to everyone. A trio of local singers entertain the
guests on our car’s upper level with a medley of Christmas songs.
They will make two passes through each car by the end of the
trip.
Soon the tracks pass through a grove of almond trees
and emerge near the village of Tabernacle. As has been the case
for most of the journey, the ocean is on the left side of the railway
while mountains dominate the view to the right. A sharp curve
reveals a railway track inspection speeder running ahead of us as we
approach impressive 300 foot long Christ Church Bridge, one of four
steel trestles in the final 50 minutes of the trip. Each of these
towers over a ravine below and the rails navigate around a curve
entering and/or leaving each trestle.
A track inspection speeder crosses the Christ Church Bridge in advance of the train
An abandoned sugar mill
A zoom shot of the engine on the front of our train
Curving along the St. Kitts Scenic Railway
The second trestle, set among a banana grove, is
crossed at 3:51pm and views of a black sand beach appear to the left
after exiting the structure. Grange Bridge is traversed a couple
minutes later and we learn that it is 90 feet tall and 200 feet
long. The train travels over the fourth bridge at 4:02pm and soon
the sights become more industrial as the rails turn inland. At
4:24pm we pull to a stop at Needmust, close to the island’s
international airport; this stop also is built on a loop. Within
minutes we board the same busses that we rode from the ship to Fig Tree
and within five minutes we are back in Basseterre where “Emerald
Princess” is docked.
Crossing the second steel trestle off a sharp curve
A black sand beach provides evidence of volcanic activity
Passengers on the upper level enjoy the scenery
Crossing the fourth bridge on the St. Kitts Scenic Railway
Colorful houses in one of the villages along the rail line
The railway navigates around many curves during its 18 mile length
A small mountain in the Canada Hills
The front of our engine at the end of the run in Needsmust
St. Kitts Scenic Railway shops at Needsmust
Old engines parked behind the shop
The rear end of the tour train at Needsmust
St. Kitts Scenic Railway is a great way to view the
island of St. Kitts. The hospitality of the on board personnel
coupled with nice scenery provide a unique Caribbean activity.
There are two trips daily on most days when cruise ships are in port
with the morning train starting out at Needsmust and the afternoon run
operating in the opposite direction which allows equipment to spend the
night at the railway shops for any needed maintenance. To learn
more about the railway and to view a video about the trip around St.
Kitts visit the official railway website
www.stkittsscenicrailway.com.
