The Railways of Guyana comprised two public railways, the Demerara-Berbice Railway and the Demerara-Essequibo Railway. There are also several industrial railways mainly for the bauxite industry. The Demerara-Berbice Railway is the oldest in South America. None of the railways are in operation in the 21st century.
The Demerara-Berbice Railway, built in then British Guiana (now Guyana), was the first railway system on the South American continent.[1] It was 4 ft 8½ ins (1,435 mm) standard gauge and first operated by the Demerara Railway Company, a private concern, but sold to the Colonial Transport Department of the Government, which assumed control from 1 January 1922.[1]
The bill proposing the construction of the railway was passed in July 1846.[1] The railway was designed, surveyed and built by the British-American architect and artist Frederick Catherwood. All the railway stations, bridges, stores and other facilities were constructed by John Bradshaw Sharples.[3] Financing was provided by the Demerera Sugar Company who wished to transport their product to the dock of Georgetown. Construction was in sections with the first, from Georgetown to Plaisance, opening on 3 November 1848. The opening day's festivities featured the death of one of the railway's directors by being run over by the locomotive.
An extension to Belfield was completed in 1854, to Mahaica in 1864 and finally to Rosignol during 1897–1900.
In 1948 the railway system in Bermuda was dismantled and sold 'lock, stock & barrel' to the government of British Guiana (as the country then was) to rejuvenate the former system. The locomotives (petrol or diesel [just 2]) and coaches were fully restored, the latter being painted dark green. In 1953 the public lines in the colony carried 1,772,954 passengers and 92,769 tonnes of freight. A bold plan to extend the railway south to Brazil was never proceeded with.
The public railway system was dismantled in stages by then President Forbes Burnham, and closed in 1972.[4]
The Lamaha Street terminus of the Demerara-Berbice Railway was converted into a bus terminal subsequent to the closing of the railway.
Service
Following the opening in 1848, there were two return trains per day between Georgetown and Plaisance.[5]
In 1922 there was one train each week day, departing Georgetown at 08:00 and returning in the evening.[2]
The Georgetown-Rosignol railway service ended in 1972.
'Steam Slide Cecil Rhodes' at the Demerara Essequibo Railway near Wismar on the Demerara RiverRockstone River Terminus of the Demerara Essequibo Railway on the Essequibo River
There was one railway bridge of steel construction across the Boeraserie River.
Industrial railways
The industrial railway systems continued to operate following the closure of the public system and included several at bauxite mining sites and another linking Port Kaituma and Matthew's Ridge in the Northwest District.
In 1897,[11] a 29.8-kilometre (18.5 mi) 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in) (metre gauge) industrial railway was built between Rockstone and Wismar (nowadays called Linden) across the watershed between the Demerara and Essequibo Rivers.[12] The Essequibo River was hard to navigate, but the Demerara River was suitable for ocean-going ships. The railway line gave access to the gold fields, balatá and hardwood plantations. In 1936, the company owned 14 locomotives and 272 goods wagons.[7] The railway was closed in the 1940s.[11]
Bibliography
The British Guiana Government Railways, article Railway Magazine January 1964
^ abYoung, J. Allan E. (January 1964). "The British Guiana Government Railways: The Development of British Guiana's Public Railways During 115 Years". Railway Magazine. Vol. 110, no. 753. pp. 174–181.
