May Pen to Frankfield railway

May Pen to Frankfield
 0.0
May Pen Station & Junction
Mainline from Kingston continues to Montego Bay
 0.2 A2 road (gated)
 1.2 250' contour
 1.9
Unclassified road (ungated)
331' spot height
 Track (ungated)
 B3 spur road (ungated)
 250' contour
 Track~?m
 Track (ungated)
 250' contour
 7.2 Longville Halt
 Parochial Motorable Road (ungated)
 Track (ungated)
 500' contour
Parochial Motorable Road (ungated)
to North Hall
 Unclassified road (ungated)
 16.1 Suttons Station
 750' contour
 B3 road (gated)
 18.5 Ivy Store Halt
 750' contour
 20.9 Chapelton Station
 B3 road (gated)
 Parochial Motorable Road (gated)
 Unclassified road (gated)
 Thomas River Bridge~40m
 Rio Minho Bridge~70m
 Orange River Bridge~30m
 Unclassified road (gated)
 25.8
Morgans Pass Station
611' spot height
 Stony River Bridge~20m
 Parochial Motorable Road (gated)
 Parochial Motorable Road (gated)
 Orange River Bridge~40m
 Parochial Motorable Road (gated)
 750' contour
 Bryans Hill Station
 Parochial Motorable Road (gated)
 Ballards River Bridge~80m
Parochial Motorable Road (gated)
889' spot height
 Crooked River Bridge~40m
 29.8 Crooked River Station
 Crooked River Bridge~35m
 Dawkins River & Track Bridge~15m
 B3 road (gated)
 750' contour
 32.6
Trout Hall Station
738' spot height
 B3 road (gated)
 B3~15m
 Rio Minho Bridge~25m
 Franks River Bridge~30m
 750' contour
 Unnamed tributary of the Rio Minho~50m
 Unclassified road (gated)
 36.6 Frankfield Terminus

The May Pen to Frankfield railway was a railway in Jamaica built to serve the fast developing citrus industry in the upper Clarendon regions of Chapelton and Frankfield.[1]

Inception

During the 1911 general election railway extension was a prominent issue, and in March the Colonial Secretary introduced into the Legislature a resolution authorising the expenditure of £90,000 on the construction of a branch line from May Pen to Danks, beyond Chapelton in upper Clarendon.[2] "After an animated discussion the resolution was carried by 19 votes to 5. The new line will open up the fertile valley of the Rio Minho... It is hoped that ultimately the line will be driven forward to the still more fertile district of Ulster Spring in Upper Trelawny and then on to Falmouth, the seaport on the north side of the island, whose former prosperity would thereby be restored."[2] Due to the Great War and the economic situation in the Twenties this long-term aim was never accomplished.[3]

Construction, operation and closure

The 13 miles (21 km) of standard gauge track from May Pen to Chapelton were laid between 1911 and 1913 at a cost of £86,000.[1]

The 9¼ mile extension to Frankfield was added in 1925.[1] It required the bridging of twelve rivers, which must have been a significant contribution to the twelve year construction hiatus.

The line closed in 1974.[4]

Gradients

The line climbed 650 feet in 18½ miles (average gradient 1 in 150) from May Pen (239 feet[5]) to its summit at Crooked River (889 feet[6]) then continued for 3¾ miles more or less on the level to Frankfield (908 feet[7]).

Stations and Halts

There were 10 stations and halts on the line c1973.[6] More recent references[8] mention only nine:

Tunnels

There were no tunnels on the line.[6]

Bridges

There were 13 significant bridges on the line, all but the first being on the Chapelton to Frankfield extension.[6] Approximate bridge lengths[10] are shown in the route diagram (right):

See also

Notes and references

  1. 1 2 3 The rise and fall of railways in Jamaica 1845-1975 page 7, Veront M Satchell & Cezley Sampson, The Journal of Transport History, March 2003.
  2. 1 2 Official handbook on the BWI, 1912.
  3. 1 2 B097 Archived 2011-07-21 at the Wayback Machine., BWISC Bulletin 1978-06, Jamaica Railway Markings, Major T W Jefferson.
  4. ↑ The rise and fall of railways in Jamaica 1845-1975 page 13, Veront M Satchell & Cezley Sampson, The Journal of Transport History, March 2003.
  5. ↑ Directory of Cities, Towns, and Regions in Jamaica: May Pen, Falling Rain Genomics.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 UK Directorate of Overseas Surveys 1:50,000 map of Jamaica Sheets G & H, 1973.
  7. ↑ Directory of Cities, Towns, and Regions in Jamaica: Frankfield, Falling Rain Genomics.
  8. 1 2 Annual Transport Statistics Report: Jamaica in Figures 2003-2004 Archived 2013-03-15 at the Wayback Machine., Ministry of Transport and Works, July 2005.
  9. 1 2 Google satellite image resolution is at present insufficient to show this station/bridge.
  10. ↑ Bridge lengths were obtained using Wikimapia's GeoTools.

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