Bermuda Railway Pages

The Royal Gazette tells us that the broken lights in the Trail tunnel at Rural Hill have been repaired.

Light at last for Railway Trail underpass

Good. Now what about the Bailey’s Bay repairs, not to mention the unfinished Flatts Bridge?

For some time people have been complaining that the handrails on the Bailey’s Bay Trail footbridge have been shedding fibreglass particles, which can cause skin irritation.

Now the Parks Dept. have closed the bridge for maintenance. The story in the Royal Gazette quotes the department: “the department is sourcing overseas coating materials to repair the railings”.

Let us hope that the repairs do not take forever (unlike the completion of the new Flatts footbridge, which appears to be permanently stalled).

Bridge at Bailey’s Bay shuts for maintenance

Ken Butz has collected a large number of vintage videos on his YouTube channel, including several that show the Bermuda Railway. With his kind permission I have linked to them from this website, and I have just added a new one. Visit the page.

(I have been meaning to add this one for months!)

We managed to get back to Bermuda recently and walked a bit of the Trail, so there are a couple of new pictures in the Rural Hill-Khyber Pass section.

(Still no news on the Flatts footbridge!)

Thanks to site visitor David Colman, the Trail Photo Tour section has a few new pictures, taken while David was visiting Bermuda this spring.

(As for Flatts Bridge news, unfortunately there is none; the project still seems stalled, and I have not been able to get any information.)

I recently visited Bermuda for the first time in three years. As earlier reported, the Flatts Trail bridge is still not completed and it appears to be stalled.

However, a nice new parking lot has been built at the Flatts Trail entrance, so once the bridge is finished it will be easy to get to.

The Royal Gazette reports that an underwater cave has been found in the path of the new Flatts Trail footbridge. Studies are underway to see if any of the planned foundations need to be moved. Find out more in the Royal Gazette article.

The Bermuda government is offering five-year leases on the old Elbow Beach (aka Harmony Hall), seen above, and Riddell’s Bay station buildings. How about a Bermuda model railway shop (I wish)? Find out more in the Royal Gazette article.

In the latest issue of the National Museum of Bermuda’s MariTimes magazine (Vol. 34, 2021), Canadian historian Duncan McDowall reviews my book, The Bermuda Railway. The magazine is available online and the review is on page 13. 

I think McDowall has captured exactly what I was trying to do with the book, and I could not be more pleased.

The Royal Gazette reports that the new Trail bridge at Flatts is nearing completion. The Friends of the Railway Trail are not willing to set an exact date, but the bridge will probably be open in January or February. Read the December 9 Gazette story.

The Royal Gazette reports that the Bermuda Garden Club has donated $10,000 to the Friends of the Bermuda Railway Trail to help with the new Trail bridge at Flatts. Read the November 29 Gazette story.

The Royal Gazette reports that work continues on the new Railway Trail bridge at Flatts. It should be open by October. Read the August 9 Gazette story or see the September 2 update.

The National Museum has posted a recording of the May 6 book launch of The Bermuda Railway on its website and on Vimeo, so you can watch it at your leisure.

The National Museum of Bermuda officially launched my book, The Bermuda Railway, in an online event held the evening of May 6. The book can now be ordered from the Museum Shop or The Bookmart. Learn more.

In the run-up to the May 6 virtual book launch for my history, The Bermuda Railway, the National Museum of Bermuda blog has republished my 2012 MariTimes article on the railway. Read the blog entry.

The Royal Gazette has announced the publication of my history, The Bermuda Railway, and provided a link to registration for the May 6 launch. Read the story.

The Royal Gazette reports that access ramps to the Flatts Trail bridge main span should be done by April or May. Read the newspaper’s report. 

My history of the Bermuda Railway has been published by the National Museum of Bermuda and will be available for $35 plus shipping.

Find out more.

Ken Butz has added a new Bermuda Railway video to his YouTube channel. You can see it here on the Videos page.

My apologies to anyone who tried to submit a question or comment. The Questions form has now been fixed.

At long last I have updated this website. It is now responsive, which means it can be viewed on all types of devices, and is compliant with today’s standard privacy rules. It also has a lot more content, about both the railway and the Railway Trail.

I am still dealing with a few errors, and if you see anything that doesn’t work for you, please let me know using the Questions? form.

Try an online jigsaw puzzle on the National Museum of Bermuda website. They even have one showing the Bermuda Railway in the Hall of History mural.

Bernews reports that the main span of the Trail footbridge across Flatts Inlet has been installed. See pictures and a video on the Bernews site. 

Please note that the bridge is incomplete and will be closed to the public until it is officially opened sometime next spring.

A story in Bernews warns that marine traffic into Flatts Inlet will be restricted on Monday, Dec, 14 as the main span of the Flatts Railway Trail footbridge is moved into place. Yay! Getting close!

A section of the Railway Trail near Bailey’s Bay that was closed for repairs was reopened in early November. A crumbling cliff face has been stabilized with a retaining wall.

See the story on the Royal Gazette website.

International travel during the current pandemic is generally very restricted. Bermuda does allow in visitors, but there are clear guidelines to follow. Please take a look at the Bermuda government pandemic information page for travellers to find out more.

“Railway Passenger Injured by Missile Throwers”

This was the headline in the October 4, 1932 issue of the Royal Gazette.  Police were “seeking miscreants” after stones were thrown through  a train’s windows as it was leaving Pond Hill station on its way to Hamilton.

A piece of flying glass injured a passenger.

There is no indication that said miscreants were ever caught, but this was just one of several sabotage incidents that affected the railway in 1932. Before long, however, the sabotage problem seems to have faded away.

The Railway Trail is closed until sometime in May for repairs between the Bailey’s Bay bridge and the next new footbridge further west, as shown here. See the story on the Royal Gazette website. Thanks to David Colman for the picture.