When Trinidad had Trains!!

[Scoobert Bauce]

Now that same line is one ah d crime and drug ridden places in South... ask anybody bout d "line"

[cacasplat3]

never saw this.......thanks.
good post.

[kurpal_v2]

never saw this.......thanks.
good post.

X2 looked like quite a fun time on a sunday afternoon taking a ride on the train..

[Sivic Distributors]

repost or not this was exciting to watch.

[fareed7298]

this rell bad good find

[toyolink]

I remember the coming and going of trains at the Couva Station which was located behind where the couva police station is located now and I think exactly where the Couva public pool was built.
We used the train for school outing to Rio Claro and for us kids that was a real experience.Unfortunately there were a few incidents of individuals loosing limbs and even their lives and for that time each instance did hit the public hard.
The smell,engine sound and whistle all made that whole era something memorable.
A real mass people mover it was and what a way to do family visits in the country areas during school vacation.

[zoom rader]

I remember the coming and going of trains at the Couva Station which was located behind where the couva police station is located now and I think exactly where the Couva public pool was built.
We used the train for school outing to Rio Claro and for us kids that was a real experience.Unfortunately there were a few incidents of individuals loosing limbs and even their lives and for that time each instance did hit the public hard.
The smell,engine sound and whistle all made that whole era something memorable.
A real mass people mover it was and what a way to do family visits in the country areas during school vacation.

Blame the PNM for scraping the Trains.

This was a move supported by the New car dealers who wanted the Trains dead, and there was a PNM minster who made a pile of money selling the scrap rails and engines to a steel mill in Brazil . Most of you would not know about this, so ask you grandfolks about this.

[Rory Phoulorie]

Blame the PNM for scraping the Trains.

Who scrapped the rapid rail?

[ironman2012]

Blame the PNM for scraping the Trains.

Who scrapped the rapid rail?

x2

[trini mk5]

Interesting, i for one would like a train or tram system back up

[aidan]

[trini mk5]

^^the car in that video is sweettt, wish i cud get my hands on one

[black start]

700 people going south on a full train

Today thats 700 cars with one person inside of the road for every train load that leaves town....

so sad

so sell all cars an train pool den?

[mars]

Trinidad Government Railways - cancelled without public consultation or explanation in 1965.

Only last year some former PNM honcho came out and said it was all to do with the Railway Workers Union getting too powerful...

[dreamyn]

I recently been through Knolly's tunnel in Tabaquite that the train used to go through down..... but nowhere was railroad tracks to be found, I'm curious to see it and I'm sure there must be one location in a rural area where they haven't covered it up with concrete or asphalt, does anyone know or have current pics of a railroad in Trinidad?

[ADONI]

Nah bai, men use railroad track for fence post or sold it for scrap iron...

[sMASH]

Soon after caroni closed, the scrap iron business ramped up..

[Duane 3NE 2NR]

[pugboy]

Them railroad fence posts does last long

[200sx]

i came across rails a while back while running a new water main about 4-5 feet under the raod-way by Barrackpore junction opposite the market................that thing was pain for the welders to cut with a torch.............

i believe St Madeline may still have in some places..........the line used to pass by chinee wrecking services down there>

could remember my dad waiting to let my sis and i see the train pass whenever we were going to visit my uncle on that side around crop time.............

[Rory Phoulorie]

What about by the railway bridge that passes over the Southern Main Road in Pointe-a-Pierre?

[Nexus]

We had such a rich railroad history, there were some nice plans to bring one back around the brechin castle area as part of a heritage redevelopment initiative headed by Dr brinsley samaroo, unfortunately it was canned when govt changed. Funny enough, Barbados opened something just like that this week I think!
Look up Glenn Beadon on FB, local rail historian with some good footage and pictures etc.

[zoom rader]

Few people Will know that inside of Petrotrin there is a railway station still intact, it's near the wild fowl trust .

[pugboy]

If you leaving couva on rivulet road to the highway there is a railroad bridge on the north side

It's hard to find remnants of track in north but just after Victoria gardens you can see some that were cast into the pavement as some kind of barrier, ttec also used them as Guy wire supports to their poles.

[maj. tom]

So on Google Earth Pro (desktop app) there's a Rail feature to check off under "Transportation." Someone had partially mapped out the old train lines in black overlay. It would be interesting to attempt to explore the lines according to the map, perhaps document it. The British had built this thing all through the forests and swamps in the 19th century. Marvelous engineering! There is going to be a lot of buried tracks all over the place. And there's bound to be plenty lost and abandoned lines even while the British were still here. Too bad these UWI historians that coming out every year seem to have no interest in documenting so much amazing history that has been lost and forgotten forever. Our Wikipedia entries are so lacking, no pride in our unknown history.

[pugboy]

Well the ones that notnin remote areas are all fully occupied by squatters
They get nice firm foundation to build they house

[nervewrecker]

road trip?

Where it dont have road we make road

[bluefete]

Most DOTISH decision ever made by the PNM Government.

[zoom rader]

Most DOTISH decision ever made by the PNM Government.

PNM was not all to blame , it was part car stealaships that wanted it stopped.

Stop trains to buys cars

[bluefete]

WAIT A MINUTE!! Did Zoom say that "PNM was not all to blame?" Zoom: Are you okay or did you just come from the rumshop?

It was the PNM, under Eric Williams, who agreed and decided to stop the trains!

They said the rollingstock had become too expensive to maintain and upkeep.