Railway might have survived if it had been better built
<$>I ENJOYED Simon Calder’s “A magical history cycling tour of Bermuda” (Mid-Ocean News<$>, March 24) and fully support his promotion of the Railway Trail. I have bicycled it several times and it never loses its appeal.Being a Bermuda Railway enthusiast, however, I can’t let one of Calder’s statements go by without comment: “Within 16 years it closed; business was never very good, partly because the line bypassed the capital, Hamilton, and the growth of the automobile put paid to the age of the train.”
While some of that statement is true, the line certainly did not “bypass the capital”. In fact, it ran straight down the centre of Front Street, all the way from Crow Lane to the ferry terminal before swinging into a tunnel under Par-la-Ville park. It continued through the city, and then turned east to follow the line of Marsh Folly and Palmetto roads, reaching today’s Trail at Palmetto Park.
Bermudians’ demand for the automobile was a definite contributor to the Railway’s demise, though. The sight of American military vehicles zooming back and forth between the US bases during World War Two no doubt prompted many to ask, why not us, and the 1946 Motor Car Act opened the doors to private automobiles.
Still, if the Railway had been better built in the first place it might have survived.
The many wooden trestles and bridges had not been properly protected against Bermuda’s salt spray when they were built, and so by the end of the war they were rotting away. The railway company bailed out, leaving the problem in the Government’s hands. When an engineering report said it would cost $850,000 to put the line back in working order, that was the end.
Still, over its short life the Railway had become an integral part of Bermuda life and, as Calder says, “These congested days, many locals wish it were reincarnated.”
The Bermuda Railway Pages,
www.bermudarailway.net <$>Let’s act now over Extravaganza
<$>AFTER seeing the advertising leaflet featuring a tiger and elephant in Monday’s Royal Gazette, I am assuming that the ‘Animal Extravaganza slated for May 26-28 at Tiger Bay in St. George’s, is a ‘Done Deal’. Perhaps it is not too late if we act now. I am confident the SPCA membership will be moved to raise their collective voice. We shall also be submitting our objections as soon as possible. Anyone wishing to help us need only e-mail us at lpae—bda@hotmail.com, or call 297-0800 and leave a message.
The public should be aware that the transport of captive mammals such as elephants and tigers to Bermuda — especially when this is carried out by sea — constitutes sustained cruelty. The display of captive mammals in cages, or in the case of elephants, with two or three legs literally shackled to the ground, is abhorrent in this day and age.
Reputable charter firms, and this applies to both sea and air transport, now refuse this sort of cargo on similar ethical grounds to refusing to transport captured exotic birds for shipment to primary world countries destined for pet shops.
While there is nothing objectionable about he human circus and ice show, I am surprised at Coca Cola and Northrock Communications for sponsoring the Animal Extravaganza (see www.dnashows.com).
Consumer power is one of our most useful means of legal protest, so if this display of captive mammals goes through, we shall be withdrawing our patronage of these companies. In the US there are now many towns and districts which refuse to host these events.
With this in mind, and the fact that Bermuda is a remote destination, I appeal to the caring Bermudians I know and respect, to join in saying to the Ministries involved in issuing permits to DNA productions (the Ministry of the Environment and the Ministry of Transport’s Department of Marine and Ports): “No. Not in our name! We do not need this sort of ‘Extravaganza’ for our entertainment Nor do we need this type of ‘education’ for our children, who will learn nothing from this vulgar display of animals, which should be left in their native environments. All they will learn is to become morally desensitised, the way those parents are who take them to view these poor captive creatures.”
I know there are many Bermudians and residents who privately feel the way we do, but do not raise their voice. In this small island, understandably they are loath to make themselves targets of those with the financial power to organise these events, and their allies, the self-inflated, secure civil servants who enjoy their power, and will always brandish their weapon of choice in the face of educated dissent.
They will question the mental health of anyone who dares oppose them, and with the power on their side they silence so many.
Let us all show concern for the mental health of our future generations, and remove one abusive form of entertainment from their current experience. If we wish a kinder, gentler society, we have the power to create it by limiting the power of those civil servants who are either too ignorant or self-interested to serve the best long-term interest of our Bermudian community.
DR. A.M. WARE-CIETERS, M.R.C.V.S.
