Tourism and the Bermuda Railway

But why was there a tourist trade anyway? Without the tourist trade there would have been no railway Tourists needed to get around the country Carriage rides were fun... but taking two hours to get to the golf course was not! probably Bermuda had to do something about transportation anyway... It took the whole morning to get from one end to the middle... Hamilton was over developed and the extremities under developed... It's a rock! Privateering had gone out of style So, tourists or no tourists, many Bermudians wanted a solution! Tourists wanted better transportation, and Bermudians wanted better transportation, so... Why didn't they use cars? Or at least motor buses? Because they frightened the horses! It was Mark Twain's fault (and Woodrow Wilson's) You see, in those days Bermuda was... "The Isles of Rest" The 40 Thieves and the hotel owners liked tourists... and they were afraid that "motors" might drive them away. So a lot of the resistance to motors was about tourism But that was not the only reason! Motors would require good roads... and good roads would cost $$$. [The Bermuda government] [the 40 Thieves] — choose either one — did not like spending money! But the railway would be FREE! Who wanted the railway... and who didn't? Some of the 40 Thieves wanted it H.W. Watlington F. C. Gosling and some didn't Stanley Spurling and some were in the middle J. P. Hand The Spurlings came from St. George's They ran a livery stable, and horse buses (and had operated the "Scarlet Runner") ... so they didn't like the railway! Watlington and Gosling supported the railway from the start Tourists came by ship and that meant Furness Withy Furness wanted to fill its ships, so it created the Bermuda Development Company to run hotels and golf courses Bermuda farmers had long supplied New York with fresh vegetables, but tariffs were pricing them out of the market. In 1883 Princess Louise visited Bermuda, and really liked it. Now look at these four gentlemen, fully paid up members of the 40 Thieves: all four are members of the House of Assembly three are members of the Executive Council and... All four are on the Board of Directors of the Bermuda Development Company, which brings us back to... Furness Withy Furness Withy liked tourists... and they needed to move them around the island. Furness received an annual subsidy to run steamships to Bermuda They didn't particularly like like the railway... Especially when it took seven years to build! Somerset and St. George's wanted modern transportation right away! They thought the railway would never happen: it was too expensive it would never get built a few motor buses would do the trick So they didn't particularly like the railway either... The Bermuda Railway Act, 1924 said Bermuda could have a railway, but... the railway company had trouble raising the money it kept missing deadline after deadline it kept asking the House of Assembly for more concessions Bermudians didn't want to sell it the land Each time the Bermuda Railway Company came to the House of Assembly asking for more, the entire railway debate would happen all over again. They didn't actually start building until 1928, and it would still take another three years before they finally reached... Opening Day Tourism and the Bermuda Railway and there were only so many ways to do it! (It was even worse during "crop season".) Crop season wasn't as busy as it used to be! and boatbuilding... and gunrunning (The House of Assembly didn't like spending money) St. George Hotel The Mid-Ocean Club Bermudiana Hotel Castle Harbour Hotel The "Scarlet Runner" Motor buses would have done the trick. Cutting the ribbon in Somerset Crowds in Hamilton for the first run October 31, 1931 Cummings Gosling E. O. Williams Governor Asser Lord Lamington J. J. Arnold Colonial Secretary Henniker-Heaton J.P. Hand Stanley Spurling J. H. Watlington Hamilton Rotary Club founding, 1925 Hamilton Rotary Club transportation meeting, 1926 London Transport Museum (This is what they feared.) The Bermuda Railway wasted no time in appealing to the tourists Tourists alighting at Bailey's Bay, on their way to the Caves, or Tuckers Town... ...at Aquarium Station The trains added to Front Street traffic. Even in the 1930s the liners dwarfed the town. Furness and the Railway learned to get along A Furness ad on the back of the Railway brochure A Railway ad from a Furness passenger list Furness kept bringing in the tourists, and the Railway kept moving them around the island. Boat trains would meet steamers at St. George's Station on Penno's wharf. So in 1908 Bermuda banned motor vehicles R. A. Cummings F. C. Gosling E. O. Williams Governor Asser Lord Lamington J. J.Arnold Henniker-Heaton For a while a speedboat service carried tourists from the railway at Ferry Point to the Castle Harbour hotel. This was actually a joint venture with some influential Bermudians, who all belonged to what was colloquially known as "The 40 Thieves", the elite of Front Street merchants that had run Bermuda as long as anyone could remember. Front Street at Queen "The Land that is different" ...and arriving for the racing at Shelly Bay Bermuda had its modern transportation Tourists could see the sights Bermudians could get to Hamilton in an hour or so, and The dreaded motor car had been avoided... at least for a while. The Bermuda Railway had arrived But that is another story And they would have to pay for the roads. No motors! Harley Spurling imported a touring car in 1907. It frightened the residents, and probably the other livery stables as well. www.bermudarailway.net