Exploring Belize: Trains And Travel Options

Belize currently has no operational rail transport, but that wasn't always the case. The country's first rail service was a mule-driven tramway built by the British Honduras Syndicate, which opened in 1892. This was followed by the construction of several major railway lines, including the Stann Creek Railway, the country's first and only passenger railroad, which opened in sections between 1908 and 1911. The Stann Creek Railway was used to transport bananas, citrus fruits, and other agricultural goods, and played a significant role in the development of various enterprises in the Stann Creek Valley. However, by the 1930s, the banana industry in Belize suffered a decline due to plant diseases, and the Stann Creek Railway was eventually closed and dismantled in 1937. Since then, there have been no trains operating in Belize, and road transport has taken over as the primary means of transporting goods in the country.

The Stann Creek Railway was Belize's first and only passenger railroad

Belize does not currently offer any rail transport. However, historically, the country had three major railway lines, including the Stann Creek Railway, which was Belize's first and only passenger railroad.

The Stann Creek Railway was a 25-mile (40km) long, 3-foot (914mm) gauge, narrow-gauge railway that ran from Commerce Bight to Middlesex. The construction of the railway began in 1907 and was completed in 1914. It was built by the colonial government of British Honduras, with the help of Jamaican immigrant workers, and cost a total of BH$846,140, roughly £123,000, which was well over budget. The railway was opened in three sections: the first, from Commerce Bight to Hope Creek, was opened on 17 October 1908; the second, from Hope Creek to Macarono Hill, Pomona, was opened on 17 March 1909; and the third, from Macaroni Hill to Valley Community, was opened on 4 March 1910. The final length of track was completed on 31 March 1911. The route took a detour through the banana plantations on Melinda Road and Old Mullins River Road. The bridges were steel with concrete foundations, and the railway was operated using four coal-burning steam locomotives.

The Stann Creek Railway was important for building the banana, citrus, logging, starch, and other agricultural industries in the Stann Creek Valley. It was used by the United Fruit Company from 1913 until 1937. However, by 1924, banana production had decreased significantly, and the company ceased operations. The railway was still used for passenger transport in the 1930s until the arrival of automobiles. In 1938, the track was dismantled, and parts of it were reused elsewhere in Belize and Jamaica.

The Stann Creek Railway was used to transport bananas

Belize's first rail service was a mule-driven tramway built by the British Honduras Syndicate in the Stann Creek Valley. It opened in 1892 and proved its utility, prompting the colonial government to construct the Stann Creek Railway, which opened in 1907.

The Stann Creek Railway was Belize's first and only passenger railroad. It ran for 25 miles from Commerce Bight Pier to Middlesex, with detours into several banana farms. The route was built by Jamaican immigrant workers and was completed in 1914, at a total cost of £123,000, which was way over budget.

The railway was important for the development of the banana, citrus, logging, starch, and other agricultural industries in the Stann Creek Valley. Four coal-burning locomotives hauled bananas to Commerce Bight on shipping days. The trains stopped at various stations, including Middlesex, Mile 21, Mile 15, and Hope Creek, with each locomotive carrying about ten banana cars.

By 1924, banana production had decreased significantly, and the United Fruit Company ceased operations. The government then procured two diesel shunting locomotives, reducing the number of trains to two per week. Despite these efforts, the railway continued to operate at a loss, and with the rise of the citrus industry, it became clear that motor haulage was a more suitable and economical mode of transport.

In 1937, the United Fruit Company stopped using the Stann Creek Railway, and it was dismantled a year later. The tracks were removed and reused in other locations in Belize and Jamaica. Today, remnants of the old railroad bridges can still be seen along the Hummingbird Highway.

Belize's railways were built by private and public investors

This private enterprise spurred the colonial government to construct Belize's first and only public railroad, the Stann Creek Railway, which began construction in 1907 and opened in sections until 1911. The railway was built with loans raised in England and was completed at a total cost of B.H. $846,140, or roughly £123,000, which was way over budget. The Stann Creek Railway was a 3-foot gauge line that eventually extended 25 miles from Commerce Bight to Middlesex.

The Stann Creek Railway was an important transport link for the banana, citrus, logging, starch, and other agricultural industries in the Stann Creek Valley. It also carried passengers, with a "work train" that distributed goods and work gangs, and a "fruit train" that collected produce for shipment to the United States by the United Fruit Company.

In addition to the Stann Creek Railway, several other private railroads operated in Belize in the early to mid-19th century, primarily serving the logging industry. These included the Vaca Falls Railway, the Gallon Jug Railway, and the Serpon Sugar Mill Train.

By the second half of the 20th century, the market share and profitability of railroads in Belize declined, and most lines were decommissioned by the end of the 1990s. There is currently no active rail transport in Belize.

All rail transport has been suspended in Belize since 1938

Belize has not had any rail transport since 1938, when the Stann Creek Railway was dismantled. This was the country's first and only passenger railroad, running for 25 miles from Commerce Bight Pier to Middlesex. Construction began in 1907 and was completed in 1914. The Stann Creek Railway was built to transport bananas and other agricultural goods, but it also carried passengers.

The decline of the Stann Creek Railway began in 1925, when banana production decreased due to disease. The railway briefly resurged when an American company, the Tidewater Lumber Company, used it to transport logs to the coast for shipment to the US. In the early 1930s, light passenger cars were introduced and fares were cut, but the railway closed down in 1937. This was around the time when the British colonial government began a national road-building programme, replacing the railway with the Stann Creek Valley Road.

The Stann Creek Railway was one of three major railways in Belize. The other two were the Vaca Falls Railway, between Vaca Falls and the Chiquibul Forest, and the Gallon Jug Railway, between Gallon Jug and Hillbank in Orange Walk. The Gallon Jug Railway was the second major railroad in the country and was used for logging. It operated for the last time in the early 1960s.

The Gallon Jug Railway was Belize's second major railroad

Belize has not had any rail transport since the 1960s. However, historically, the country had three major railway lines. The second of these was the Gallon Jug Railway, a logging railway owned and operated by the Belize Estate and Produce Company.

The Gallon Jug Railway was located in the Orange Walk district, in the north of Belize. It ran from Hill Bank, at the south end of a lagoon on the New River, west through Sierra de Agua to Gallon Jug, a now-abandoned community about 10km from the Guatemalan border. The railway was constructed by the Glikston Group of England, beginning with the tracks and buildings in Hill Bank. The US company C. C. Mengel & Brothers Co, from Louisville, Kentucky, built the first Shay Steam Locomotive, along with the trucks. A train station was constructed 28 miles away in Gallon Jug around 1910, and in subsequent years, Mengel & Brothers delivered three more.

The Gallon Jug Railway was built to transport logs from the bush to the river, a task usually accomplished by oxen. The absence of a river in the west through Sierra de Agua, between Hill Bank and Gallon Jug, meant that a small rail line was necessary. The four locomotives delivered to Belize for the Gallon Jug Railway were built in Louisville under licence from C. C. Mengel & Brothers. The last of these, locomotive #4 2372, was a Baler, B 20-2, weighing 32 tons, with a 1000-gallon water boiler with 160 psi. Its hauling capacity was 1736 tons.

The Gallon Jug Railway operated until the early 1960s, after which trains were not reintroduced in Belize. By the late 1950s, a diesel-propelled passenger car was being used to carry loggers and passengers. By 1960, heavy trucks had begun to replace small rail lines for the transportation of logs from Gallon Jug to Hill Bank. Some parts of the railway were returned to the US, while others were abandoned in the Belizean jungle, and some lighter pieces were taken to Guatemala and Mexico to be smelted.

Frequently asked questions