Dear Editor,

I am writing to commend to the Mayor of Port Antonio Floyd Patterson for stopping workers from the Jamaica Railway Corporation from cutting up a train carriage and a turntable into scrap metal at the old railway station.

I congratulate the mayor and his team for preventing the destruction of parts of the rich and multi-layered history of the JRC. Historic trains and railroads are in danger of disappearing from parts of Jamaica’s landscape. Many railroad tracks and train stations have already faded into disuse and disrepair, replaced by roads and interstate highways. Unless the government and the JRC find a way to build a museum to keep the railroad history alive, the very train tracks that helped build the country will be destroyed.

I congratulate the mayor and his team for preventing the destruction of parts of the rich and multi-layered history of the JRC. Historic trains and railroads are in danger of disappearing from parts of Jamaica’s landscape. Many railroad tracks and train stations have already faded into disuse and disrepair, replaced by roads and interstate highways. Unless the government and the JRC find a way to build a museum to keep the railroad history alive, the very train tracks that helped build the country will be destroyed.

The JRC was special to me and my family because of my father’s years of employment with the company. My father worked for many years as a train driver, and was later promoted to running inspector. One of my fondest memories was when an engine had finished a journey; it would come off the train, run round to the back, get on to a turntable, turn around and back on to the coaches to be coupled up. I had an awesome time watching my dad and the other train crew members getting the train ready for the return trip.

There is still something about train travel that captures the attention of young and old alike. The railway museum could bring to life the rail history from its prehistoric past to the present time through displays of locomotives, freight and passenger cars, artefacts, photos and other stuff. Railroad history is a nation’s history; preserving historic trains and railroads for future generations is paramount to understanding the past. The government could ask the private sector businesses to help fund the museum project such as the restoration and operation. Providing funding for such a museum in Jamaica would contribute to the economic and social well-being of the entire country. If properly managed, the museum would become financially self-sustaining and in a position to reward its capital providers.

Neville Carnegie

New Jersey, USA