Railway bridges
Editorial
Stabroek News
June 23, 2002
Popular myth has it that Guyana is the pioneer in railway development in South America. The sod for the local railway was turned by Governor Henry Light on August 19, 1847, and the initial stretch of track was tested out on January 24, 1848, giving rise, incidentally, to the continent's first rail accident. By November of that year the public could travel from Georgetown to Plaisance in the modest comfort of a first-class carriage for 40 cents, or a second-class one for 20 cents.
Lightning development was never a feature of the East Coast railway, and it was not until 1864 that it reached Mahaica, following which it took another thirty odd years before a decision was taken to extend the track to Mahaicony. Finally, the section to Rosignol came into service on August 1, 1900.
The unfortunate fate of the railway is well known; in a fit of myopia the then PNC government closed it down in the early 1970s, selling the dismembered parts to various countries, including the sleepers, which went to Colombia. Now all that remains to remind us of what was supposedly South America's first railway is the outer frame of the Georgetown station in Kingston, and three iron bridges spanning the Mahaica, Mahaicony and Abary rivers.
But the station excepted, even these few relics are about to be taken from us. The iron bridges are under a death sentence from the Ministry of Works, which has invited tenders for their demolition. And in case anyone is wondering why the Ministry should have been so overtaken by philistinism that it is determined to destroy three items from our material heritage which have been listed by the National Trust, the answer lies in the magic words, 'new road.'
The route the road is destined to follow is along the old railway line, and the bridges, heritage or not, are simply in the way.
It is not every country which is so cavalier about their industrial heritage as this one. The first iron bridge in the world, built in Shropshire, England in 1779, is still very much in place and is used by pedestrians. But perhaps of more immediate relevance are the world's two first iron railway bridges on the Stockton-Darlington railway. The first one, the Gaunless Bridge, designed by George Stephenson himself, was not a huge success. Shortly after being erected it was partly washed away in a flood, and had to be rebuilt. The renovated version now has a home in a museum. The second one, the Skerne Bridge, designed by Bonomi and opened in 1825 still stands on its original site. Not only is it extant, but in 1990 the Bank of England put its image at the time of its opening onto the new five pound note.
Well anyone who imagines that as long as the situation in regard to the heritage is explained to the relevant bureaucrats in our Ministry of Works, they will reveal their sensitive side, should think again. According to a spokesman from that particular government department, they are prepared to dismantle the Mahaica bridge, and if someone will pay for the transportation and re-assembly, have it re-erected in the compound of the MMA/ADA. The problem is, as was explained to this newspaper by a civil engineer, the dismantling would have to be done very carefully, the rust would have to be cleaned off, and the re-assembly would require skill and patience. Furthermore, it would be a very costly operation.
Not surprisingly, no such expenditure has been written into the contract for the road, and the Ministry of Works spokesman suggested that the National Trust should be approached for funding for the transportation and re-erection of the Mahaica bridge. Exactly where the National Trust was to source this money from was not suggested. One can reasonably assume, therefore, that once the bridge has been dismantled, it would be left lying in the bush to disintegrate into a little heap of dust, along with its companions.
It may be that when the project specifications for the through road were drawn up, the Ministry of Works did not do its homework properly. Or it may be that it did not do its homework until it was too late, and now it is trying to retrieve the situation with the lame proposition about re-assembling one of the bridges in the MMA/ADA compound. Then again, it may be that it did do its homework properly but it really doesn't care too much about Guyana's nineteenth century iron railway bridges. Whatever the case, it is time for all interested bodies - Government and private - as well as ordinary citizens to join the engineers who have already expressed concerns, and raise their voices in loud objection. Just because we are in the middle of a crime crisis does not mean that we should close our eyes to the obliteration of landmarks about to be carried out at the behest of the Ministry of Works.