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| stkittsscenicrailway.com https://www.rypn.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=7435 |
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| Author: | Rob Davis [ Fri Nov 07, 2003 1:02 pm ] |
| Post subject: | stkittsscenicrailway.com |
Got this on a Yahoo Group. Check out stkittsscenicrailway.com CARIBBEAN BUSINESS January 9, 2003 By JOHN COLLINS St. Kitts & Nevis (SKN) is the latest Caribbean country to abandon sugar, but it hasn't given up on the narrow-gauge railway that used to transport the cane from the fields to the mill for processing before export. Sugar has been the principal export of the small country (with a land mass of 104 square miles and a population of only 38,765) for more than 100 years. In view of increased competition in the sugar trade and declining consumption, the smallest nation in the western hemisphere is counting on tourism to diversify its economy ($283 million gross product and $6,880 per capita income). Although it has been receiving visitors for hundreds of years, St. Kitts and neighboring Nevis have only 1,700 rooms total in hotels and guesthouses. Last year, it received only 74,543 overnight visitors and 264,734 cruise ship passengers. Both figures are expected to increase significantly in 2003. Marriott is set to open in February the 460-unit first phase of its new, massive 950-unit resort on St. Kitts. The posh Four Seasons Resort on Nevis has earned a reputation as one of the Caribbean's outstanding attractions. The number of cruise passengers should also jump as other cruise lines schedule more calls at picturesque Basseterre, SKN's capital. The SKN government turned to the old railway for transporting sugarcane and decided to transform it into a scenic railway for shuttling visitors around the island in air-conditioned comfort. SKN Prime Minister Denzil Douglas unveiled the venture at the recent Miami Conference on the Caribbean. The railway has four cars, each of which can carry 28 passengers on two levels, the upper open-air and the lower air-conditioned. A spokesperson for the railway said beverages are served but not food. The venture is operated by the St. Kitts Sugar Manufacturers Co., an agency of the government, and is headed by Patrick Williams. The railway already has its own website, www.stkittsscenicrailway.com, which touts the tour as the "most luxurious and entertaining shore excursion in the Caribbean." rdavis@rypn.org |
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| Author: | Steve Singer [ Fri Nov 07, 2003 1:55 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: stkittsscenicrailway.com |
I'll be in St Kitts later this month and will have a ride. No steam, but should be interesting. bas1210@comcast.net |
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| Author: | John D [ Mon Nov 10, 2003 12:36 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: stkittsscenicrailway.com |
I went there in 1992 (while in the Navy), and recall seeing what I can only describe as a "baby" GE 44-tonner parked outside of a building/shed. |
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| Author: | James Hefner [ Tue Nov 11, 2003 2:31 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: stkittsscenicrailway.com |
> I'll be in St Kitts later this month and > will have a ride. No steam, but should be > interesting. While it is true there is no working steam on the island, St. Kitts Sugar Manufacturing Corp. does own a derelict Kerr Stuart & Co 0-4-2T. If you happen to see it or any other steam equipment, a picture from yet another remote corner of the work would be appreciated. -James Hefner Hebrews 10:20a Surviving World Steam Project james@survivingworldsteam.com |
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| Author: | Jeff Gerlach [ Wed Nov 12, 2003 2:29 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: stkittsscenicrailway.com |
More disscussion, including responses by one of the project's team members is found on Railroad.net St. Kitts Scenic Railway discussion thread jgerlach@trainsofthought.com |
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