What islands around the world have, or in the past have had their own railroad?
Depends on what you mean by “their own.” Newfoundland was a good case. Entirely separate narrow gauge operation, until taken over by CN when it moved from Crown Colony status to Canadian Province. There were car ferries to the mainland and change of trucks even before that, however. Budt Prince Edward Island always was a Province, from Canada’s start. The standard gauge railroad was connected only by train ferry (with the loco on board) and was part of CN. Vabcouver Island, similar. Cuba has two nationalized railroads, its main railroad system, diesel, and Heshey, electric interurban in character. For the Dominican Republic, see the latest(?) trains about a narrow gauge sugarcane hauling railroad. Similar railroads were located in Peurto Rico and Bermuda and St. Kitts, with the latter now a tourist passenger railroad. Neville Island at Pattisburgh had an industrial railroad of its own and may still have it. Obviously, Manhattan Island has the New York City Transit Authority, Metro North, the Long Island Railroad, Port Authority Trans-Hudson, and Amtrak, but all obviously operate outside the island as well. (New Jersey Transit is a tentant on Amtrak in Manhattan and so does not count.) The Italian railroad system has at least one line in Sicily. The Isle of Man has the Douglas horsecar waterfront line, the Manx Electric Railway (a perfectly preserved 1897 interurban line), the Snaifel Mountain electric line, and the steam-operated line to Canbeltwon. The Isle of Wite has a third-rail electric line operated by ex-Underground trains. All of Japan’s islands have railroads. Tauwab has high speed passenger trains. Manilla in Hawaii has an elevated light rial line. I’ll stop for now.
Wow!
Other islands with railroads: Tasmania, New Zealand, Indonesia, Philippines.
Cuba and Jamaica come to mind…
Long Island, Staten Island. Rock Island. New Foundland. Hawaii. Vancouver. Manhatten. Ireland. I am sure there are probably close to a thousand or more!
Your original question brings up several other questions. During World War II many small Pacific islands had temporary military railroads built by both the Japanese and U.S. military, so do these count? If they do, then practically every small island or coral atoll that was ever occupied by Japanese and Allied forces throughout the Pacific could be listed as having a railroad.
Your question has too many possible answers, and needs to be narrowed down to a more specific type of railroad. Privately owned? Government owned? Military? Industrial? Gauge? Time frame?
Okinawa had a railroad until the end of WWII.
Most definitely. Define “island” then define “railroad”. Wholly and only on a given island, stand alone railroad, part or branch of a railroad, private or common carrier, It is so broad and so vague that there are millions of answers…even Rock Island could fit!
England…
New Zealand (both North and South Islands) Australia, Tasmania? [:-^]
Does the advent of the “CHUNNEL” change Great Britain as an Island? [:'(]
Then there is also Ireland…[yeah]
How about Iceland??? [:-,]
Iceland! No, I don’t think there is a railroad on Iceland. But how about Madagascar? Not sure of that one either. Austrailia, by the way, is too big to be an island thus we call it a contenent.
Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts (both 3 ft. gauge); also, Mount Desert Isle (Cadillac Mountain/ Bar Harbor area), Maine.
- Paul North.
And then there are the ‘island’ railroads on the continents that can be reached only by ferry. Long Island, Washington, was an example. The cars had to be ferryied across the river from Astoria to Megler.
Atlantic Terminal in New York City is served by ferry only. But then Long Island is an island, so maybe it doesn’t count.
What about the obvious? Sodor [:-^]
Rock Island?
My questions don’t need to be picked apart hair by hair. How about “islands with railroads”. I’m guessing some of the answers would be interesting to read.
One not asleep at the switch…
No, maybe not. But with no defining statement you have left yourself wide open to all kinds of answers, some right on, some speculative, some silly. Are you referring to islands with railroads with no physical connections to “mainland” rails or to islands where there are railroads with no connections. Do you mean common carriers? Rapid transit? Any specific guage or guages? Industrial shortlines? Private industrial or agricultural lines within a private area? Or…?
No, maybe not. But with no defining statement you have left yourself wide open to all kinds of answers, some right on, some speculative, some silly. Are you referring to islands with railroads with no physical connections to “mainland” rails or to islands where there are railroads with no connections. Do you mean common carriers? Rapid transit? Any specific guage or guages? Industrial shortlines? Private industrial or agricultural lines within a private area? Or…?
Sigh.