The Cyprus Government Railway was a
narrow gauge
A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and .
Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...
railway
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...
network that operated in
Cyprus
Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...
from October 1905 to December 1951. With a total length of , there were 39 stations, stops and halts, the most prominent of which served
Famagusta
Famagusta ( , ; el, Αμμόχωστος, Ammóchostos, ; tr, Gazimağusa or ) is a city on the east coast of Geography of Cyprus, Cyprus. It is located east of Nicosia District, Nicosia and possesses the deepest harbour of the island. Duri ...
,
Prastio Mesaoria,
Angastina
Angastina ( gr, Αγκαστίνα, tr, Aslanköy) is a village in the Famagusta District of Cyprus, located around 20 km east of Nicosia, on the main road to Famagusta. It is under the ''de facto'' control of Northern Cyprus. Angastina is ...
,
Trachoni,
Nicosia
Nicosia ( ; el, Λευκωσία, Lefkosía ; tr, Lefkoşa ; hy, Նիկոսիա, romanized: ''Nikosia''; Cypriot Arabic: Nikusiya) is the largest city, capital, and seat of government of Cyprus. It is located near the centre of the Mesaor ...
,
Kokkinotrimithia
Kokkinotrimithia ( el, Κοκκινοτριμιθιά []) is a village located west of Nicosia, Cyprus, close to the Green Line (Cyprus), Green Line. It has an exit along the A9 motorway (Cyprus), A9 motorway. In 2011, it had 4,077 inhabitants.
R ...
,
Morphou
Morphou ( el, Μόρφου; tr, Omorfo or ) is a town in the northwestern part of Cyprus, under the ''de facto'' control of Northern Cyprus. It is the administrative center of the Güzelyurt District of Northern Cyprus. Having been a predominan ...
,
Kalo Chorio and
Evrychou. The CGR was closed down due to financial reasons. An extension of the railway which was built to serve the
Cyprus Mines Corporation
The Cyprus Mines Corporation was an early twentieth century American mining company based in Cyprus. In 1914, Charles G. Gunther began prospecting in the Skouriotissa area after reading in ancient books that the island was rich in copper and n ...
operated until 1974.
History
Background
When the first British
High Commissioner, Sir
Garnet Wolseley
Field Marshal Garnet Joseph Wolseley, 1st Viscount Wolseley, (4 June 183325 March 1913), was an Anglo-Irish officer in the British Army. He became one of the most influential and admired British generals after a series of successes in Canada, W ...
, arrived in Cyprus in 1878, he was keen to construct a railway on the island but the project did not come to fruition for a long time, due to the uncertainty of the length of the British
mandate in Cyprus. In July 1903, Frederick Shelford - on behalf of the
Crown Agents
Crown Agents Ltd is a not-for-profit international development company with head office in London, United Kingdom, and subsidiaries in USA and Japan.
Crown Agents fully owns Greenshields Cowie, a freight forwarding limited company incorporated in ...
- submitted a feasibility study for the construction of a railway line that would originate at Famagusta and terminate at
Karavostasi via
Nicosia
Nicosia ( ; el, Λευκωσία, Lefkosía ; tr, Lefkoşa ; hy, Նիկոսիա, romanized: ''Nikosia''; Cypriot Arabic: Nikusiya) is the largest city, capital, and seat of government of Cyprus. It is located near the centre of the Mesaor ...
and
Morphou
Morphou ( el, Μόρφου; tr, Omorfo or ) is a town in the northwestern part of Cyprus, under the ''de facto'' control of Northern Cyprus. It is the administrative center of the Güzelyurt District of Northern Cyprus. Having been a predominan ...
, at a total cost of £141,526.
Construction
The proposal was approved in November 1903 and the earthworks began in May 1904; the existing line at
Famagusta
Famagusta ( , ; el, Αμμόχωστος, Ammóchostos, ; tr, Gazimağusa or ) is a city on the east coast of Geography of Cyprus, Cyprus. It is located east of Nicosia District, Nicosia and possesses the deepest harbour of the island. Duri ...
harbour was extended South to
Varosha by and Section 1 [''Famagusta-
Nicosia
Nicosia ( ; el, Λευκωσία, Lefkosía ; tr, Lefkoşa ; hy, Նիկոսիա, romanized: ''Nikosia''; Cypriot Arabic: Nikusiya) is the largest city, capital, and seat of government of Cyprus. It is located near the centre of the Mesaor ...
'', ] was inaugurated on 21 October 1905 by List of High Commissioners of the United Kingdom to Cyprus, High Commissioner, Sir Charles King-Harman, Charles Anthony King-Harman. The construction of Section 2 [''Nicosia-
Morphou
Morphou ( el, Μόρφου; tr, Omorfo or ) is a town in the northwestern part of Cyprus, under the ''de facto'' control of Northern Cyprus. It is the administrative center of the Güzelyurt District of Northern Cyprus. Having been a predominan ...
'', ] began in July 1905 and was inaugurated was on 31 March 1907. However, three years later, the Railway was already operating at a loss and so an operation study for the CGR was conducted by Bedford Glasier. The study was published in January 1913 and suggested the construction of the terminus at
Evrychou. So, the construction of Section 3
'Morphou-Evrychou'', began in November 1913 and it was inaugurated on 14 June 1915.
Motive Power
Locomotives
Summary of the 12 locomotives:
*No. 1 –
0-6-0T built by
Hunslet Engine Company
The Hunslet Engine Company is a locomotive-building company, founded in 1864 in Hunslet, England. It manufactured steam locomotives for over 100 years and currently manufactures diesel shunting locomotives. The company is part of Ed Murray & So ...
(846 of 1904)
*Nos. 11–12 –
4-4-0 built by
Nasmyth Wilson and Company
*Nos. 21–23 –
2-6-0 built by
Nasmyth Wilson and Company
*Nos. 31–32 –
2-6-2T built by
Nasmyth Wilson and Company
*Nos. 41–44 –
4-8-4T built by
Kitson and Company
Kitson and Company was a locomotive manufacturer based in Hunslet, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England.
Early history
The company was started in 1835 by James Kitson at the Airedale Foundry, off Pearson Street, Hunslet, with Charles Todd as a part ...
Railcars
Summary of the 9 railcar units:
*6 by
D Wickham & Co
The Wickham trolley was a railway engineering personnel carrier built by D. Wickham & Co of Ware, Hertfordshire. This long established firm introduced their rail trolley in 1922 as a lightweight track inspection and maintenance vehicle. This was ...
*3 by
Drewry Car Co.
The Drewry Car Co was a railway locomotive and railcar manufacturer and sales organisation from 1906 to 1984. At the start and the end of its life it built its own products, for the rest of the time it sold vehicles manufactured by sub-contract ...
Operation and uses
![Cyprus Railway Museum - Four new Nasmyth Wilson locomotives on the bridge near Mia Milea](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/93/Cyprus_Railway_Museum_-_Four_new_Nasmyth_Wilson_locomotives_on_the_bridge_near_Mia_Milea.jpg)
By the time the total of the CGR had been completed, running costs had spiralled to £199,367, which remained constant throughout the operation period of the line.
The Cyprus Government Railway was used in a number of ways and served both the colonial authorities and the local population. Principal operations were as follows:
* It served the port of Famagusta, as a freight transfer system.
* It transferred timber from the
Troodos Mountains
Troodos (sometimes spelled Troödos; el, Τρόοδος ; tr, Trodos Dağları) is the largest mountain range in Cyprus, located in roughly the center of the island. Its highest peak is Mount Olympus ( el, Όλυμπος), also known as Chion ...
to towns and cities across Cyprus.
* It carried freight, ore and minerals on behalf of the
Cyprus Mines Corporation
The Cyprus Mines Corporation was an early twentieth century American mining company based in Cyprus. In 1914, Charles G. Gunther began prospecting in the Skouriotissa area after reading in ancient books that the island was rich in copper and n ...
.
* The local railway stations functioned as a place of exchange of goods and services, while some also operated as telephone centres, telegram offices and/or postal offices.
* CGR trains carried mail, which arrived in Famagusta via the Egyptian
Khedivial Mail Line (1912–1939).
The existence of a railway in Cyprus brought many benefits to the population of Cyprus. However, during the first years of its operation, many reportedly viewed the railway as a spectacle to be viewed rather than a means of transportation. Overall, the CGR carried 3,199,934 tons of commercial goods and freight and 7,348,643 passengers during its history.
The various stations were designated by large trilingual (
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
,
Turkish and
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
) white signs. The CGR owned a total of 12 locomotives, 17 coaches and about 100 multi-purpose wagons, 50 of which were purchased from Egypt and Palestine. The CGR employed around 200 people in total.
Railway Stations Halts and Sidings
Harbour Section
*
Varosha, Famagusta
Varosha ( el, Βαρώσια, ; tr, Maraş or ''Kapalı Maraş'') is the southern quarter of the Famagusta, a ''de jure'' territory of Cyprus, currently under the control of Northern Cyprus. Varosha has a population of 226 in the 2011 Nor ...
*
Famagusta Harbour
Section 1
*Varosha, Famagusta
*
English Halt
*
Enkomi Halt
*
Styllos Siding
*
Prastio Station
*
Gaidhouras Halt
*
Pyrga Siding
*
Yenagra Siding
*
Vitsadha Halt
*
Marathovouno Siding
*
Angastina Station
*
Monastir Siding
*
Exometochi Halt
*
Epikho Siding
*
Trakhoni Station
*
Mia Milea Halt
*
Kaimakli Siding
*
Nicosia Station
Section 2
*Nicosia Station
*
Ayios Dhometios Halt
*
Nicosia Aerodrome Halt
*
Yerolakkos Halt
*
Kokkino Trimithia Station
*
Dhenia Siding
*
Peristerona Siding
*
Kato-Kopia Siding
*
Argaki Siding
*
Morphou Station
Section 3
*Morphou Station
*
Nikitas Halt
*
Baraji Halt
*
Gaziveran Halt
*
Pendayia Siding
*
Karyotis Junction
*
Kalokhorio Station
*
Skouriotissa Halt
*
Vlasio Halt
*
Evrychou Station
Events
During the 46 years of its operation, the CGR was involved in various events concerned with the
modern history of Cyprus
Modern may refer to:
History
* Modern history
** Early Modern period
** Late Modern period
*** 18th century
*** 19th century
*** 20th century
** Contemporary history
* Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century
Phil ...
:
*During the
Enosis riots in October 1931, of line were torn up, as the railway was regarded as a symbol of British colonial rule.
* The transportation of
Allied
An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
troops to and from Famagusta, Nicosia Airport and Xeros during both World Wars.
* The track was targeted by the
Axis
An axis (plural ''axes'') is an imaginary line around which an object rotates or is symmetrical. Axis may also refer to:
Mathematics
* Axis of rotation: see rotation around a fixed axis
* Axis (mathematics), a designator for a Cartesian-coordinat ...
powers during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
* The railway was used for the transportation of a large number of the 50,000
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
refugees to Karaolos
internment camps
Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without Criminal charge, charges or Indictment, intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects ...
, between 1946–1949.
Closure
The line never made a profit and by 1932 the Western terminus station was at Kalokhorio Lefka, while from 1948 onwards it only reached Nicosia aerodrome. After World War II the ramshackle equipment and competition from the improved road network led the Government to the decision to definitely terminate the CGR. The last train departed from Nicosia Station at 14:57 on 31 December 1951 and arrived at Famagusta at 16:38. The process of dismantling lasted up to March 1953.
After an auction was announced in ''Cyprus Gazette'', 10 of the 12 locomotives, the tracks and part of the rolling stock were sold to the company Meyer Newman & Co, for the price of £65,626. Locomotive 1 was preserved as a monument outside
Famagusta
Famagusta ( , ; el, Αμμόχωστος, Ammóchostos, ; tr, Gazimağusa or ) is a city on the east coast of Geography of Cyprus, Cyprus. It is located east of Nicosia District, Nicosia and possesses the deepest harbour of the island. Duri ...
Station. Most of the former CGR employees were re-employed in state services and semi-governmental organisations.
Some wagons were bought by locals, acquiring novel uses, while the equipment was distributed amongst seven governmental departments. The stations were either demolished or turned into police stations (''Angastina'',
''Kokkini Trimithia'') or Public Works Department warehouses (''Famagusta'', ''Nicosia''); Morphou Station became a grain storehouse, while at Evrychou it operated as a sanitary centre and a forest worker dormitory.
Heritage
A large part of the Nicosia-Famagusta motorway was built along the former railway track. Engine 1 can now be seen in front of the station building in Famagusta. Wagon 152 was restored and placed in the linear park in
Kaimakli
Kaimakli ( el, Καϊμακλί ; tr, Kaymaklı or ) is a large northeastern suburb of Nicosia, Cyprus. Since 1968, it belongs to the Municipality of Nicosia. Its population in 2011 was 11,564.
Etymology
Kaimakli derives from the Turkish ''kay ...
in 1995, then after a restoration it was moved to an exhibition featuring CGR relics in the Cultural Center of Laiki Bank in Nicosia. After a recent restoration work in 2012, this van together with a hand-powered trolley are now under a new shelter at Evrychou station with informative posters about its past and present. Evrychou station and its surroundings were rebuilt to become the Cyprus Railway Museum, with a total of about of new tracks laid in 2010–2012, in a Y-shape, almost with the original gauge. The museum finally opened in November 2014. Tracks (more precisely: non-continuous portions of tracks) have also been laid in the Kaimakli area, but with different gauges: about 280 m with a 1380 mm and 18 m with a 595 mm gauge from the Agiou Ilaririonos street to the West and to the East directions, respectively. There are also posters with old pictures and time-tables exhibited along this
linear park
A linear park is a type of park that is significantly longer than it is wide. These linear parks are strips of public land running along canals, rivers, streams, defensive walls, electrical lines, or highways and shorelines. Examples of linear p ...
in Kaimakli. In
Agios Dometios
''Agios'' ( el, Άγιος), plural ''Agioi'' (), transcribes masculine gender Greek words meaning 'sacred' or 'saint' (for example Agios Dimitrios, Agioi Anargyroi). It is frequently shortened in colloquial language to ''Ai'' (for example Ai Str ...
, where another short portion of the former railway line near Nicosia lies to the South from the
Green Line after 1974, part of the railway line has recently become a linear park and a multi-purpose centre.
See also
*
History of Cyprus
Human habitation of Cyprus dates back to the Paleolithic era. Cyprus's geographic position has caused Cyprus to be influenced by differing Eastern Mediterranean civilisations over the millennia.
Periods of Cyprus's history from 1050 BC have ...
*
Transport in Cyprus
Because Cyprus has no working railway system, various other methods of transport are needed to ensure the proper delivery of any cargo, be it human or freight. Since the last railway was dismantled in 1952, the only remaining modes of transport a ...
References
* '/''The Cyprus Government Railway (1905–1951)'' by Alexander-Michael Hadjilyra; Nicosia, 2006.
External links
*
Roxey Mouldings: narrow gauge models inc Cyprus Government Railway-
OO9 loco kits
*
CHRONICLE for the Cyprus Government Railway by Alexander-Michael HadjilyraInformative brochure for the Cyprus Government Railway by Alexander-Michael HadjilyraNarrow Gauge image gallery of Cyprus Government RailwayCyprus Railways Museum
{{Authority control
British Cyprus
2 ft 6 in gauge railways in Cyprus