Monday  11th March  2019   –      Nicholas Abbey,  Barbados

   Official Opening Ceremony  for the St. Nicholas Abbey Heritage Railway

     The Prime Minister of Barbados  Mia Amor Mottley  is assisted with the cutting of the ribbon to officially declare open the St. Nicholas Abbey Heritage Railway by the Grand Children of the  Co- owner  Larry Warren, four year old twin boys, Arthur ( at left ) and Henry Warren, their Mother Camilla Warren  is holding younger  brother  George Larry Warren.

    Go here to view Photoshow of the Opening Ceremony…….

          Budget day in Barbados is Wednesday, March 20 and Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley will deliver the annual budgetary proposals at 3:30 p.m., in Parliament.

     Ms. Mottley made the announcement on Monday evening as she delivered the keynote address at the commissioning of a steam locomotive at St. Nicholas Abbey’s Heritage Railway.

     She said this would be the first time that the second reading of the Appropriation Bill and the budget would be brought together, explaining that the process was previously separated.

     “And the reason for it is this, that numbers make no sense unless I can show the country, and we can agree as a country where we are going…both economically and socially as a society.

     “I will have the opportunity to speak at greater length on March 20 where we will map out, not just what may be a revenue shortfall, but more importantly, where Barbados is, and where we must take it to ensure that the future is secure, sustainable and prosperous, not just for a few, but for all.”

     Ms. Mottley told her audience that investments such as the heritage railway, married with policy decisions being made by government, for example, to secure the sugar industry, would make the definable difference to confidence returning to this country.

     She said government believed that the sugar industry could be sustainable in the future.  She proffered the view that Barbados must stem the decline of the sugar industry by making “sensible financial decisions” which could make it profitable again at all levels

     “The most important thing is the timeliness of the decision making and it is for that reason…my government recently took the decision to vote the monies necessary to be able to start the 2019 crop, without having to make people wait for inordinate periods of time,” the Prime Minister stated.

     She thanked the director with the joint venture heritage railway, Larry Warren, and the investors for taking the risk, saying that kind of integrated project would make a meaningful difference.  She suggested that linking it to tourism was even more important because tourists did not only want to see the end product, but wanted to see the process.

    Ms. Mottley expressed the view that too few Barbadians appreciated the beauty, majesty and history of this country.  She opined that more school children needed to learn more about this island.

   sharon.austingill-moore@barbados.gov.bb

 Mr  Larry Warren giving his remarks.

              Larry   Warren   Speech to Open Railway

The Honourable Mia Amor Mottley QC. M.P> Prime Minister

The Honourable Indar Weir M.P. Minister of Agriculture and Food   Security

The Honourable Colin Jordan M.P. for St. Peter, Minister of Labour and Social Partnership Relations

Reverend Fr. Jerome Small- St. Phillip-the-less Church Boscobelle

Distinguished Guest

Invited Guest and the press

        I wish to thank the Prime Minister for agreeing to open the railway today and thank you for attending this historic occasion to celebrate the return of the railway to our island after 82 years.

           It has been a fateful journey to get to where we are today through sheer persistence, incredible support from the Barbados public, government, revenue authority, customs, planning and regulatory departments that has seen the completion of the project in 14 months from the time that the locomotive restoration commenced in October of 2017. Indeed the actual earthworks and construction took only 10 months.

           I say fateful; as I would like to draw your attention to the bell behind me on the water tank which has been here at St. Nicholas for many years and we always marveled at its wonderful tone and the clarity of its ring. It was only a few weeks ago when putting together the exhibition in the train station did we realize that far from a simple plantation or mill wall bell, we actually had a bell from one of the original Baldwin locomotive brought to the island when the track was re-gauged to 30” in 1898 for The Bridgetown and St. Andrew Railway Ltd. We are therefore very proud to use this bell today to open the railway as a tribute to our past.

          Before getting into the details of the railway project, I would like to reflect on where we have come these past 13 years since St. Nicholas Abbey opened on the 20th   November 2006 as it relates to the business model and the maintenance and preservation of the land as a sugar plantation.

          Our mission over these years has been to preserve and sustain the property through a very simple business plan of integrating Tourism and Manufacturing towards sustainability and a more meaningful visitor experience. This has proven to be very successful especially as it relates to the production of our syrup and rum. Our Fletcher of Derby steam mill dating back to 1890 is a star attraction for the visitors when it is grinding. It was installed twice by D.M. Simpson and Co.; initially 129 years ago, and then again 35 years ago here at St. Nicholas under the supervision of Mr. Peter Simpson who is with us here today.

       Since the Mill was made operational in 2007 D. M. Simpson has continued to maintain it under the watchful eye of Mr. Charlie Corbin who has also been involved with this project restoring the very handsome boiler tank behind me and installing critical infrastructure and I expect he will contribute to the ongoing maintenance of the Steam Locomotive. Thank you both for your help over the years and continuing support.

          You may have noticed either side of the road after leaving Moore Hill that the arable land of the plantation is partly sugar cane and cut grass. The reason for this is that we are maintaining the lands for future cultivation in whatever form the sugar industry eventually evolves into. It is a passion of mine to see the industry become viable and sustainable without government support.

           As the industry evolves, the three streams currently under consideration are biomass for energy, sugar and syrup for local consumption, and for use in the rum industry, similar to our processes here at St. Nicholas. Our premium Rum is made from Syrup, not molasses however I believe there is a real possibility for the sugar and rum industry to come together to create a local demand for syrup and molasses as a byproduct of sugar production for local consumption.

          The late Keith Laurie sugar technologist and rum aficionado made this point when we first started rum production here at St. Nicholas. He persistently made the case that syrup as a commodity is far more versatile than sugar and utilizes 30% less energy with significantly lower capital expenditure.

          St. Nicholas is the first plantation to start crop and the last to finish. We grow sugar cane to make our premium artisan rum and added value products such as Syrup.  

          We have control over our production and its end use and value added.

This is the model that needs to extend to both industries away from imported molasses to make rum and exporting sugar to uncertain and underpriced markets.

         I would mention that the railway in this instance is not primarily intended as a diversified use of the land but rather a means of projecting the visitor experience beyond the great house, distillery and plantation yard.

       Our intention from the outset was to use the railway as an attraction to broaden the visitor base in a compatible manner maintaining the intimate surroundings within the setting of the Great House whilst creating an overall destination attraction for the visitors.

           The Railway is an $8,000,000 Joint Venture with a group of local and overseas investors who see the project as an enhancement to the islands tourism product and in particular the cruise industry sector while providing opportunities for the surrounding communities, jobs and increased tourism to the northern parishes.  

Heritage Steam Railways are major attractions throughout the world especially in the UK, Europe and North America and the railway gives another dimension to the traditional tourism product and expands on the heritage theme already established here while providing additional marketing opportunities.

          Together with St. Nicholas Abbey the overall attraction and distillery now directly employs 52 people mainly from the Northern Parishes in keeping with our policy to promote employment within the surrounding communities.

        The railway will meet UK heritage standards and all critical personnel are examined to meet that standard including ongoing training.

To give some idea as to the scope of the project, the track is 30” gauge similar to the original railway, with a total return journey of approx. 2.0 km. There is a 22 metre level change between the Croquet Lawn station and Cherry Tree Hill producing a challenging 3% gradient for most of the accent.

          The Journey takes the visitor through a varied landscape around a lake, open fields, steep rock cuttings, through a disused quarry and finally arriving at Cherry Tree Hill with its expansive views across the east coast and our National Park. At this point the locomotive is rotated on a turntable to bypass the coaches and reconnect for the downward journey while the passengers can take in the view and the browse the vendors gallery nearby. Visitors are invited to help with turning the locomotive.

          The railway will also be a transportation link between the plantation great house and the quarry where it is intended that events and concerts will be held within the excavated floor and amphitheater shape; the remnants of the quarry operation. You will see this feature during the journey to the top of the hill.

The rolling stock of the railway consists of 3 diesel locomotives and 3 open-air coaches with a total capacity of 96 passengers.

       The phrase “Steam is King” very much applies to our main locomotive Tjepper No. 5 as this very rare engine transforms the visitor experience into another age. Indeed the restoration was so extensive that it took 16 months to complete only arriving a few weeks ago.

         No. 5 spent most of its life from 1917-1996 working on a sugar plantation on the island of Java, Indonesia until it was salvaged and transferred to the UK.

The locomotive will use wood and coal and recent trials have shown that the wood, mainly Casuarina and Mahogany deadwood from our 100 acres of forests has proven very successful as a source of fuel.

          As with most projects the successful outcome is attributed to many people who have given valuable input and time to the project.

          In recognition I would like to mention some of those who have worked on the project and apologize for not recognizing all of those who contributed but thank you collectively for your effort:

 Statfold Engineering, Tamworth Staffordshire UK undertook the restoration and newly built coaches with Mr. Nick Noon overseeing the project and recently completing the commissioning, training   and examination of the crew.

 The track installation was installed by Cromar White of Holyhead Wales UK and Mr. Tony Martin flew in especially for the opening and is here with us today.

 I would like to extend thanks and appreciation to Infra Inc. earthworks contractors supervised by Kerri Knight and assisted by Jamar O’Neal for their contribution to the project.

 Jefferson Headley and his team for the electrical, sound installation and general advice on all matters including how to burn coal.

 Edward Benn and his team for the plumbing.

 Structural Systems who under took the Engine Shed and related works.

 Everick Scantlebury - General Contractor and his team.

 BDO Brett Massiah   for countless hours of advice

 809 Design- Neil Barnard for his creative marketing and Sofie Warren for photography and documenting the progress of the project.

          Finally a special thanks to my family for their support and contribution to the project especially to my wife Anna who has tirelessly undertaken the landscaping including watering it in the dark….all from our well of course!

Further thanks and appreciation to Camilla for arranging the gift shop and our eldest son Simon who came up with the initial idea for the railway for which I only contributed grey hair and along with Anna countless sleepless nights. My son Shae could not be with us today but I appreciate his support and counsel during the past year.

Thank you.

            I will be acting also as master of ceremonies so at this time I would like to invite the Prime Minister to give the feature address followed by the blessing of the railway by Reverend   Fr. Jerome Small and then the toll of the bell by the   Prime   Minister to signify the opening of the railway.

EMPLOYEE NAME

Cleveland Inniss

Michael Brown

Donnavan Hippolyte

Basil Graham

Andrew Dunner

Michelle Griffith

Cindy Trudge

Elvis O'neale

Tonia Scantlebury

Jacinta Gilkes

Rachelle Husbands

Rhea Gill

Shemika Haynes

Justin Corbin

Robertha Smith

Andrea Greaves

Wendy Knight

Holly Lammy

Sheriann Best