Intresteded in modeling Jamaican railroads, What should I buy for starters for Locos and Cars in G?

[Anonymous]

My freind runs a smoking supply shop that is based on a Jamaican Motif. We want to run a train from upstairs to downstairs. I know the Island had a railroad, so what kind of steamers did they use? I am Guessing British engines?

[DSchmitt]

I found the following references on a stamp collectors site. Don't know where to find them:

Cotterill, D. ‘Jamaican Railways as Depicted on Stamps.’
Illustrated, b/w
Railway Philately, Vol. 33, No.4, September, 1999, pp202-205

Goodbody, A.M. ‘Jamaica.’
Illustrated, b/w
Railway Philately, Vol. 10, No.4, September, 1976, pp108-109

Also found info that the railways are currently not operating (except for some mining operations that use fairly modern 1970's + US diesels) although there is a proposal to reopen them.

[twhite]

I know of one case where Jamaican railroads used American equipment. There is a film called "Dark of the Sun" that came out around 1969, that, though it takes place in the Belgian Congo, was actually filmed in Jamaica. The train used in the film, borrowed from the Jamaican railways was an American 4-8-0 as was the rolling stock. Everything looked to be from about the 1910-20 era. The film is available on video, if you want to use it as a frame of reference. Warning: It's an EXTREMELY violent movie, but the train shots are frequent and quite good.
Tom

[Anonymous]

If you check out this link, you will find information on some Jamaican Alco RS-8 diesels:
http://alcoworld.railfan.net/jamaica.htm

There's also a picture I found of one of these diesels pulling some cars at: http://www.fotosearch.com/COR436/391006/

Also check out this website: http://www.webpraxis.ab.ca/cgi-bin/steam/_mpd/mpd.cgi I can't link the exact page, but if you go through the countries, you will find Jamaica and some pictures of a 4-8-0.

Hopefully this helps you out some. While searching for these, I found out that Jamaica has 370 miles of railroad, which is still in operation.