Village Squire, 1978-02, Page 34TRAVEL
No doubt you've heard tales of the Pony
Express...you've probably trembled at
hearing stories of the famed Orient
Express. But how about the Banana Belt
Express.
Whereas the Pony Express provided
adventure for the daring and determined
riders, and the Orient Express is featured
in mystery books and movies, so too does
the Banana Belt Express provide its riders
with an experience never to be forgotten.
The Banana Belt Express runs from
Montego Bay to Kingston, a five-hour
journey, and makes some 20 stops along
the way.
The train is operated by the Jamaica
Railway Corporation, and makes a twice
daily return trip between the west coast
resort area and the capital city. It gives you
a roller coaster ride through Jamaica's
heartland - hard to match anywhere in the
world for scenic grandeur and sheer.
delicious terror.
"A New and Exciting Way to See
Jamaica," the railway timetable reads.
Early in the morning. when the
diesel -powered train departs Montego Bay
Station, naive vacationers, only hours from
the jet -powered comforts of Air Canada's
flights a;td the hum -drum schedule of
hometown commuter trains, fail to grasp
the truth of this understatement. Few trips
ever will be more exciting, more
exhausting, more memorable.
32, VILLAGE SQUIRE/FEBRUARY 1978.
Jamaica offers a train ride
you'll never forget-
The
orgetf
The Montego Bay Railroad Station at
ruby light is an exhilarating experience. as
seasoned travellers and novice railroaders
scramble aboard at the conductor's first
warning.
Those making the trip before know to
grab the window: seats on the right hand
side of the First Class coach.
For the first part of the run. at least. this
side offers the most spectacular view. s. Up
front. the engineer blasts a cavalry charge
bugle calls into the misty morning. And
away we go!
Up the first hill to Anchovy. the narrow:
tratk clings to the steep hillside rising over
the jungle gorge. Through the back
window:. the unforgettable panorama of
Montego Bay Harbour and Bogue Islands
shimmers in the early morning sunlight
and then fades from view behind the forest
wall.
Anchovy is an important stop. a colorful
clearing amid giant trees with a market
train drawn up at the siding. loaded with
plantation produce. This is a jungle
super -market where customers arrive on
donkey carts. bicycles and on foot to barter
for the sticks of green bananas and straw
baskets heavy with tangerines. oranges.
yams and mangoes; where bare -foot
shoppers in bright bandanas and multi-
colored skirts carry off the week's groceries
delicately balanced on their heads.
Leaving Anchovy. the little train
trundles onward and upv.ard. its trumpet
signal shattering tiic mountain stillness at
every curve. Nei. passengers embark at
Montpelier• one v.ith a burden of straw
shipping bags and a large cardboard box of
protesting red hens.
"Kindly mum your feet. Ma'am." the
conductor suggests. and the box is tucked
smartly under the scat next to the picnic
lunch.
"Stonehenge." the conductor announc-
es. as the cars skid to a jolting halt on the
boundaries of the Wild Cockpit Country.
with its lonely plains and forbidding
mountains. Novythe left hand side
passengers come into their own as the
primitive landscape rolls by the windows
on their side of the train.
Clinging desperately to each other and
their scattered luggage. novice passengers
turn a little green as they peer into the '
canyon yawning below the tracks. They
turn a little greener at the sound of angel
voices harmonizing in the distance.
"In the cross. in the cross
"Be my glory ever.
"Till my raptured soul shall find
"Rest beyond the river..."
Seasoned travellers who've been this
v. -ay before tell terrified newcomers not to
fret. The hymn is the signal that Evangelist
Earl McKenzie and his "Band of Hope"
boarded the train at Ipsv. ich to conduct his