Railways in

Ascension Island

The original Ascension Island narrow gauge wharf railway in use.

Ascension Island is an island in the Atlantic Ocean and part of the British Overseas Territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha.

A short 3ft (914mm) gauge railway was operational from the 1860s for the transfer of supplies from the wharf into storage, and related purposes. Small 4-wheeled trolleys were propelled by hand. The photograph shows a live turtle being conveyed to a pond where it would be kept until required for food. One of the trolleys and a short section of track are preserved.

A railway was used to convey materials for the construction of a radio transmitting station on the island during Word War I.

In the 1920s, several railways were laid to carry guano for export, on the main island and on the offlying Boatswain Bird Island. It seems likely that they were either hand propelled or horse drawn. All had languished by the 1930s.

© 2019 Glyn Williams
Ascension Island flag image by HowFalcons from Wikipedia
Photo image believed to be public domain, retrieved from the website of Railways of the Far South