Briefing: St Nicholas Abbey historic railway project, St Peter, Barbados, West Indies Available to Purchase

The estate of St Nicholas Abbey sits on hilly coralline limestone overlooking the east coast of Barbados, north of the Scotland District basin (13·20° north, 59·54° west). The area is characterised by deep gullies and a mix of cap coral, hard-to-soft limestone, coral rubble and voids. The estate is dominated by a Jacobean mansion, a rehabilitated 1658 sugar plantation and latterly a narrow-gauge tourist railway. The railway has a 671 m long circular loop on an embankment forming a man-made lake, a station and reception facilities. Switches connect the loop to a sinuous 670 m long single line through an almost continuous cutting to a terminus and turntable at the top of Cherry Tree Hill escarpment, a noted Barbados lookout point. The project involved a large earth-moving plant for the lake and railway cuttings. It included recovered former sugar industry assets, modern recycled materials and an inventory of rolling stock; two diesel locomotives, a 1916 steam locomotive successfully rehabilitated in England, three carriages and a flatbed car. Commissioning of the scheme took place in the winter of 2018/2019, and the commercial operation started early in 2019. Staff training and orientation are using UK heritage railway best-practice guidelines.