RMweb Gold westerhamstation Posted March 20, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 20, 2015 An article in the Times Of Malta about the last surviving railway carriage on the island. http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20150320/local/no-funds-for-maltas-last-surviving-railway-carriage.560615 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
L49 Posted July 23, 2015 Share Posted July 23, 2015 I've had a fascination with this railway ever since I first stumbled on the drawings for a Beyer Peacock 2. 6. 4 tank, then saw a photo of the underground terminus a Valletta. One of these days I am determined to get over to Malta to have a look at the remains, Would love to see if anything is left of Floriana station. There is a fantastic book on the line which a friend of mine brought back fro a trip to Malta some years ago. I can't remember the details off the top of my head, but if anyone is interested I will dig it out and let you know. PS. I think I have also seen some static models of the line somewhere on Google images. I will see if I can find them again. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Joseph_Pestell Posted July 23, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted July 23, 2015 I've had a fascination with this railway ever since I first stumbled on the drawings for a Beyer Peacock 2. 6. 4 tank, then saw a photo of the underground terminus a Valletta. One of these days I am determined to get over to Malta to have a look at the remains, Would love to see if anything is left of Floriana station. There is a fantastic book on the line which a friend of mine brought back fro a trip to Malta some years ago. I can't remember the details off the top of my head, but if anyone is interested I will dig it out and let you know. PS. I think I have also seen some static models of the line somewhere on Google images. I will see if I can find them again. Seems to be quite a lot of transport enthusiasts on the island and several books published over the years about the railway. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold westerhamstation Posted July 24, 2015 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted July 24, 2015 Seems to be quite a lot of transport enthusiasts on the island and several books published over the years about the railway. Have a look at this link to a museum in Malta. http://www.maltarailway.com/Malta%20Railway%20Museum/malta%20railway%20museum.html 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
river ewayon Posted January 16, 2016 Share Posted January 16, 2016 The tunnel under Mdina is used as a mushroom farm and the station is a restaurant. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold westerhamstation Posted April 8, 2017 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted April 8, 2017 The last surviving carriage from the Malta railway was moved away for restoration today. http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20170407/local/watch-maltas-last-surviving-train-carriage-chugs-toward-restoration.644585. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharris Posted April 8, 2017 Share Posted April 8, 2017 I may have a copy of that book too from my last trip to Malta (about 2008, I think) The Malta Railway Joseph Bonnici, Michael Cassar Printed by Gutenberg Press, Zabar, Malta and self-published by the authors. Revised Edition 1992 I can't see an ISBN printed anywhere on the book. I think I picked it up from one of the museums in Valletta. I say 'May' as I've just noticed there's an Oakwood Press book by the same name by B.L. Rigby 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMJ Posted May 4, 2017 Share Posted May 4, 2017 Manning Wardle also supplied quite a few of the locomotives see the search on my Leeds Engine site. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium PhilJ W Posted May 4, 2017 RMweb Premium Share Posted May 4, 2017 I may have a copy of that book too from my last trip to Malta (about 2008, I think) The Malta Railway Joseph Bonnici, Michael Cassar Printed by Gutenberg Press, Zabar, Malta and self-published by the authors. Revised Edition 1992 I can't see an ISBN printed anywhere on the book. I think I picked it up from one of the museums in Valletta. I say 'May' as I've just noticed there's an Oakwood Press book by the same name by B.L. Rigby I have both the revised edition and the original 1988 of the Bonnici/Cassar book. The authors are quite an authority on Maltese transport history, in another publication on the Maltese buses they cover the tram system which was the reason for the demise of the original railway company as it duplicated part of the railway into Valletta. The tramway itself only lasted a year or two beyond the railway before it closed due to bus competition. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
EddieB Posted May 4, 2017 Share Posted May 4, 2017 There's also a loco list in "Mediterranean Island Railways" (Kalla-Bishop), which includes standard gauge contractors locos (Hunslet) for construction of Valetta Harbour and military locos for Valetta Dockyard (Hawthorn Leslie). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold westerhamstation Posted May 4, 2017 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted May 4, 2017 Hi, some pictures of Mdina Station taken last week on holiday, now a cafe but good to see it being used and not falling into disrepair the owner said that they were hoping to get some Malta railway related items for it in the future. Also I managed to locate a copy of the Malta Railway book on the internet, photo of which is included. All the best Adrian., 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim V Posted May 4, 2017 Share Posted May 4, 2017 One of my father's slides, circa 1959. 8 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Siberian Snooper Posted May 4, 2017 RMweb Premium Share Posted May 4, 2017 Whilst I was on holiday on Malta, way back in January, I noticed a poster in the tourist information centre in Valletta advertising a model railway show put on by the restoration society, trouble was I saw it the day after the event. I hope they did well and if they have a similar event next year whilst I am there, I will try and support them, as until I saw the poster I never new Malta had a railway. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold chris p bacon Posted May 4, 2017 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 4, 2017 We were in Malta in March 2016. This is the bridge that brought the railway into Valletta. The station was underground The new parliament building has been built in the square above the site of the station and I'd wonder that it has been utilised in some way. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold westerhamstation Posted June 28, 2017 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted June 28, 2017 Some progress on the carriage https://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20170628/local/railway-carriage-restoration-picking-up-steam.651878 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold westerhamstation Posted January 19, 2019 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted January 19, 2019 Article about the Malta Railway in the Times Of Malta today. All the best Adrian. https://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20190118/community/following-the-tracks-of-the-malta-railway.699519 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pacific231G Posted January 19, 2019 Share Posted January 19, 2019 (edited) Article about the Malta Railway in the Times Of Malta today. All the best Adrian. https://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20190118/community/following-the-tracks-of-the-malta-railway.699519 Thanks Adrian that's fascinating. Do I see parallels between the Malta Railway and the two railways on Jersey ? (Guernsey was slightly different as its railway became an electric tram) None of these railways seem to have been able to compete with buses For such a short railway the surface building for the Valetta terminus does seem to have been rather grand. The surviving stone bridges also look very attractive. Has anyone got a track plan for the railway? In Mediterranean Island Railways Kalla-Bishop say that there were four passing loops and that the Valetta terminus, partly underground, had two platform faces. There were also eighteen manned level crossings (other sources give 14 manned 4 not-presumably accomodation crossings) , which must have increased the railway's costs According to Kalla-Bishop there was als an internal standard gauge railway system in the RN dockyard in Valetta (as there seems to have been in most RN dockyards of any importance) On this site http://maltarailway.com/ the video gives a good 18 minute tour of just about everythnig left of the railway from one end to the other (including the remaining coach pre its removal for restoration) along with a nunber of contemporary stills. I was intrigued by the tunnel ventilation shafts as they look far more modern than the railway. I'm guessing that all the tunnels were used as shelters during WW2. Edited January 20, 2019 by Pacific231G 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold westerhamstation Posted January 19, 2019 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted January 19, 2019 Hi, thanks for the link to the Malta Railway it looks like a very interesting site and one that I have never seen before. All the best Adrian. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pacific231G Posted January 20, 2019 Share Posted January 20, 2019 (edited) Graham Weller has just sent me photos of some Malta Railway rolling stock he built about twenty years ago from drawings supplied by a client who was building a OOn3 layout based on one of its stations. With Graham's permission I'm posting them here and he rather hopes the layout, if it was completed, and its owner may surface. Graham built at least four coaches and some goods wagons ( I understand the Malta Railway was passenger only but did have a few wagons for PW) but the locos were being scratchbuilt by another modeller. His customer had got as far as track, the station was one of those with a passing loop, station buildings and a crossing keepers cottage/hut and these had been very nicely modelled. Apart from the two published books he'd done a great deal of his own research but had to base his drawings on photos and measurements taken from the surviving coach (before it was restored) and a brake van body that was on a farm somewhere. Apparently, according to the client, when the railway was scrapped, all original documentation was destroyed as there was a certain amount of anti-British feeling in Malta at the time and they wanted nothing to do with the railways builders. OOn3 would not of course be as true to scale/gauge for a metre gauge railway as H0m but Graham thinks the layout builder was simply used to modelling in 4mm scale and supplied Graham with wheels, W-irons and chopper couplings. These may have been items manufactured for Irish 3ft gauge OOn3 but for H0m I've used similar looking underframes and wheels supplied by the 3mm Scale Society It would be interesting if anyone knows anything about this layout but Graham has heard nothing from his customer for about fifteen years. Edited January 20, 2019 by Pacific231G 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sir douglas Posted July 12, 2020 Share Posted July 12, 2020 the loco sheds & workshop buildings in Hamrun just up from Valetta also still survives and is by the scouts. this is the station building adjoining the sheds http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vEN7vQHaetY/UOmaEytvgzI/AAAAAAAABew/b9lwzG9SQuA/s1600/Hamrun_101209_8975.JPG the is a facebook group with lots of photos in https://www.facebook.com/groups/maltarailway/photos/ i also have that Bonnici & Cassar book 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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