By Charlie Bown
Way back in 1913, a Bell Island businessman named J.B. Martin, owner of the ferry service, decided to start a transportation system starting at the ferry dock and going to the top of the island. This would carry passengers and freight up the hill to the plateau.
The ferry company built a cable operated inclined railway, moved by a large steam-operated drum at the top. The track arrangement was unusual, with separated tracks down from the top to just below the passing point, where they emerged into a gauntlet arrangement from there to the bottom. Track gauge was 36 inches. The two English-built trams were slightly different: one was for passengers and the other for freight. Both had flat bottoms and arched roofs. The passenger car had seats and handrails. The gradient of the line varied significantly as it climbed from sea level to the 130-foot elevation at the upper station and steam-engine hoist house, with a maximum of about 26 percent. The track was itself 2,400 feet long. The one-way fare was ten cents for adults and five cents for children. It was reported at that time that about 90 percent of the freight handled consisted of cases of beer for the thirsty miners. The service ended in 1948.
The commission of government was the government of the day in this colony of Great Britain. After the tramway closed down, they the government, sent over engineers to see if this hard-baked roadbed was suitable for a highway, it being in a straight line and mostly free of ice and snow. This would replace the steep, narrow and winding road that existed at that time. Alas, the following year Newfoundland entered confederation and once again Bell Island was the loser.