An account of the construction of the railway was published in The Engineer of April 13, 1883, two months after the official inauguration.

Royal Engineer interference: underground platform and tunnel and a wooden viaduct in the Valletta ditch that could be quickly dismantled or destroyed in case of an invasion.

The description of the difficulties encountered during the construction would have resonated with Victorian engineers who had been engaged on one or more of several civil and military works undertaken after the Crimean War: sewerage, water supply, forts, reservoirs, graving docks, a new port, charitable institutions and a food market, to name but a few. The account is a time capsule of an event that ushered Malta into the commuter age, altered its topography and spawned urban sprawl and suburbia, if such was possible on a tiny island.

The Engineer admits that the line is short but “possesses several features of interest, both in the nature of the works and the circumstances under which they have been constructed”.

A comparison is then made between Malta and two islands where steam railways are in operation, the Isle of Wight and the Isle of Man.

“Malta is the smallest in size, with a 95-square-mile area, compared to 164 and 227 for the other two. Malta is densely populated: 133,000 people compared to about 55,000 each on the other two. Population per square mile: Malta 1,400, Isle of Wight, 341, Isle of Man, 242.

Seen from a distance, the train appeared to be travelling on top of a wall.

“On Malta, there are 21,000 people to the mile on the 6¾-mile-long line. Compare this to 1,000 people to the Isle of Wight’s 34¼-mile line and 1,264 people on the Isle of Man’s 43½. About 100,000 Maltese are served by the railway, or 16,000 per mile of line (after the extension to Notabile the final length rose to 7½ miles).”

Bridge over cutting beyond Attard Station.

It was essential to place the terminus at the capital, where the “High Street-Strada Reale of Valletta is the centre of all life, business, and amusement in Malta. Military and topographical conditions alike required that the level of the rails at the terminus should be some 35 feet below the level of the street, hence it was necessary to design an underground terminus. The booking office and waiting rooms are on the street level, whence steps conduct to the underground platforms.” The latter “are lighted partly by gas, and partly in daytime by the light from the end of the tunnel station, which opens on the escarp of the main ditch of Valletta, probably the most imposing military obstacle to assault in all of Europe.

Actual route and planned expansion of the railway line that would have included Sliema and St Julian’s.

“The main ditch is crossed by a timber viaduct of four spans of 22 feet, six inches each, and one of 35 feet, at the end of which, that is, at the counterscarp of the main ditch, the line becomes single, and enters another tunnel 913 yards in length, by which it is conducted through and under the succession of fortifications lying between the main ditch and the outside of Floriana. The tunnel is ventilated at frequent intervals by the shafts which were used for its construction.

“The alignment of the tunnel was settled after much consideration, in order to meet, as far as possible, the requirements of the military and civil authorities, which was no easy matter, a tunnel directly through the outworks of an important fortress being unprecedented.

The carriages were initially illuminated by candles for the passage through the tunnel and in the evenings. In the dim light, ladies complained about liberties taken and abusive behaviour

“It was subsequently discovered that an ancient subterranean reservoir, the position of which had not previously been known, would be intersected by the proposed line. In order to avoid this reservoir without altering the general alignment of the tunnel, it was decided to go round it, and so the tunnel has the rare feature of a double S curve in the middle of it. The delicate operation of setting out this peculiar alignment was successfully accomplished by the resident engineer, so that the headings met with a difference of about one inch only.

The railway would have been profitable had it been allowed to run to Sliema but the steam ferries got there first.

“At half a mile from the tunnel there is a second underground station for Floriana. At this point the rails are almost 90 feet below the ground. The long stairs necessary to reach the platform are arranged to make the descent as easy as possible. The line here is single, and space for the platform is provided by increasing the span of the arch forming the roof of the tunnel on one side only.

“At 47 chains, the line crosses a ditch and enters a tunnel 23 yards long, crosses a second ditch, cuts through the counterscarp, and at 54 chains emerges on the glacis of the outer fortifications.

“The tunnel is constructed on a falling gradient towards Notabile of one in 72. Thence to 3¼ miles the gradients are generally level, but from 3¼ miles to the end of the line is almost a continuous ascent beginning at one in 66, increasing to one in 50 for the greater part of the distance and terminating by a short piece of one in 40 at Notabile terminus, which is level.

“There are intermediate stations at Floriana, Ħamrun, Misida, Birchircara, Balzan, Lia Attard, and San Salvatore, with passing places at Ħamrun and Birchircara. The central depot is at Ħamrun where engine and carriage sheds are provided.

“Land being very valuable and reluctantly parted with, advantage has been taken of the circumstance that the cuttings are almost entirely in rock to form the embankment with hand-packed pitched slopes of ½ to 1, the more regularly shaped stones being selected for the outside and the interior of the bank filled with rubble. The train consequently gives the appearance of running along the top of a wall.

“The permanent way consists of a Vignoles steel rail weighing 45lb to the yard, fish-jointed, secured to the sleepers at the ends and middle of each rail by fang bolts, and at intermediate sleepers by dog spikes. The fang bolts have their nuts on the top of the flange of the rail, so as to avoid opening out the road for screwing up; the dog spikes are cylindrical, with blunt ends and the usual head. The flanges of the rail are not notched, but the square washers of the fang bolts are placed chock up against the ends of the fish-plate, so as to prevent the rails ‘creeping down’ the inclines; the gauge is one metre.

Engine No.1 lasted until the railway shut down in 1931. The company’s first three engines were underpowered; without a proper workshop, repairs had to be made at the Dockyard.

“The carriages, which were supplied by the Railway Carriage Company, Oldbury, are on the American system, with seats placed longitudinally and a central gangway through the cars. From the end platforms, convenient steps afford the means of descent to the station platform, which are only nine inches above rail level.

“The engines, which were supplied by Messrs Manning, Wardle, and Co., Leeds, are tank engines with six wheels coupled, cylinders 10½ inch diameter, 18 inch stroke: the only peculiarity about them is that arrangements are provided for turning the exhaust steam into the tank when passing through the tunnel, in order to keep the atmosphere as pure as possible.”

In practice this had negligible effect. There were several complaints about the nuisance from smoke at Valletta Station and in Floriana tunnel. Handkerchiefs must have been well used and the coming out for air at Portes des Bombes would have been greeted with relief and opening of carriage windows and doors. The adoption of Welsh smokeless coal as well as adjustments to the engines mitigated the problem to some extent.

The carriages were initially illuminated by candles for the passage through the tunnel and in the evenings. In the dim light, ladies complained about liberties taken and abusive behaviour. Although candles were replaced by battery-powered lamps, they continued to be used in emergencies and in unconverted carriages.

As late as 1926, Gerald Strickland rued the practice because “the British are laughing at us because a boy lit the candles in the carriages”. Another inconvenience was the risk of fields being set on fire by sparks from the chimneys. Spark arresting baskets were installed during the dry season but they did not always prevent fires.

Except for the odd embankment and railway station building, hardly anything remains as a reminder of that first engineering thrust in the Maltese countryside between 1870 and 1883.

Concluded

Michael Cassar co-authored several books with the late Joseph Bonnici until 2009. He continues to publish books with a social, maritime and transport theme. Past subjects have included the Malta Drydocks, the Malta Buses, HMS Hibernia, Royal Navy tugs and Malta Tugs (in collaboration with Tug Malta). His latest book The Gozo-Malta Connection celebrates the 130th anniversary since the start of the first regular mail service between the islands and the 35th anniversary of Gozo Channel Line. For further information e-mail info@bdlbooks.com or mikscas@gmail.com.