This is a lovely insight into the early days of the Malta Railway from the Globe newspaper in England. Although written in March 1883, it describes a trial-run and the testing of the line before it opened for traffic on Feb 28th the same year.

The test train is described as being formed of two locomotives of only “pony power”, two ballast waggons, and two carriages, one first class and one composite.

Who was the courteous and indefatigable gentleman mentioned, who’d been involved with the Opera House too? Was it the Governor, Sir John Gaspard Le Marchand or someone else in Government?