Hamrun survivals

There are a few bits of the Malta Railway still hidden about Hamrun. These photographs show two important fragments surviving from the railway embankment at the station throat at its east end.

Whilst the line of the track has been built-up with houses on one side and a stadium on the other, there are still parts of the embankment that retain the stone corbelling details recorded in the 1970s or 80s.

The stone embankment seen from above, showing the giant corbels supporting a projecting stone edge. Only a small fragment still survives here.
A longer stretch of the corbelled embankment was photographed, probably in the 1960s, and included in Bonicci and Cassar’s book on the railway. Housing development has obliterated a lot of what’s seen here.

This remnant was hidden on the south side of the line, visible only after the demolition of the adjacent building. We’re grateful to the contractor who took such an interest in the railway and helped us find more.

Shortly beyond this, a largely forgotten underpass still survives. These narrow underpasses were originally designed for farmers to access fields on either side of the track, or vicolo for agricultural use.

The north side of this one now accesses the premises of the football stadium. On the south it is still accessible down narrow back alleys, and retains much of its original appearance, or at lest that recorded in the 1960s.

The mouth of the underpass under the station throat Now gated, it formerly accessed fields on the north side of the line.
An undated photo, probably from the 1960s, showing the same underpass.

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