Above is tight crop of a 1920s photo of Museum station looks along the station platform and embankment towards Mtarfa. In the middle distance an unusual wagon can be seen halfway along the long siding there. This is one of the two low-sided open waggons used principally for transporting railway ballast up the line.

However, it’s load in this image is more curious, being a large, cylindrical tank.

The railway was forced to economise in the face of competition from the tramway and busses, but they also sought new business opportunities to supplement ticket sales. It’s recorded that they offered a service to farmers adjacent to the track to help irrigate fields, and this seems to be the purpose of this odd hybrid vehicle.

How the water was dispensed to the fields and how this service fitted in with a busy train schedule is unclear.