The railways of Jamaica were constructed from 1845, making it the second British colony to receive a railway system, following Canada in 1836 with the Champlain and St Lawrence Railroad. Construction started only twenty years after the Stockton & Darlington Railway commenced operations in the United Kingdom.

May Pen is the capital and largest town in the parish of Clarendon in Middlesex County, Jamaica. It is located on the Rio Minho river, and is a major market centre for the parish. The population was 61,548 at the 2011 census increasing from 59,550 in 2001, including the surrounding suburbs of Sandy Bay, Mineral Heights, Hazard, Palmers Cross, Denbigh, Race Track, and Four Paths among others. The town has a mayor.