April 23, 2026
Choo-choo or choco-colonialism?
The Forgotten History of Hershey's Electric Railway (1916) in Cuba
Sweet ride or sugar-coated empire — the internet can’t decide
TLDR: Hershey built an electric railway in Cuba to secure sugar during World War I, pairing mills and company towns with early electrification. Commenters are split between praising the engineering and calling it “sugar-coated colonialism,” debating whether the perks were progressive care or corporate control—and why that history still matters.
Hershey built an electric railway in Cuba in the 1910s to keep chocolate flowing during World War I, and the comments are melting down faster than a Kiss in July. One side is swooning over the engineering flex—56 kilometers of track, electrified by 1920, mills running around the clock—calling it “a legit industrial marvel.” Train fans are linking to vintage passes and geeking out about early electrification, while history buffs drop receipts on the Platt Amendment making U.S. business interests untouchable.
But the loudest chorus? “Sugar-coated colonialism.” Critics say the company towns—pools, clinics, schools, even a golf course—were less utopia and more leash, arguing it’s the classic company town playbook in tropical packaging. Defenders clap back that, for 1916, free education and medical care were unusually generous, especially compared to the era’s norms. Cuban voices jump in to remind everyone that “amenities with strings” still mean power lived elsewhere.
Memes are everywhere: “Willy Wonka’s imperial phase,” “choo-choo-olate,” and “Hersh-evy industry” top the leaderboard. One hot take calls it vertical integration; another says it’s vertical domination. Meanwhile, a tiny faction just wants more locomotive pics. The vibe: a sweet-and-salty brawl over whether Milton Hershey was a benevolent builder or a savvy monopolist who wrapped profit in pastel community perks. Either way, the internet agrees on one thing—this forgotten railway is anything but boring.
Key Points
- •Milton S. Hershey expanded to Cuba in 1916 to secure sugar and avoid the American Sugar Refining Co.’s near-monopoly.
- •Hershey built a vertically integrated operation: plantations, mills, refinery, company towns, and an oil-fired power plant with substations.
- •The Hershey Cuban Railway began as a 56-km steam line with seven locomotives, then was electrified in 1920—the first in Cuba.
- •Hershey’s generating station powered company operations and supplied electricity to Matanzas and nearby towns; GE documented the system in 1920.
- •Hershey established company towns in Cuba modeled on Hershey, Pennsylvania and Cadbury’s Bournville, with housing, amenities, and schools.