In many states, finding an operating Whitcomb 45-ton centercab switcher isn’t that unusual. But in Hawaii, which eschewed railroading in general decades ago, any operating locomotive is unusual.
Working railroads anywhere in the islands are pretty much non-existent, with visitors having to be content with railway historical societies, museums, and private attractions. You’ll find one on the island of Kauai and another on Oahu. Skyline, an elevated light rail that has been years in the making is getting set to become active in and around Honolulu, but otherwise . . . not much.
Today we are looking at Oahu’s Hawaiian Railway Society.
Resurrecting a 6.5-mile portion of Oahu Railway & Land Co.’s main line, the three-foot-gauge line is the state’s only operating railway museum. With a combination of donated military railroad and private industry equipment acquired from all over the islands, active motive power is a pair of Whitcomb 45 tonners, a 65-ton Whitcomb, and a 25-ton end cab GE.
Besides being home to a variety of freight cars, flat cars have benches installed for riders to enjoy the scenery. Trains depart Wednesdays at 1 p.m., noon and 3 p.m. on Saturdays, and 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Sundays.
An example of their active motive power is 423. Built for the U.S. Navy in 1944 with an initial assignment of Pearl Harbor, the unit, as did the others, worked nonstop during World War II and intermittently thereafter. At the end of Naval rail operations in the early 1970s, it was dug out of the weeds and donated to the fledgling HRS. All four active units have been rebuilt in one form or another by society volunteers.
There are ghosts of the state’s once expansive railroad system on every Hawaiian island and they can easily be located with a little diligence.
To see two examples of operating Hawaiian tourist lines, go to the island of Oahu and the island of Kauai.
Aloha!
Right on and Aloha! Come ride with us when visiting Oahu, Hawaii. We have restorations going on, and a substantial operating scale model train museum operating same hours as our passenger train. “All aboard!”