Years ago, I was on the fence as to which to model: Then Nickel Plate Road in HO scale (1946-1948, the Mainline from Rocky River to Bellevue and the LE&W through Lima and St. Mary's). Or: The Denver, South Park, & Pacific in On3 (1884-1885, from Gunnison to some point east of Alpine Tunnel...possibly even Buena Vista). Now, I've decided that the Oahu Railway will be my primary road with the South Park shifting into secondary status. I'd still, probably, consider the South Park to be ahead of the Oahu Railway in terms of interest...but the Oahu Railway is just too good of a prototype to model...especially for operation. 6 months ago, I was flirting with doing modules...possibly with a local On30 group...based on the Oahu Railway. My South Park plans involved a level oval around the basement for misc. operation...and so it occurred to me that I could build it as an Oahu Railway line. Now, due to both operating sessions on other people's layouts as well as getting my nose just slightly into cutting edge research on the Oahu Railway, and I've realized that I must have an Oahu layout. The lower deck will be Oahu Railway with an emphasis on operation while an upper deck will be the South Park with an emphasis on operation. Initially, we railfans tend to pick roads because some of the equipment was pretty, the equipment is available, or because it is located nearby. Considerations such as operations and the business model are frequently ignored. Frankly, most modern NG prototypes are pretty pathetic in terms of traffic...which is why they remained narrow gauge. One train per day or less was common...so nearly every NG modeler depicts their road as such and such BUT with an upswing in business. The South Park operated, in the late 1880s, with 2 scheduled trains per day in each direction. These were a freight coming and going in the morning and a passenger train coming in the morning and leaving in the afternoon. In the early 1880s, there were probably a few more extras...plus Pullman service. Not too much action. UP killed the business by discouraging any business which wasn't passed on to the UP (which drove the highly profitable South Park into receivership and causes some of us to have a negative association to the letters "U-P"). The Oahu Railway, was something else. The centerpiece of the operation was the Iwilei yards in Honolulu. Located there was a modern 15 stall concrete roundhouse, a 3-4 track modern station, a freight house, a passenger car barn, shops which built cars, and an incredible quantity of industrial switching. I am aware of only three classes of purpose-built NG switchers: a single 0-8-0 on the Tweetsie, a series of saddletank 0-6-0ts on the D&RG, and four 0-6-0s with sloped back tenders on the Oahu Railway. During the 1940s, two of these were stored as diesels replaced them. Additionally, smaller 2-8-0s (the smallest were the size of the C-16s) were also used in the yards and for commuter passenger service to Pearl Harbor. There was extensive dock trackage to be switched (the diesels served there) as well as can factories, pineapple canneries, oil stations, a meat packing plant, a lumber mill, and various other industries to be worked...all in addition to building and breaking down trains. Between Iwilei and Waipahu (Aiea during WW2), that mileage was double tracked and protected with automatic block signals. A branchline split off at Waipahu and headed up 3% grades and tight curves to serve Dole's pineapple plantation and a major Army base. This trackage was mostly served by the 6 largest 2-8-0s on the line and two large 3-truck shays (very similar to the biggest on the WSL). The mainline continued west of Waipahu around Pearl Harbor and then on to the big sugar mill at Ewa. Many passenger trains operated from Honolulu station to Ewa Mill Station. The line then continued on to the Navy installation at Barbers Point. Turning north, it ran up the coast to the Navy's ammunition dump a Nanaluki and on to Waianae where there were lime and sand quarries as well as many ranches. Continuing on up to the mountain range it ran out to the magnificent, rocky Kaena Point. After Kaena Pt it passed another air field and then a majestic resort hotel, Haleiwa...where Sunday excursions were run. Today, this is the famous North Shore region. The line continued on to Kahuku (70.4 miles from Honolulu). The mainline was operated with sisters to the K-28 2-8-2s as well as 4-6-0s and 2-8-0s. During the 1920s, there were over 50 scheduled trains per day (versus a handful on the South Park)...and that number doesn't include the terminal business nor most of the freight business nor the troop trains. The South Park hauled essentially 3 things over alpine pass: ore in boxcars, people, and coal in gondolas. The Oahu railway averaged around 200 loaded freight car movements per day (plus another 100 or so empties). Alpine pass was around 30 total freight cars per day. So, I'll be building my Oahu Railway first...set loosely in time...with most of the equipment in the 1940s...but without the motorcars and diesels (and the 4-4-0s still in the roundhouse). It now has the priority. The South Park will be built on an upper shelf...it will be designed for scenic emphasis. I don't need to worry too much about a balanced roster nor how my crews would deal with the Link & Pin couplers since it won't be operated much. For the Oahu Railway equipment, I have my plan. -locomotives Bachmann's 2-8-0 is a fine starting point for the Oahu Railway engines. It merely needs to be re-detailed for the big ALCOs. It may be close enough as well for the big Baldwins. The small ALCOs and small Baldwins will need new boilers. Every locomotive on the roster will need scratch built tenders. The big 0-6-0s can be bashed from the B-man 2-8-0s. The small 0-6-0s will practically be scratch built. The OF 4-6-0s might be able to be bashed from the B-man 2-8-0 with new drivers, but only the biggest...#88...has a chance for using that boiler. The IF 4-6-0 can be bashed from the B-man 4-6-0...the boiler needs lowered (or maybe replaced) and details need to be changed. The 2-8-2s can be had by re-detailing K-28 models. The earliest 4-4-0s can be bashed from the B-man IF 4-4-0 while the larger one, #45, was an 8-18C (so either MMI's or a Spartan series 4-4-0). Of course, all of the On30 wheels will be regauged to On3. -cars I've got most of the patterns together for resin kits of the coaches. It isn't a big deal to shift my personal production run from 10 cars to 45 or so. I'll be able to use most on the components for the combines and some of the components for the 44' arched roof 2nd class cars. For the freight cars, I have plans for the major classes...and enough info from a historian to draw plans for some of the missing links (stock cars) or correct the published plans (the doors are slightly off on the gondola plan in the Gazette). I'll do all of the cars in resin. My layout will consist of an Iwilei yards, station, roundhouse, shops, dock, and a couple canneries. I'll have a meat packing facility nearby. I'll have a double track line with operating semaphore signals to either Aiea or Waipahu (probably Waipahu). Wig Wag signals at some intersections per the prototype. Major stations such as Honolulu, Puukoa and/or Aiea, Pearl City (with passing siding), Waipahu (w/passing siding), Ewa Mill, and Waiamae will be modeled. A continuous run option will be included. Hidden staging will exist at Waipahu, Ewa, Kaena Pt (end of the main for me), and some of the industries (maybe). My South Park goals will yield to the Oahu Railway if they become mutually exclusive. Two years ago, I knew nothing of this road. I thought I knew a fair bit about all of the US NG roads. Then, I made an off hand visit to the Hawaiian Railway Society as I killed before my flight, and my the Oahu Railway bug hit me. It was a very busy, very scenic railroad with a nice variety of equipment and lots of documentation which has never made it to print. The Nickel Plate in HO will still live on with hopes of fulfillment in modular activities. It lost out to the South Park primarily due to the likely hood that I could find HO layouts/modules on which I could run my NKP hudsons, but properly not many On3 rails on which to run my Cooke moguls. Hope you enjoyed the read, Michael
Hmmm... Pineapple cars, seashore running.. Yeah, you got it bad.. You'll need to hit up http://www.oahurailway.com/ and get the book.. and the big hardbound Hawaiian pictorial that's out. Ron's Books has it.. Yep, it's gonna get ugly for you. NG&SLG has had alot of the plans for cars and locos over the years. If you need help finding anything, lemme know and I'll check my collection.
Thanks Art. I've practically memorized Next Stop Honolulu and Best's Railroads of Hawaii. I've studied the first two WWII photo album books (planning to order the combined volume soon), and I need to visit the archives at the Bishop Museum. I have all of the published plans from the Gazette...and a 1947 rolling stock inspection report. I've also tracked down the old articles in Trains magazine and some articles in the industry publications. I'm currently waiting for Herman Darr's plan based on measurements of one of the boxcars in California. (which will bring my total to 4 plans for that basic design plus the inspection report which provides all sorts of other details). While I do not have lots of interest in pineapple and sugar cane industrial railroads, I do find the Oahu Railway's pineapple cars to look pretty cool...much like the neat pulpwood cars on the Maine 2 footers. I'll be inclined not to use any of the really long can cars as they aren't quite to my taste...but the 30-34' cars are all awesome. There certainly will be some overlap in our work Michael
