Kuaui'i railroads.....

Kurt Moose Jul 3, 2009

  1. Kurt Moose

    Kurt Moose TrainBoard Member

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    Hi guy's! I just got back from vacation on Kuaui'i with the wife and kids and driving around and site seeing, I noticed alot of old roadbeds and even some bridges of small rivers that were concrete and still had rails in them, especially around the town of Kapaa. Does anyone know where I can find a map, or info about the rails on Kuaui'i? There's only one railroad, and it's a loop on an old plantation, kinda' tourist like. I'd like to see some stuff from the old days.
     
  2. Hoochrunners

    Hoochrunners TrainBoard Member

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  3. BoxcabE50

    BoxcabE50 HOn30 & N Scales Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    Got any photos of the RRing you saw out there?

    :D

    Boxcab E50
     
  4. Charlie

    Charlie TrainBoard Member

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    About all I can tell you is that when we first started going there as a family in 1980 is that the railroad , which was long abandoned by that time,was strictly a cane hauling operation. At one time they had some rudimentary passenger cars. There were still a couple of locations along Rte 56 on the north end towards Hanalei where there were rails still embedded in the pavement crossing the highway. There was a lot more sugar cane then. At that time the biggest
    hazard was to be in front of a "canehaul" truck going downhill. The "kahunas" that drove them were crazy and those trucks didn't stop too easily especially on rain slicked highway. One of the bridges you saw is used as a beach access road at Wailua(?)
    I have read that there was talk of light rail for Kauai to ease traffic congestion and provide a means of "green" transport for the Garden Isle. Dunno whats become of that,but on Oahu, it has passed a voter referendum!

    Charlie aka "Kale" in Hawaiian
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jul 3, 2009
  5. Kurt Moose

    Kurt Moose TrainBoard Member

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    Hey, thanks "Kale"!!:teeth: There, and the one beach that has that long pier in the lagoon, I noticed rails in the dirt there too. Unfortunatly, the Mrs. had the camera taking pic's of the scenery and the kids.:rolleyes: Nice island to get away from it all-very low key.
    Mahalo
     
  6. Charlie

    Charlie TrainBoard Member

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    That's what we liked about it. On our honeymoon, in the late '70s, we spent a week on Maui and rode the L.K. & P. Nice ride!

    Charlie
     
  7. DSP&P fan

    DSP&P fan TrainBoard Member

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    Check out Gerald M. Bests' Railroads of Hawaii. The contents (in summary):

    -The Kahului Railroad is chapter 1. Hawaii's first railroad was a 3' gauge on Maui. She was a cash cow iirc. I believe that there are at least two survivors...Claus is an 0-4-2t sitting in a museum...and #12 is at the Georgetown Loop. One of the sugar cane train engines uses the whaleback tender from #11.

    -The Hawaii Railway, chapter 2, was the first railroad on the big island. It too was 3' gauge and operated a variety of small locomotives. Initially it had a dinky British engine and some 4-wheel cars (the Sugar Cane Train cars are built to resemble these). 2-4-2 #5 has been imortalized by B-man with their large scale 2-4-2. The real #5 is New England.

    -Chapter 3 covers the ultimate in Hawaiian railroads...the double tracked, fully signaled, trains every 5 minutes Oahu Railway. She was the most modern ng railroad from the 1920s until after WW2. This railroad, with its 2-8-2s, 2-8-0s, 4-6-0s, and 0-6-0s, dominates the book.

    Chapter 4 covers the standard gauge Hilo Railway/Hawaii Consolidated Railway on the Big Island. Massive trestles...breathtaking scenery...Sierra Railroad shorty passenger cars...and an 1869 4-4-0.
    Here's a clip of her from 1916:
    *Update 3* Historic Hawaii Video Footage from 1916 *Translation Added Below* s Blog

    -The next chapter deals with some of the shortlines:
    The Koolau Railway on Oahu...a 3' gauge extension of the OR&L. The two Kauai railroads: The Ahukini Terminal & Railway Company...and the Kauai Railway Company. Together, the two Kauai railroads accounted for around half of the 30" gauge common carrier miles in the entire US. They were isolated from each other...the Kauai was on the south coast between the Koloa Mill and the Makaweli Sugar Mill...via Port Allen. The AT&RC was on the east coast between Nawiliwili and Anahola Landing via Wailua Bay and Lihue. The KRR operated a mix of sugar cane style engines...while the AT&RC had a pair of (handsome) 0-6-0s. Both had cool trestles.

    There have also been a few tourist operations, historic operations, and many industrial lines (such as the Ewa Plantation Co). The three majors are the forementioned Kauai Plantation, the Sugar Cane Train (LK&P), and the Hawaiian Railway Society. The HRS website completely understates what an outstanding place it is.

    You might also want to check out the Hawaiian Railway Album books (V4 is Kauai)...and there have been a few others.

    Michael
     

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