Excursion Train along Hawaii's Coast - Hawaiian Railroad Society 7/9/2023

Today I got to ride along a regularly scheduled Sunday excursion of the Hawaiian Railroad Society along the coast of O'ahu. This roughly 2 hour ride, from the museum in Ewa to the end of the line at Kahe Point, where we reversed directions at to head back east. We had Engine 423, Whitcomb Locomotive Works 45 Tonner, as our engine for today's trip. The video explains itself, as there was narration the entire trip, which explains the history of the route, as well as nearby sights, but here is a quick overview of the route's history:
This 3 foot narrow gauge railroad line was built by the Oahu Railway and Land Company in 1889, to provide transportation from newly founded sugar cane plantations on the Ewa plain to Honolulu. The railroad was founded by entrepreneur Benjamin Dillingham of the United Kingdom, after negotiating a charter in 1888 from King David Kalākaua. It's important to note at this time, Hawaii was an independent kingdom and hadn't been annexed into the United States yet.
The railroad steadily grew around much of the southern coast of O'ahu, and despite breaks in progress, such as the overthrow of the monarchy, and installation of the Republic of Hawaii, in 1898 it was essentially completed. The railroad's operations remained unchanged when Hawaii was formally annexed into the United States as a territory the same year.
ORL was a common carrier railroad, and shipped sugar cane, goods, as well as passengers, much like a Class 1 Railway on the mainland. It remained profitable even during the Great Depression, however by the start of World War 2, it had abandoned its passenger operations due to competition with automobiles. When the United States entered World War 2 following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii became an important staging point and base to conduct operations in the Pacific Ocean. The ORL surged in traffic handling the shuttling of military goods around the island during this time, as well as military personnel around the island. Between 1944 and 1945, the railroad carried over 2 million riders, mainly military people personnel from their bases to Honolulu and back.
Following the war, the railroad was in rough shape from overuse, and traffic quickly dried up as well. 1946 was not a kind year to the ORL. The 1946 Aleutian Islands Earthquake and Tsunami caused severe damage to the railroad's coastal segments, and a massive sugar cane plantation strike also occurred that year, with only one plantation not on strike. Freight traffic, the ORL's only remaining business, plummeted to record lows. In 1947, the ORL decided to cease operations on the entire railroad except for a small industrial operation in the Honolulu Harbor.
The railroad fell into disrepair in the 1950s and 1960s, where much of the equipment was sold off, and during the 1950s, the bulk of the mainline was taken over by the US Navy, where it saw ammunition trains ran from the West Loch of the Pearl Harbor Naval Base, through the ʻEwa Plain, to the Lualualei Naval Ammunition Depot on the Waiʻanae coast during the Korean War and Vietnam War, however was abandoned again in 1970 when they switched to using trucks. In 1971 the final operations of the company closed when the industrial operation ceased at the port.
In 1970, local railfans founded the Hawaiian Railroad Society, in an effort to preserve the line, and history of railroading in Hawaii. The tracks currently are owned by the State of Hawaii, however the HRS has the ability to use and restore the tracks, and run excursions on them. They have been taking care of donated equipment, and the line ever since, which brings us to today.
ʻAʻole lawa ka hakahaka o ka wehewehe ʻana e hoʻokomo i kahi unuhi ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi, no laila inā makemake kekahi e heluhelu i kēia ma ka ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi maoli, e kelepona mai ma ka ʻōlelo a naʻu e hoʻolako iā ʻoe.
Thanks for watching!
Timestamps:
0:00 Departing the Museum in Ewa Villages
3:15 Passing through the new City of Kapolei
25:21 Passing the Ko Olina resort town
34:10 Waterfront near Nānākuli
38:10 Turning around at Kahe Point
39:41 More waterfront views
43:09 Return through Ko Olina
52:41 Return through Kapolei
1:06:18 Return to the museum

[@SPGreg]

Excellent video Colin! Hawaii has some beautiful scenery!!