Laupahoehoe, Hawaii, Train Museum Visit
July, 2008
My family and I visited the Big Island of Hawaii over the
July 4th weekend in 2008 and drove over to check out the Laupahoehoe
Train Museum. Unfortunately, the museum was closed due
to the Independence Day holiday weekend, but I was able to
wander around the property and get some reference photos.
Signs on the entrance door let the visitor know that the museum
is staffed entirely by volunteers, and that they encourage
visitors to explore the grounds. |
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| The Laupahoehoe Train Museum
is housed in the former station master's building for the
Hawaii Consolidated Railway, which originally sat behind the
Laupahoehoe Station on the mainline to Paauhilo (end of the
line from Hilo). The Hawaii Consolidated Railway was the only
standard-gauge railroad in the Hawaiian Islands, and its primary
purpose was to support the sugar cane industry flourishing
on the Big Island's eastern coast. Initial construction was
initiated in 1909 by B.F. Dillingham to service his Ola'a
sugar mill (Dillingham being the same entreprenuer who built
the Oahu Railway out of Honolulu). However, the astronomical
cost of construction forced the sale of the Hilo Railroad
to bondholders in 1916, and the railroad was reorganized as
the Hawaii Consolidated Railroad. The end came in 1946 when
it was severely damaged by a tsunami. |
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Thank you for your continued support!
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