So sorry. That was a fun little ride. Loved the turntable.

Oh NO, say it ain't so. My wife has stage 4 cancer and if she makes it, that is the one thing she wanted to do again when we go back to Maui. So sorry to hear this. I won't tell her for a while. Very sad day in Maui. So glad we got to ride it 2 or 3 times. Loved the little turn table then had.

Why are they loosing their ROW ?

Steve

I'm trying to find out. The owner is a sharp guy. I have a call in for him. Will let you know. Don

Always rode the train, Sad to see it go. I too wonder why the loss.

have my 8mm film   from 1977, 

 That train  should be considered a national treasure and protected.Given that its been around so long.And a piece of history.

I'm glad I shot almost every run for a week when they had sold it to a mainland company. We all thought that was the end of it. Maui folks got together and stopped the sale and a local guy and his partner bought it. I don't think anyone local will want it now that it's less than half the length it was. The plan was to move the station and turn table up on the hill at the new end of line. The cost was going to be huge. They have to charge $50 each to ride the Christmas Train.

Well anyway we have about 20 hours of HD video and interviews with the original owners and more. I think it will make a good hour or so video. Will keep you posted. Don

On the subject - This guy is hanging out in the PA RR museum

Dang it.

I was hoping to get back out there again and ride this again someday. Though it was a classic, "ride to nowhere" it was a lot of fun.

My wife and I were lucky to get to ride this. In 2003, we took a cruise ship through the islands and a storm blocked us from going to Fanning Island, so we landed at Lahaina instead (though there's no dock there, so we had to be ferried to the ship and back which took quite a while), just a few blocks from their depot with the turntable. They were running steam daily then. Did a luau that evening, too. Wasn't part of the original plan but it was the best day of the cruise, for me (and yes, my wife enjoyed it).

That is really distressing news! I will try to give you a call tomorrow or over the weekend, Don. Have other "stuff" to discuss with you as well, my friend.

OK Allan, I will be home. Vicky got a dream job working for the harbor master in Lahaina. The little yellow building on the left is her office. Water on three sides. Not bad. Don

Yep, gone right past that when I was there!

Lee, there is a siding about half way up the line. I asked the original owners about it. They told me at one time they ran both steam trains all day and they built the siding so they could pass each other. When we moved here eight years ago the one train was almost empty most of the time. The last owners didn't care about the train. There were three derailments that I know about in one year. On one of the last runs I was filming before they shut down the last time. A coupler fell apart just before we crossed the trestle. We had to slowly back down to the engine house with men working the hand brakes of the cars. Four of us had to search the high brush for parts of a coupler. We collected enough parts to make a coupler. The passengers thought it great fun watching us for about an hour. Don

Gee...l do hate that news, for the second time!!  Glad l checked that off my bucket list.  Don't understand how this could be allowed...this is part of history of all the islands. And American history....not Cuba or India?  Is that where else you have sugar cane railroad history?  I could even spell the name of it....

colorado hirailer posted:

Is that where else you have sugar cane railroad history? 

Louisiana.

At least two Louisiana sugar plantation narrow gauge locomotives are still in operation.

No kidding on two Louisiana sugar trains running!!  Dang...missed those on my plantation and N'awlins self driving tour!!  No advertising, hiding under bushel?  And l even spent the night in a haunted plantation house. Ghost trains would go with ghost houses.  They had sugar cane and  mills in FLA , too... trains??....(l locked myself out of a rental car outside mill ruins in FLA. but think may be very old Spanish mill?)

colorado hirailer posted:

No kidding on two Louisiana sugar trains running!!  Dang...missed those on my plantation and N'awlins self driving tour!! 

They're not in Louisiana any more. They're in California.

News story on the subject:

The Sugar Cane Train’s “Holiday Express” may reach the end of the line after this year with the owners saying they currently are unable to secure a deal from a major landowner to keep the train running.

Train co-owner and Lahaina businessman Todd Domeck said that for several years they have been trying to work out a lease or purchase agreement with a private landowner in order to run the train full- time.

Can't believe they didn't try to get the Hawaiian tourism directors involved .

Seems like they stand to lose tourism revenues from the loss of the railroad.

I hate to say this, but there is a backlash against anything tourist.  May not be the case here.  But anything is possible.

Also, was the mainline recently upgraded.  Maybe the ROW should have been secured before spending money for improvement.

Dominic, the mainline is not in very good shape. They have done a little work but not much. There is no preventive work done. Don

Bummer!! I had this on my to-do list; we visit Kauai every other year and had planned to do a day or 2 on Maui on our next trip. 

Great videos...especially the first one with music from "Bruddah Iz!"

John

John, they do have a train on Kauai, and they have a couple original Hawaii steam engines but they seldom run those. Don

The news article said that as of Tuesday, the principle owners of the land are still negotiating  "we're still talking"

So, yeah, it may very be that December 31 is the end.  Or, maybe the negotiations play out successfully for the railroad.

scale rail posted:

John, they do have a train on Kauai, and they have a couple original Hawaii steam engines but they seldom run those. Don

On our last visit to Kauai in 2018, we rode the Kauai Plantation Railway; afterward, my mother-in-law mentioned another train at Grove Farm, so I did a little research and called them; they were closed, but the woman I spoke with took my name and phone number, and that same day, Scott Johnson, their steam engineer, called me. He explained that they were closed, but he very graciously invited me for a private tour of the steam locos, engine house, and railroad. I spent the better part of a day with him, learning about the history of the locos and railroading in general on Kauai. It was fascinating, especially for me, since I volunteer at our Maine Narrow Gauge RR in Portland. Here's my wife and me in the cab of Wainiha!!

John

That's great, John. I have to remember to try this if we ever get back out to the islands. None of these lines were running that I'm aware of the last time we were there in 2003...

The Kauai Plantation Railway does a nice job and their equipment is well-maintained. About halfway through the trip, they stop the train and let anyone off who wants to feed the wild pigs. Of course, being Kauai, there are plenty of chickens around too. IMO the only think KPR is missing is steam power. 

John

A few photos of the last time we were there.

John, they have steam. Don't know why they don't run it more. They have two steam engines that are rebuilt. Don

Oh,  John, it's no big thing to feed the pigs. This one was in our driveway one morning. Took two big Hawaiians and a cop to get him. Don

The run down station and the Christmas train as of a few days ago.  Was hoping to see the steam engine, however, the word is it’s out of commission for awhile.  

Well, this is the first l have heard of any (two?) other than L,K, &P running sugar cane trains in the islands.  Did l say "candle under a bushel"? With a rental car on four islands pre 9/11, and a drive over "the road to Hana", l thought l'd seen it better than the average bear...not so.  I had seen a photo of a steamer abandoned in a remote? former sugar cane field.  Is there a book called "Hawaiian Railroading Then and Now"..?.sounds like one with annual updates is needed.  Have they gone back, post 9/11, to flying AMONG the islands?  I was on a deal that provided four cars and flights among four islands, and then later heard paranoia was rampant and you could only fly to Honolulu, and had to rotate back through it (more flights=more q$ and time) to get to other islands?

Sheepdog, you were just three blocks from our house. That's our road where the train picks up passengers. The engine house is just two blocks north. I'll go down there today and see what's up with the steam engines. We haven't heard the steam whistle, now I know why. Don

Colorado, Southwest and Hawaiian have specials of $39 to the other islands. This time of year all the hotels and condos are 100% booked. Don

scale rail posted:

John, they have steam. Don't know why they don't run it more. They have two steam engines that are rebuilt. Don

Great shot, Don!! That's Scott Johnson, the engineer at Grove Farm who gave me the tour; really nice guy.  Unless I was mistaken, I think he told me only Grove Farm has steam; none at Kauai Plantation. I think Scott told me they run steam at Grove Farm once or twice a month; whatever their frequency is, I missed it by a day or 2 on our most recent trip to Kauai but it was a fun tour just the same; Scott's love of Hawaii railroad history is infectious. 

John

Good eats there also. We always have lunch when ever we are on Kauai. Don

If you like BBQ, I highly recommend Chicken In A Barrel next time you're on Kauai. All this talk of Hawaii makes me want to visit again!!

John

Just got back from the engine shops. The coupler was not lined up with the cars very well. They are drilling new holes to drop the coupler down a bit. I will be meeting the owners around 3 this afternoon to get the scoop on what's going on. Don