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Both steam engine are up for sale. It's a sad day after three years with the "new" owners trying has hard as they could, it's all over. They just couldn't get one owner of land to let them run through one area of the line. I'll miss hearing the little whistle from our home. Here in better days is a video when they were still running. We shot over 20 hours of HD video for every run and will start putting to gather a script and logging tape for an hour documentary. Don

Last edited by scale rail
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Sorry to hear the line is finally closing. I actually really liked the video.   I love the flowers on the cars too.  Too bad some of that effort didn't go into track work though, that ride looked a bit rough.   

Having spent time around 15" gauge steamers and smaller prototype engines,  the sound of this engine's whistle,  the single piston air pump,  and the general mechanical noises all just have the right feel to me.  Sorry I was never able to get there in person.   

What's the story on that tender design?  Is that was is referred to as a turtle tender?

@Stuart posted:

Very sorry to hear that it is closing.  I got to ride it back in June 1991 on my honeymoon.  Our room in the hotel in Kaanapali faced inland and I saw the train from the window.  I took some long distance photos of the train.  My wife was amused by my reaction (but not surprised).

Stuart

 

We've stayed at the Kaanapali twice - once in 2011 and again in 2019. Definitely missed seeing it last year. When I would hear the whistle, I would ru out our door as our door faced the highway. 

 

DSC_6944Will, when we did an hour DVD for the Golden Gate Railroad Museum about the Southern Pacific #2472 I got a few comments about using some music but the vast number of comments went something like this. "Finally someone did a watchable video about trains". I come from a television background and my approach is to entertain. Sure when there's a reason to have sound up full, I would do that, but sitting through an hour of train sounds doesn't happen to appeal to me. We even got a review from a railroad magazine that said, "this is a video everyone would like not just hard core railroad people". I am doing this video for TV and home video. There might be two versions. We had three GoPro cameras on the engine for most runs the last week it ran the full line. We also filmed inside the train talking to people riding it for the last time. We talked to the engineer and fireman. We did a wonderful interview with the original owner. All this was three years ago. The train ran for Christmas three years and was sold out every run but it could only run about a third of the line then had to back down to the station. With no tourists here the owners had no way of making money even it they got the right of way. Lahaina is a ghost town. Tourists are the only industry and there are none. 

I talked to Craig the present owner many times and he thought he would get a deal to run all the way to Lahaina again but when he called me yesterday and told me the engines are for sale,  and it's all over,  it was very sad. Sad for for everyone that loved that little train and sad for the island. He had the two steam engines rebuilt last year figuring on getting the OK to run again. They were going to rebuild the trestle, everything was going to work out. I don't know what is going to happen with the Plymouth switcher. There are not many narrow gauge diesels around. Will keep folks informed. Don

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Last edited by scale rail
@jhz563 posted:

What's the story on that tender design?  Is that was is referred to as a turtle tender?

I think so, looks turtlish here.

Link was from the above photo. It usually reprints it.

https://ogrforum.ogaugerr.com/...ge/true/DSC_5686.JPG

Our new National Motto- "It's all about me"

Don't like trains, don't live near them and complain about it.  Same with parks and club land used for decades for RC clubs, off road trails, etc.etc.  This stuff sickens and angers me. It's a rock throwing pro moving into a city of greenhouses and whining their trade me diminished there...move.

Was this line being restored after abandonment or did the lease not carry over to new line owner? Or did a new land buyer throw some weight around?.. What happened there.

  If abandoned I don't fault the land owner too much, but still wouldn't say hi at the local diner or help with a flat tire   

Last edited by Adriatic

Both narrow gauge engines were built in 1943 at the Porter Company for the mining operation. The sister engines were brought to Maui sometime in the late 60's and converted from tank engines. New cabs, wheels and tenders were built. Flat care were shipped from Alaska of all places and converted to passenger cars. A few flat cars are still on the property. The little railroad was a huge money maker, making millions for years. It was a wonderful and beautiful ride. Most of it was through green sugar cane or pineapple fields. Two trains coming from both directions with a siding in the middle for passing. When the sugar cane plantations closed down, the tourist railroad started to die. It died a slow death. I was asked not to tell the details about the lost right away tell everything is settled and the trains are gone. DonDSC_0066

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@scale rail posted:

Both narrow gauge engines were built in 1943 at the Porter Company for the mining operation. The sister engines were brought to Maui sometime in the late 60's and converted from tank engines. New cabs, wheels and tenders were built. Flat care were shipped from Alaska of all places and converted to passenger cars. A few flat cars are still on the property. The little railroad was a huge money maker, making millions for years. It was a wonderful and beautiful ride. Most of it was through green sugar cane or pineapple fields. Two trains coming from both directions with a siding in the middle for passing. When the sugar cane plantations closed down, the tourist railroad started to die. It died a slow death. I was asked not to tell the details about the lost right away tell everything is settled and the trains are gone. DonDSC_0066

When I was there in June 1991 there were a line of flat cars letters "WP&Y" in a siding.  I pointed that out to my wife that they were from Alaska. She replied "did they take a wrong turn in Albuquerque?"

Stuart

 

Four minutes of GoPro#1 POV from boiler, GoPro #2 was over the drivers #3 shot up at boiler and stack #4 next to sand down forward. All cameras ran from pull out a the engine house to the "Y" for turning the engine around and full length of the line all the way to the turn table in Lahaina. Picture what it looked like in the 70s. After the trestle was cane all the way to the mountains on the left of screen and almost to the ocean on the right. Harvest time you would see the cutting of the cane and loading them at that time on trucks. Don

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