Hawaii Railroad Museums (2026): A Complete Guide

Published: October 12, 2026

Hawaii’s railroad museums sit on two islands. On Oahu, the Hawaiian Railway Society at Ewa Beach has put 6.5 miles of the Oahu Railway & Land back in service, from Ewa to Kahe Point, and runs the trains. On the Big Island, the Laupahoehoe Train Museum occupies the old station agent’s house of the Hawaii Consolidated Railway, with a replica caboose and a narrow-gauge diesel on the wye. The plantation trains, and the holiday trains, are a separate calendar.

Oahu Railway & Land Company 0-4-2T No. 6

Oahu Railway & Land Company (OR&L) 0-4-2T #6, named Kauila (or Kawila / Kila 6), preserved at the Hawaiian Railway Society, It was built in 1887 by the Baldwin Locomotive Works. Hawaiian Railway Society photo.

Ride days are on the Hawaii scenic-train guide. The Oahu Christmas trips are on the Oahu Christmas-train page. American-Rails does not sell tickets. Confirm the doors, and which locomotive is on the property, before you drive.

On this page: At a glance · Hawaii railroads · Ewa Beach · Laupahoehoe · Related reading

At a glance

Place	Town	What it is known for	Site
Hawaiian Railway Society	Ewa Beach, Oahu	Since 1970. 6.5 miles of 3-foot-gauge Oahu Railway & Land, Ewa Beach to Kahe Point. Baldwin Kauila No. 6, 1889, on display. Alco-Cooke 4-6-0 No. 85, November 1910	hawaiianrailway.com · 91-1001 Renton Road · rides
Laupahoehoe Train Museum	Laupahoehoe, Hawaii Island	Opened March 1, 1998, in the station agent’s house. Hawaii Consolidated Railway, ended after the April 1, 1946 tsunami. Replica caboose and a demonstration diesel on the wye	thetrainmuseum.com · 36-2377 Mamalahoa Highway

Hawaii railroads

Benjamin F. Dillingham’s Oahu Railway & Land received its charter from the Kingdom of Hawaii in September 1888, during the reign of King Kalākaua. Sugar plantations built most of the other track in the islands. On the Big Island, the Hilo Railroad began in 1899, passed to its bondholders in 1916, and was reorganized as the Hawaii Consolidated Railway. The railroad ended after the tsunami of April 1, 1946, destroyed the trestles along the Hamakua Coast. A fuller account of the companies is the Hawaii railroads page.

Three operating trains sit beside the museums. The Kauai Plantation Railway, the Dole Pineapple Express, and the Grove Farm train are on the scenic guide. The Lahaina, Kaanapali & Pacific, the Sugar Cane Train, ran from 1969 to 2014 on about six miles between Lahaina and Puukolii. The track is still in place, and the equipment is stored north of Lahaina. That railroad’s history is the sugar-cane train page.

Ewa Beach

The Hawaiian Railway Society dates its start to 1970. John Knaus, Nick Carter, Luman Wilcox, and Ken Peale met on August 22, 1970. On December 19, 1973, the members voted the name Hawaiian Railway Society and remained a chapter of the National Railway Historical Society. The yard is at 91-1001 Renton Road, Ewa Beach, on the old Oahu Railway & Land. The society has restored 6.5 miles of 3-foot-gauge track from Ewa Beach to Kahe Point. Restored diesel locomotives pull the trains. Parlor Car 64, built in 1900 for Benjamin F. Dillingham, is in the consist the society offers. The days are on the scenic guide.

The steam locomotive the society tells first is Kauila, No. 6, a Baldwin of 1889 weighing about 12 tons. In the society’s account it had been built for a quarry, and Dillingham bought it when the two locomotives he had ordered were late. The society’s historian dates the first Oahu Railway & Land train, behind this engine, to September 5, 1889. Kauila is on static display in the Ewa yard.

Oahu Railway & Land No. 85 is an Alco-Cooke 4-6-0 of November 1910, construction number 48585. Sister No. 87 is construction number 48586. The specified weight is about 68,000 pounds, with 43-inch drivers and cylinders of 13 by 18 inches, and it burned oil. The engine went to Travel Town in Los Angeles in 1953. After a boiler failure in the 1960s it was sent to Maui for the Lahaina, Kaanapali & Pacific and was left in pieces. It was barged back to Honolulu and trucked to Ewa in November 2010. It is on the property in a cosmetic restoration.

Laupahoehoe

The Laupahoehoe Train Museum opened on March 1, 1998, in the old station agent’s house at 36-2377 Mamalahoa Highway, along Highway 19 near mile marker 25. The house stands on the site of the Laupahoehoe station of the Hawaii Consolidated Railway. Photographs, plantation stories, and the Hamakua Coast fill the rooms. One layout inside is Neil Erickson’s N-scale rendering of that coast. The museum is small, community-run, and funded by admissions and donations. The hours are the ones posted at the door.

The outdoor wye is dual gauge. On it are a replica standard-gauge caboose, a narrow-gauge boxcar, and a narrow-gauge diesel switcher. The diesel is run for demonstrations, and visitors watch from the ground. The passenger trains of this coast ended with the trestles in 1946.

Sources

Hawaiian Railway Society, hawaiianrailway.com. Ewa Beach, 91-1001 Renton Road. Since 1970. John Knaus, Nick Carter, Luman Wilcox, and Ken Peale met August 22, 1970. Name adopted December 19, 1973. Three-foot gauge on the Oahu Railway & Land. 6.5 miles, Ewa Beach to Kahe Point. Parlor Car 64, built in 1900 for Benjamin F. Dillingham. Ride dates and fares stay on the scenic guide. Oahu Railway & Land charter from the Kingdom of Hawaii, September 1888, in the reign of King Kalākaua, per the society’s historian.
Kauila No. 6. Baldwin, 1889, about 12 tons. Society historian: a quarry engine already on the island, bought when Dillingham’s ordered locomotives were late, and the first Oahu Railway & Land train on September 5, 1889. Static display at Ewa.
Oahu Railway & Land No. 85. Alco-Cooke 4-6-0, November 1910, construction number 48585. Sister No. 87, construction number 48586. About 68,000 pounds, 43-inch drivers, 13-by-18-inch cylinders, oil burner. To Travel Town, Los Angeles, in 1953. Boiler failure in the 1960s. Pieces later on Maui with the Lahaina, Kaanapali & Pacific. Returned to Ewa in November 2010. Honolulu Star-Advertiser, November 11, 2010. Cosmetic restoration on the property.
Laupahoehoe Train Museum, thetrainmuseum.com. Opened March 1, 1998, in the station agent’s house, 36-2377 Mamalahoa Highway, Highway 19 near mile marker 25. Hilo Railroad, 1899. Reorganized in 1916 as the Hawaii Consolidated Railway. Ended after the April 1, 1946 tsunami. Replica standard-gauge caboose, narrow-gauge boxcar, and a narrow-gauge diesel run for demonstrations. Neil Erickson’s N-scale Hamakua Coast layout. Hours follow the museum.
Kauai Plantation Railway, the Dole Pineapple Express, and the Grove Farm train stay on the scenic guide. Lahaina, Kaanapali & Pacific, 1969–2014, about six miles from Lahaina to Puukolii. Track remains. Equipment is stored north of Lahaina.

Confirm hours and which locomotive is on the property before you travel.

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