Laupahoehoe Train Museum - Laupahoehoe, Big Island, Hawaii - Preserving Hawaii's Railroad Heritage

A visit to the Laupahoehoe Train Museum is like taking a trip back in time. Its main building is the original home of a train station agent, restored to its early-1900s look. The rooms contain a wealth of photographs and memorabilia that help keep the past alive, and the grounds feature actual rail equipment of the late-19th and early-20th centuries.

Opened in 1998, the Museum was created to celebrate the history of Hawaiian railroads, plantation life, and the heritage of the Hamakua Coast. Much of the focus here is on the Hilo Railroad, which began operating in 1899. It ran until 1946, when its tracks and facilities were damaged beyond repair by a devastating tsunami.

Community residents helped unearth the "Wye'' in the backyard of the museum, which had been buried under 50 truckloads of rubble and overgrowth. The Wye was the area where an engine's direction could be switched. Today, a diesel switch engine stands on the museum's Wye. It is the only such engine left on the island of Hawaii. Repaired and nicknamed "Rusty,'' the unit is run on tour days and special occasions, although no rides are given.

Keeping Rusty company is a restored narrow gauge boxcar that reportedly ran on the same tracks. It was used to carry explosives for a mill in Haina, which processed sugar cane for the plantations that owned the train line. Rusty's other companions at the Wye are a full gauge replica of a caboose and an antique horse-drawn road grader that were donated to the museum.

In the Model Train Room of the Museum are several displays. Every item was acquired by donation, including the center "N'' gauge display designed and built by Neil Erickson. It represents the Hilo Railroad-Hawaii Consolidated Railway line that once ran along the Hamakua Coast.

The Museum's static HO gauge model was created by Stan Heggland. It won an award - the National Golden Spike - for its craftsmanship and design. The HO rail yard with its turntable was donated by Betty and George Mertyl, showing how the ways and switches worked in a functioning rail yard.

The Laupahoehoe Train Museum and Visitors Center has a gift shop, where selections of unique logo items are available. These include t-shirts, sweatshirts, hats, pins, and patches, many of which have been hand-crafted by local residents. Among other merchandise on sale here are books, clothing, videos, pottery, leis, and Hawaii-made artwork.

Although the Laupahoehoe Train Museum is among the state's smallest museums, it attracts an estimated 5,000 visitors a year. The admission fee is $4 for adults, $3 for seniors, and $2 for students. Special rates for tours are also offered.

The museum is open weekdays from 9am to 4:30pm and on weekends from 10am to 2pm. The address is 36-2377 Mamalahoa Highway, Laupahoehoe, Hawaii 96764. To get there from Hilo, take State Highway 19 to mile marker #25. The railroad crossing signs and the big red caboose on the front lawn can be seen just across the road from the coast's only service station.