"Narrow Gauge Trip (By Walter Evans)---
If I were to tell of a narrow gauge which operated within sight of lofty mountain ranges; with rolling
stock consisting of open vestibuled wooden coaches and steam engines some with shrill haunting
whistles; you might guess I was writing about a Colorado slim guage line. However, this story is about
the Oahu R.R., a 3 foot guage line which operated upon Oahu Island of the Hawaiian group. During the
seven months of 1942 which I spent upon this Island the old Oaku R. R. was always close by. In
memories I can still hear the laboring exhaust from the stack of a 2-8-0 as she heads a solid train of
pineapples up the hill from Aiea to the top at the entrance to Pearl Harbor.
The Oahu R. R. played an indespensible part in the winning of the Pacific War. Besides the regular
business of hauling sugar and pineapples to Honolulu and regular passenger service, this railroad had
to handle ammunition trains which kept the rails hot from one end of the line to the other. It also was
the transportation for thousands of workers from Pearl Harbor to Honolulu who jammed their wooden
cars to capacity at each change of shift from the Navy Yard.
I was assigned to a large ammunition working party and we were to be carried to our work at
Nanakuli by this island common carrier. The large force of dungaree clad sailors is strung out along the
track when our train from Honolulu approaches. A long string of ancient wooden coaches with a 2-8-2
on the head end. We board the train at the entrance to Pearl Harbor and are soon rolling down the
hill to Aiea. To the right looms the nearby mountain range on the eastern side of this island, with the
peaks always hidden by clouds and against whose slopes a rainbow is always seen. To the left is the
submarine base and we can catch glimpses of Pearl Harbor where war ships of the Pacific fleet are
moored. Passing through the sugar mill town of Aiea we enter Ewa plain. This plain is covered with
sugar cane as far as the eye can see. All aboard settle down for a 30 mile ride through this solid
expanse of can while smoke pours through the open windows. We pass on through Ewa and Waipahui
both neat little sugar mill company towns. The western range of the mountains grows ever bigger in
our eyes as the train rapidly approaches. Rounding the southern end of this range the track hugs a
narrow strip of land between the mountain side and the surf of the Pacific on the other. In contrast to
the eastern range these mountains are barren as very little rain falls on this side of the Island. Soon
we come to Nankuli the end of the line for us, where we reluctantly get off to work at the nearby
Ammunition Depot.
***Please be sure to stay tuned for more past "Sparks" stories to be told in future pages of "Cinders and
Ashes"----Part II!!!!!!!! Hope that you enjoyed this look at the incredible, good-feeling, take-you-back-in
time history hiden within the stories told during our National Railway Historical Society Chapters' first
year of "Sparks". From Art Gibson, Junior to Walter Evans and even Howard Killiam, came memorable
experiences and events that took "Sparks" readers to what they saw back then-----and still fancinates
members like myself today. See ya' next time!!!!!!
Webmaster M. P. Beem***
This first volume of "Cinders and Ashes" was created by Chapter Webmaster
Mike Beem and any unauthorized usage of the stories told on these and any
previous pages is copyrighted by the Webmaster. All rights reserved.
This page was created by Topeka Chapter Webmaster M.P. Beem on
December 8, 2003 at 18:58 hours.
