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This published black and white photograph illustrates a central theme of my Fn3 (1:20.3) model railroad - how this plantation railroad assisted the US military with the war effort (WWII). This photo of course, depicts the operations of the Oahu Sugar Co. located on its eponymous island. Evident is that bombs are being dispersed through the sugar cane plantation as protection against another Japanese attack. I found it interesting that this relatively short train on flat terrain required a pusher locomotive.
In all I have seven (7) inter-related themes portrayed in my layout
- Hawaiian Sugar Cane Operations
- Steam Locomotive Operations
- Oil-Fueled Steam Operations
- WWII
- Plantation Railroad Operations
- Pusher Service on Flat Terrain
- US Military Use of a Plantation Railroad
"As an interesting side note, the OR&L timesheet from September 24, 1942, shwoed that "Hon Plant #4" [referring to Honolulu Plantation Co. Engine # 4 Puuloa] made two round-trip runs from OR&L's Halawa interchange with the Navy at Pearl Harbor to their Oahu Sugar interchange at Waipahu Mill, possibly with train-loads of ammunition headed to the Navy's magazines on former Oahu Sugar Company property." Hawaiian Railway Album WWII Photographs, Volume 3, page 9
Revised January 16, 2022
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