Oahu Railway and Land

Company History: The ORwy&LCo was established in 1888 with the blessing of King Kalakaua to build a 3’ gauge railroad from Honolulu on the Hawaian Island of Oahu northwest around Pearl Harbor to a sugar cane operation at Ewa. The mainline was later extended around the western shore line to Kahuku. A network of branchlines were build north of Pearl Harbor to reach a large pineapple plantation at Wahiawa and the U.S. Army’s Schofield Barracks. Another branch reached Lualualei. Traffic was heavy. So much so that the Waipahu to Honolulu segment was double tracked and block signals were installed. While the Great Depression saw most railroads on the mainland falling into receivership, ORwy&LCo saw only a modest drop in passenger loadings while freight remained about the same. Then came the bombing of Pearl Harbor. They found themselves in the commuter railroad business with some trains as long as 20 cars. More narrow gauge passenger equipment from Boston Revere Beach & Lynn, Nevada County Narrow Gauge and Pacific Coast Railway was shipped over from the mainland. 18 months after the end of the war, traffic had collapsed. Cane and pineapple growers had switched to trucks and the passenger business was a shadow of its former self. At the end of 1947, most of the route was abandoned. A short segment in Honolulu remained to link canneries with the wharves. That operation ended in 1971.

Brief History: The U.S. is a country of 50 states covering a vast swath of North America, with Alaska in the northwest and Hawaii extending the nation’s presence into the Pacific Ocean. Major Atlantic Coast cities are New York, a global finance and culture center, and capital Washington, DC. Midwestern metropolis Chicago is known for influential architecture and on the west coast, Los Angeles' Hollywood is famed for filmmaking.