Well, it's been a long time since I put anything new in this section of the Big Island Railroad blog. Most of the new information gets published on the BIRR Facebook page. Go to facebook.com/bigislandrail and send me a friend request. The most exciting news is two new articles and photos of the Big Island Rail in the two top model railorad publications this fall. You can find BIRR in Railroad Model Craftsman's Oct. 2009 issue on the stands now. Page 82 and 83 is the story and pictures of Kimipeli Gulch background. In the up-coming November 2009 issue of Model Railroader Magazine page 72 will be a one page How-To on making a barrier gate. It features a nice photo of BIRR loco No. 15 rumbling through a cane field. I hope you will take a moment and read these two stories. Thanks again for your interest in Big Island Railroading. Be sure to support the Laupahoehoe Train Museum on the Big Island. Mahalo! JK

Aloha. Well it's been a while since I had a chance to update the BIRR website...but it has been done now so I hope you enjoy the new pictures. Yes, it's true...BIRR has moved to a new "grass shack"...out of the rain and dampness of Washington State and off to the beauty of the Colorado Rockies high country.We are now right inthe heart of narrow guage country surrounded by the ghosts of the Colorado railroads that are so loved by modelers and railfans. And no...even though I'm in Rio Grande territory...I'm not switching to Colorado narrow guage...Although I did ponder switching back to On3 or On30 and modeling an early Hawaiian sugar cane plantation railroad.... The old BIRR layout had to be dismantled for the move east, but it lives on in these photos. A new, yet slightly smaller BIRR is well under way now, with benchwork and sub-roadbed already in place in a nice, dry and warm spare bedroom. I was able to use much of the lumber and plywood, backgrounds and other "construction" materials to put the new around-the-room layout into reality...I couldn't stand waiting another minute to get the railroad back and going. As with all things, I have learned from mistakes and shortcomings from the last BIRR and this one is being carefully constructed to breakdown into sections without having to destroy the whole darn thing....So it will be able to live on. I have devised a new tack plan and will begin to lay roadbed and track within the next few days...after another trip to the lumber yard. I will be using that lightweight construction insulation foam board for roadbed and scenery. I will also be uploading construction photos of the new layout progress in the weeks to come as well.I now have high speed Internet which makes the job of putting photos on the Website so much faster!!!!!! The scenery on the new layout is going to rock! I wanted to get away from all industrial switching and have a section of layout that would convey the feeling of single track mainline that was cut (blasted) through the Hawaiian lava mountains. I am planning to use the foam board sheets to form volcanic mountains and those picture-perfect green, lush vertical ridges you see in photos from the remote island locations. And the scenery in this section will extend down from the top of the backdrop to track level, then over the benchwork down aways to create the effect I have in mind. So we'll see how this all develops. I'm totally stoked for the new fresh start on the layout. The layout height has been raised a lot...54-inches with tack level in the mountains at about 56-inches...almost eye level for me. You will still see on the new layout... Dole Pineapple Cannery, Hamakua Sugar, Puna Sugar elevators, the Pier, and Hawaiian Fruit....added will be a "Puka" (tunnel) and a fold down bridge to eliminate the need for the duck under. A few of the old industries will no longer be on the layout and a few of the old industries will be reconfigured and made easier to switch and to reach! The Puna Sugar elevators and Bulk loader for ocean going cargo ships as well as the Pier will be housed on an extenstion from the layout so that switching crews can work from either side of the "island" making it so much easier to switch and see the action at the docks. So that's about the latest from Big Island Rail...More to come as time allows. Mahalo to all who have been so interested in the railroad and have asked questions about how things were done on the layout. Happy to share any and all information... JK

Just got through looking at a wonderful new website on a recently completed and opened narrow gauge railroad running in the shadows of the beautiful Kauai palm trees and green mountains. http://www.kauaiplantationrailway.com/ is the site address. I have this address also listed in my favorite links. It is so wonderful that Hawai'i railroads are beginning to gain more interest and at the same time new train venues, such as the Kauai Plantation, are promoting, to the general public i.e. tourists, the fact the Hawai'ian Islands were indeed home to dozens of railroads. I applaud the efforts, planning, and just hard physical labor in the hot tropical sun of all involved in getting the 2.5 mille railroad from the daydream stage, off the drawing board and into existence. If I can, here is an excerpt from their website.... "Kilohana’s newest visitor attraction the - Kauai Plantation Railway - recreates the days when steam powered narrow gauge trains moved the harvested cane from field to mill, and raw sugar from mill to the wharf for shipment. Once crisscrossing the island, the many rail lines of Kauai’s sugar plantations were abandoned more than 40 years ago and today remain only as a fond memory of old time residents. With the opening of the Kauai Plantation Railway visitors are once again able to take a train ride both into the past and the future of Kauai agriculture." If you are a fan or student of Hawai'i's railroads, please spread the news to your railfan buddies about this new rail line. If you can contribute to their efforts, or any of the other Hawai'ian railway museums, historic societies or operating railroads on the Islands.... please do. Hopefully, during my next trip to the Big Island, I can make an island hop and get over to Kauai to the Kilohanna Plantation and a ride on the narrow gauge.

Aloha! Time to, as they say in Hawai'i "Talk Story." That means hanging out and yaking about trains....especially and specifically trains and railroads of the 50th state of beautiful Hawai'i and those of us fellow modelers who have chosen to create, build and operate scale model railroads that feature railroads from the Hawai'ian Islands. "Yeah, right! Railroads...trains... in Hawaii...? Nice dream, buddy..." I hear you say. Well, brudda, datz da truth. Railroads were very much a part of the Islands over the years, even up until the late 1960's and 1970's on Oahu near Pearl Harbor. Sugar mills, pineapple plantations, agriculture, cattle, canneries, and the military keep Hawai'ian railroads active for decades. In future blogs, I'll talk about specifics on the different railroads that kept Island rails shiny. Today, there are still several tourism-based railroads that operate in Hawai'i. The most famous is the Maui Sugar Cane Train. There is a new plantation railroad on the Island of Kauai, and on Oahu, dedicated volunteers are keeping a slice of the Oahu Railway alive and breathing. On the Big Island, the Laupahoahoa Train Museum is keeper of that island's rail heritage. Checked the Hawai'ian newspapers lately? There's talk now of building regional passenger train and /or light rail lines in the Honolulu area and on the Big Island's Hilo side to help lessen the commuter crush on the highay systems. Hey, what a concept!!! Feel free to write me and talk story about your railroad modeling or experience and memories of Hawai'ian railroads. Help keep the Island's rail history alive. Mahalo, jk