Hawaii in 1924

[80s Big Hair]

I came across this video today and thought people might find it interesting.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5nAXaymywU

[Kee]

What a beautiful video. This is where I believe Youtube shines. Forget all those idiotic cat videos.

[Styles Bitchley]

Fantastic. Couldn't stop watching. Thanks!

[T.Q.]

Awesome video. Thanks.

[Pahonu]

That was fascinating to see. That railroad trestle looked a bit scary. Are there any railroads left in Hawaii?

[ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)]

That was fascinating to see. That railroad trestle looked a bit scary. Are there any railroads left in Hawaii?

Yeah, what was that all about? Were there really railroads on Oahu? I didn't think there ever were. There was some controversy recently about a proposed railway system to help with the daily commute which I believe was shot down pretty strongly!

[80s Big Hair]

That was fascinating to see. That railroad trestle looked a bit scary. Are there any railroads left in Hawaii?

Yeah, what was that all about? Were there really railroads on Oahu? I didn't think there ever were. There was some controversy recently about a proposed railway system to help with the daily commute which I believe was shot down pretty strongly!

I looked into that and Hawaii (including Oahu) had a number of railroads.


Here are a couple of links if you are curious:

https://www.american-rails.com/hawaiian-railroads.html
https://www.frrandp.com/2019/01/the-for ... awaii.html

[Pahonu]

That was fascinating to see. That railroad trestle looked a bit scary. Are there any railroads left in Hawaii?

Yeah, what was that all about? Were there really railroads on Oahu? I didn't think there ever were. There was some controversy recently about a proposed railway system to help with the daily commute which I believe was shot down pretty strongly!

I think they were private railways run by the sugar and fruit companies to transport their products from inland plantations to the ports.

[ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)]

Ok, I see. Thanks!

I could accept maybe some small rail system to transport produce but didn't imagine they had huge trestles like that on the islands. That's like something you'd see on the mainland going through the Rockies. High trestles and all that.

But I don't understand this statement in the article: "Today, the State of Hawaii has no operating freight or passenger railroads and its only functioning railroad services are tourist lines." What tourist lines?? It just said there's no passenger lines.

[Pahonu]

Ok, I see. Thanks!

I could accept maybe some small rail system to transport produce but didn't imagine they had huge trestles like that on the islands. That's like something you'd see on the mainland going through the Rockies. High trestles and all that.

But I don't understand this statement in the article: "Today, the State of Hawaii has no operating freight or passenger railroads and its only functioning railroad services are tourist lines." What tourist lines?? It just said there's no passenger lines.

I’m not certain, but I would guess that tourist lines might refer to scenic railways. There are several in California. I’ve been on a few. One was in Yosemite through the redwoods, another the Napa wine train, and one other in Monterey, through the coast redwoods. They’re just a few miles long and, as the name suggests, go through scenic landscapes but don’t really lead anywhere. Passenger and freight railways are based on connecting urban centers for travel and shipment of goods.

I imagine those trestles were likely pretty common given the mountainous nature of the islands. There’s not a lot of flat land in the islands and most of the agriculture was in the valleys, terraced up and down the slopes. Connecting two points across a valley is easier with a trestle than winding down one mountainside and then back up the next, particularly if they’re steep slopes. The northwest islands of the Hawaiian chain have much steeper peaks because of erosion, compared to the Big Island which is still growing due to active vulcanism.

[ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)]

Ok, I see. Thanks!

I could accept maybe some small rail system to transport produce but didn't imagine they had huge trestles like that on the islands. That's like something you'd see on the mainland going through the Rockies. High trestles and all that.

But I don't understand this statement in the article: "Today, the State of Hawaii has no operating freight or passenger railroads and its only functioning railroad services are tourist lines." What tourist lines?? It just said there's no passenger lines.

I’m not certain, but I would guess that tourist lines might refer to scenic railways. There are several in California. I’ve been on a few. One was in Yosemite through the redwoods, another the Napa wine train, and one other in Monterey, through the coast redwoods. They’re just a few miles long and, as the name suggests, go through scenic landscapes but don’t really lead anywhere. Passenger and freight railways are based on connecting urban centers for travel and shipment of goods.

Hmmm... maybe. I did take a "train ride" through the Dole Plantation on Oahu. Maybe that's what they mean by "tourist line" LOL! It's hardly what I would call a railway system.

https://www.doleplantation.com/pineappl ... rain-tour/

[Pahonu]

Ok, I see. Thanks!

I could accept maybe some small rail system to transport produce but didn't imagine they had huge trestles like that on the islands. That's like something you'd see on the mainland going through the Rockies. High trestles and all that.

But I don't understand this statement in the article: "Today, the State of Hawaii has no operating freight or passenger railroads and its only functioning railroad services are tourist lines." What tourist lines?? It just said there's no passenger lines.

I’m not certain, but I would guess that tourist lines might refer to scenic railways. There are several in California. I’ve been on a few. One was in Yosemite through the redwoods, another the Napa wine train, and one other in Monterey, through the coast redwoods. They’re just a few miles long and, as the name suggests, go through scenic landscapes but don’t really lead anywhere. Passenger and freight railways are based on connecting urban centers for travel and shipment of goods.

Hmmm... maybe. I did take a "train ride" through the Dole Plantation on Oahu. Maybe that's what they mean by "tourist line" LOL! It's hardly what I would call a railway system.

https://www.doleplantation.com/pineappl ... rain-tour/

That’s what I’m talking about. It’s on rails so it’s called a railway, I suppose. What else would it be called? The term “light rail” is used to differentiate between municipal railway systems and interstate passenger lines. Even Disneyland has a railroad. It just goes in a big circle, but they use historical locomotives and cars on the tracks they built. Lots of different types of railroads it seems.

[MikeS]

That was a very interesting video, really grabs my nostalgia bone, looking at "a day in the life" of folks living life so many years ago, sadly who are likely no longer here... the things they were going to accomplish are done and the time to do it has run out - I know, what a strange thing to say, but it is how my mind works - carpe deim.

I happened across some videos on Youtube from people (nobody I knew) in my neck of the woods driving thru areas of San Diego at various times, 60s, 70s, 80s - for various reasons... a news reporter, IIRC a young man doing a report for school, etc. It really blew my mind seeing places I remembered, places I frequented, roads I drove down, places I haven't been in maybe 3+ decades. The perspective was as if you were sitting in the car, driving down a street looking out the window... really cool.

I admire the people who were thoughtful and mindful enough to want to capture what might seem a benign moment, so people like us can have a glimpse many years later. I've always been the one who never gave any thought to capturing the moment, so many losts memories. If it wasn't for family and friends snapping pictures and barking at me to get over there you might forget I was even there.

OTOH, you have people like my sister, who must have recorded over 1000 hrs of my neice just lying in her crib when she was a baby, this was the beginning of the 90s and hand-held video was just becoming a thing - but seriously

[Sam]

For those of you that like the old Hawaii you may find this interesting..
A Facebook page called ...Honolulu now and then... The good thing is you don't need an account with Facebook to view the page..


https://m.facebook.com/vintageHONOLULU/?__tn__=%2Cg

[K Hale]

They’re building a massively overbudget light rail line on Oahu now called HART.