Kauai Kilohana Partners is proposing the construction of a 2.5-mile “excursion railway system” on the grounds of Kilohana Plantation and on adjoining agricultural acres in Puhi.
The 103-acre project would include a train depot, an engine shop and a market. Historic buildings would be used to house some of the planned improvements.
The project would allow riders to get a glimpse of Kaua‘i’s past as they ride past the historic Wilcox family plantation home, now known as Kilohana Plantation, a retail commercial center and home to Gaylord’s Restaurant.
Riders also would could get an idea of what a Kaua‘i tropical crop looks like as the train takes them through 67 of the 103 acres. On display would be sugar cane, bananas and more recently introduced tropical fruits like rambutan and chermoya. The Kilohana grounds comprise the other 36 acres.
“It is an opportunity to showcase where Kaua‘i is going agriculturally,” said Fred Atkins, general manager of Kauai Kilohana.
If the project is approved, the venture will be the first of its kind on Kaua‘i involving large-scale commercial use of locomotives.
The sugar cane train run at Ka‘anapali on Maui north of Lahaina is perhaps the only similar activity found in Hawai‘i.
Grove Farm Homesteads has four narrow-gauge sugar train locomotives and is proposing educational tours in the future on lands makai of the old Lihue Plantation mill.
For its project, Kauai Kilohana Partners is negotiating with a business interest in the Philippines to buy two narrow-gauge locomotives and ship them back to Kaua‘i, Atkins said.
The two locomotives were used on O‘ahu at one time, and it was Atkin’s impression that one was used for a railway system there.
But those locomotives and many other locomotives in Hawai‘i were sold to sugar plantations and business interest all over the world as O‘ahu sugar companies began to shut down railroad systems in the 1940s and 1950s and turned to cane haul trucks for hauling cane because of lower cost and efficiency, Atkins said.
Atkins said his hui looked for sugar cane trains in Hawai‘i, but could not find any.
He said at least one of the locomotives proposed to be bought from the Philippines was working last year, and that getting both up to top running form would be left to Brooks Rother.
Atkins said Rother is a hui partner from northern California who has a depth of experience building up historic railroad systems in the Mainland, and can refurbish locomotives for the hui’s venture.
Atkins said Rother flew to Maui 18 months ago to look at a locomotive project there. Rother recently came to Kaua‘i, “walked the Kauai Kilohana project,” and was optimistic about the success of the proposed project.
Kauai Kilohana representatives are currently seeking County of Kaua‘i permits including a special permit, a use permit and a Class VI zoning permit for their proposal.
The Kaua‘i County Planning Commission has scheduled a public hearing on the matter for Jan. 13.
Atkins said Kauai Kilohana Partners considered the project after Lihue Plantation closed its operation in November 2000 and former cane lands in Puhi became available.
Gaylord Wilcox, owner of the Kilohana property, has reached an agreement with Kauai Kilohana to use 36 acres for the project, Atkins said. The hui also will lease another 67 acres from Grove Farm, he added.
The railroad system is planned to run by a portion of the historic Wilcox home, which has been placed on the State and Federal Registers of Historic Places.
The Kaua‘i County Historic Preservation Review Commission has scheduled a meeting at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 7 at the Lihu‘e Civic Center to discuss potential impacts the project might have on historic buildings on the grounds of Kilohana Plantation.
On its 2.5-mile route over agriculturally-zoned land, the locomotive would roll narrow-gauge tracks set atop a 12-foot wide path, according to Kaua‘i County Planning Department documents. The tracks could be as narrow as 24 inches.
The locomotives will operate on oil and will produce no visible smoke once the engine is warmed up, the documents said.
The railroad system is anticipated to run hourly from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., daily.
At this point, the hui’s business plan calls for a $16 per passenger fee for riders, Atkins said, but discounts will be offered to students and ka‘amaina residents.
Atkins said he is hoping to attract a mixed ridership to include residents, visitors staying at hotels and vacation rentals, and cruise ship passengers. The latter could be transported by bus to the railroad terminal, Atkins said.
Occasional late afternoon or early evening runs also could be made for special events, the county documents said.
Once onboard the train, riders will be provided with a narration on the history and future of Kaua‘i’s tropical crop industry.
The ride will allow riders to see “historic crops” that include sugar cane, taro, bananas, papayas and guava, the county documents said.
Riders also will be able see rambutan, cocoa and chermoya, newly emerging tropical crops on Kaua‘i, the documents said.
A majority of the project area was used for sugar cultivation for more than 100 years, but has lain fallow due to the demise of the sugar industry, the report noted.
The new project will bring back agricultural activity to that part of Puhi, thus insuring an extensive green belt for 30 years, the documents noted.
The project will provide for a huge greenbelt in front of Kilohana Plantation and the agricultural lands to be used, Atkins said.
The greenbelt would allow the business interests behind Kilohana Plantation to follow through on a promise to the planning commission to keep the area green when commercial operations opened in the historic Wilcox home in 1986, Atkins said.
Upon completion of the ride, riders can stop at a train depot and farm market to sample crops grown on the site.
Kauai Kilohana is seeking a use permit because it plans to use a historic building for the train depot and farm market.
The building is within an existing “special use area” of Kilohana, and has been used for commercial activity for more than 17 years, the county documents noted.
As part of the project, the railroad engine house will be designed to duplicate the look of historic structures on the site, the county documents noted.
The project figures to provide more than 20 full-time and part-time jobs. Training programs are expected to be set up locally.
Representatives from the state Department of Transportation, the Kaua‘i Community College, Island School and Kauai Kilohana and Wilcox have begun working on ways to ease existing traffic in Puhi and more traffic that could be generated by the project.
Representatives from Kauai Kilohana, in conjunction with Island School and the Kaua‘i Community College, have proposed a new entry for Kilohana on Kaumuali‘i Highway and to eliminate the current entry to Kilohana, county documents noted.
The new entry would lead to a roadway that would run parallel to the highway and allow entry to the Kilohana grounds.
To help support this plan, Wilcox has agreed to allow an easement over this part of the private roadway as a feeder road to connect to a new road accessing the college and Island School, the county documents said.
Staff writer Lester Chang can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 225) and mailto:lchang@pulitzer.net
