LIHU‘E — A busload of long-term care residents spent Monday morning on a train ride aboard a restored plantation era car, pulled by Paulo, a steam locomotive from the Grove Farm Homestead Museum. “This is unreal,” said Josie Pablo, the
LIHU‘E — A busload of long-term care residents spent Monday morning on a train ride aboard a restored plantation era car, pulled by Paulo, a steam locomotive from the Grove Farm Homestead Museum.
“This is unreal,” said Josie Pablo, the recreation director for Samuel Mahelona Memorial Hospital. “One of the residents remembers riding this very train to get to school when she was young.”
Scott Johnson, Grove Farm Museum’s engineer, presented the history of the area traversed by the train.
Paulo, named after Paul Isenberg of the Lihu‘e Plantation, was manufactured in Dusseldorf, Germany, in 1887 at the Hohenzollern Works and shipped to Koloa Sugar Co., the first commercial sugar plantation in the kingdom of Hawai‘i where it was in use until 1920, according to the website Kaua‘i Trains.
Pablo was surprised and impressed with the residents’ memories, noting one resident said she remembers the Kilipaki camp where her cousin used to live.
“This is so nice the residents have a chance to ride the train,” said Levi McFarland, the newest member of the Grove Farm Museum train crew, as he helped Sam Maehata stoke the fire in the historic locomotive.
The Grove Farm Museum offers free rides aboard the historic locomotives, Paulo or Wainiha, on the second Thursday of each month during the fire up days at the site off Haleko Road, directly across the former Lihu‘e Sugar Mill.
The next scheduled fire up day is May 9 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Visitors can park in the Old Lihu‘e Sugar Mill employee parking lot on Haleko Road.
Visit www.kauaitrains.com or call 245-3202 for more information.
• Dennis Fujimoto, photographer and staff writer, can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@ thegardenisland.com.
