Having finally completed a book documenting, at least in part, the Navy's narrow gauge rail operations in Hawaii that I started in 1990 I'm working on doing the same for the Army. Yeah, I started it in 1990 also. I had the distinct advantage of access to the Fourteenth Naval District Photo Collection held locally by the National Park Service to do the Navy book. No such archive exists that I know of for the Army and photographs are very difficult to locate. If anyone knows of any Hawaiian Railroad photographs hidden away in a collection somewhere please let me know so I can contact them to determine what might be available. NARA is being researched as well as all the local archives and SMU. I'm looking for railroad related photos of Fort Kamehameha, Fort Shafter, Fort Weaver, Fort Barrette, Schofield Barracks, Hickam Air Force Base and Kapalama Basin (Honolulu Pier 40 area). Any leads appreciated, and please check out "Oahu's Narrow Gauge Navy Rail" published by Arcadia for the benefit of the Hawaiian Railway Society.

Jeff Livingston
Historian
Hawaiian Railway Society
jeff.livingston@hawaiianrailway.com

Jeff,
I can't help you much, but I'll keep my ear to the ground and will contact you if i turn anything up. I would love to see a book like this!
There's someone on the East coast who might have some stuff like that, I'll check with him soon.
I know someone who has a terrific collection of WW2 Army RR shots, especially NG stuff (he found some shots of ET&WNC #s 10 and 14 on the White Pass, locos that were rarely photographed there). the problem is he keeps his collection really tight to himself, won't let anyone copy anything or loan out shots (I had to make sketches of details I was looking for, from the photos he had, he wouldn't even let me take shots with my cell). I'll make him aware of your efforts and maybe he might contact you (though I seriously doubt it). The guy is your classic 'info horder' type we all know too well...

Thanks Lee,

Any leads appreciated. It appears that the Army Corps of Engineers was building construction railroads as early as 1908/9 in Hawaii, specifically at Fort Kamehameha and built a 60cm line at Schofield Barracks ca. 1921. They also built some 36 inch lines at Schofield but the OR&L built and owned most of the tracks there. Lots of interesting stuff going on but little or no hard documentation of photos.

Jeff Livingston