Hawaii’s railroad story is a plantation story. Grove Farm Museum on Kauai keeps plantation locomotives, the Hawaiian Railway Society at Ewa Beach runs an operating collection on Oahu, and the Laupahoehoe Train Museum on the Big Island tells the railroad’s role in its community.
Each listing below links to a full guide with the history, what to look for and how to reach the operator.
Railroad museums & sites in Hawaii — 3
Grove Farm Museum — Plantation Locomotives
Grove Farm preserves four original steam locomotives associated with Hawaii’s plantation railways. The collection links railway preservation with the sugar industry and the movement of cane across Kauai, offering a perspective quite different from a mainland mainline museum. Restoration and maintenance are part of the attraction’s continuing work. Visitors hoping to see an engine operating should look for Train Days or other announced programs rather than assume a standard museum tour includes a train ride.
Read the guide →Hawaiian Railway Society
The Hawaiian Railway Society preserves railway equipment and operates along part of Oahu’s historic rail corridor. Its roots go back to a preservation effort that began in 1970, and volunteers remain central to its work. The experience connects visitors with the island’s railroad history through actual railway operation rather than exhibits alone. It belongs in an operating heritage category, with the train journey and the preservation collection explained together.
Read the guide →Laupahoehoe Train Museum
The Laupahoehoe Train Museum and Visitors’ Center tells the story of railway life on Hawaii Island’s Hamakua Coast. Opened in 1998, it connects railroads with plantations, local communities and the tsunamis that profoundly affected the coast. Personal stories are an important part of its appeal, adding human detail to the transport history. This is a small interpretive museum where photographs and memories can be as significant as the physical railway artifacts.
Read the guide →Keep exploring
- All heritage sites — flagship sites and state guides
- Alaska & Hawaii — the trains you can ride in the region
- Railroad museums in Alaska