01-26-2024, 07:57 PM
(01-25-2024, 11:16 PM)ChunksterK Wrote: 3. As best as I can figure out from contemporary accounts and what county officials described at PMAR meetings held by HPP around 2012, the railroad right of way was perceived as a liability for the remnant holding company and abandoned by quitclaim to the surrounding and adjacent land owners. In some cases, such as the gulch trestles north of Hilo and where the right of way was needed for road improvements, it was given to the county and/or state for nothing.
Just a small point of history..
The Hawai'i Consolidated Railway, who owned the train system when it went under, didn't just give it to gov.. but rather..
From https://www.thetrainmuseum.com/history.html
But the end was near for the Hawai'i Consolidated Railway. Early in the morning of April 1, 1946, a massive tsunami struck Hawai'i. A tragic loss of life occurred in several low-lying areas of the island chain, the east side of Hawaii island were hit the worst. The railroad line between Hilo and Pa'auilo suffered massive damage; bridges collapsed, trestles tumbled, and one engine was literally swept off the tracks.
The expensive option of rebuilding the railway was rejected. Hawai'i Consolidated offered the rights-of-way, tracks and remaining bridges, trestles and tunnels to the Territory of Hawaii, but the offer was refused, and finally the company sold the entire works to the Gilmore Steel and Supply Company for $81,000. Shortly thereafter, realizing its terrible error, the Territory bought it all back for $302,723.53! Much of the current highway follows the route of the old railroad, five original railroad trestles have been converted into highway bridges.
While the tsunami destroyed the Hamakua side and was never repaired, and the financial blow ended the Hawai'i Consolidated Railway, the southern routes were taken over by the sugar companies, and ownership folded into their lands, and later given up in favor of trucking across government roads.