HISTORY
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Kahuku Plantation Co. #1 in service in Oahu c. 1946. (Bishop Museum Collection)

What we know today as Roaring Camp & Big Trees No. 3 "Kahuku" was outshopped by Burnham Williams & Co. (Baldwin Locomotive Works) of Philadelphia in March of 1890 with the construction number 10756. Built new for the Kahuku Plantation Company of Kahuku, Oahu in the Kingdom of Hawaii, the locomotive was given the name "Keana" ("cave"), burned coal, and sported a spark-arresting diamond stack. She was converted to oil firing in 1905.

Industrial locomotives were simply pawns in a company's quest to efficiently bring their product from source to consumer, and engines like the "Keana" would typically receive only the maintenance neccessary to keep them operating. Their mechanical condition came second do the duties they were performing, and so long as their ability to perform those duties were not hindered, they would be sent out. Because of this abuse, "Keana," like many other industrial locomotives, saw the first of two replacement boilers in 1916. The third and final boiler, a Baldwin extra order like its predecessor, was shipped across the Pacific in 1926.

While what we see today is vintage and historic in every way, relatively little is the original Baldwin c/n 10756. When a part is beyond its service life, it is replaced - and in the case of KPCo. No. 1, these parts were often cannibalized off other, long-scrapped locomotives of the same vintage. The current RC&BT No. 3 is a "kitbash" of about three different Kahuku Plantation locomotives. The (only recently replaced) cab and fuel bunker originated from KPCo. #4, a 1907 Baldwin 0-6-2T built for the Koolau Railway, and the welded saddle tank is also from another locomotive. It is also believed the driver sets are not original.

In her working days, KPCo. No. 1 did not have much to show for looks. A pair of sandboxes straddled her smokebox, and she had electric "can" front and rear headlights, powered by a K2 dynamo mounted atop her tank.

After the 1950 summer harvest season on the KPCo, a diesel locomotive took over the duties of little No. 1, and she was retired from service in Hawaii after nearly sixty years. KPCo. No. 3 would remain on line as a backup until the plantation purchased additional diesels. Rather than meeting fate with the scrapper's torch, No. 1 was purchased by George Whitney, the San Francisco visionary who built the famed "Playland-At-The-Beach" amusement park at that city's Ocean Beach and also owned the landmark Cliff House and Sutro Baths. Built by Comstock mining engineer Adolf Sutro, the grand salt water baths beside the Pacific were once a classy establishment - famous for its heated pools and Green Revival architecture. Even more unique, however, was the Sutro Museum - a curio display which amassed an astounding collection of bizarre and historic artifacts from tropical plants to Egyptian mummies. After the death of Adolf Sr., ownership of the Baths was passed to daughter Emma Sutro and later grandson Adolf D. Sutro in 1919. In hopes of catering to a new audience, the Victorianesque Greek Revival facade was shed in favor of a new South Pacific theme. "Tropic Beach" eventually became simply "Sutro's," an indoor entertainment complex which featured indoor ice rinks in place of some of the baths.

In the enginehouse at Kahuku, 1946 (Bishop Museum Collection)

By 1966, Sutro's was a far cry from the classy establishment Adolf Sutro once conceived some seventy years earlier. With the property sold to condominium developers, the remaining contents of the museum were put up for sale, including the little KPCo. No. 1. It is said one interested party was none other than Walt Disney who, at that time, would have been secretly planning the "Florida Project" now known as Walt Disney World. Some years earlier, while planning his future Anaheim theme park, Disney visited Fairyland amusement park on Oakland's Lake Merritt. Upon the suggestion of the park's creator, Art Navlet, Disney ventured across the Bay to meet George Whitney, who "knew the business inside out." Disney took Whitney as a consultant, and Whitney's son became one of the first "cast members" trained before Disneyland's opening. Disney's connection with Whitney certainly makes the story plausible.

When KPCo. #1 arrived at Roaring Camp, it wore dummy "box" headlights, a wooden pilot, and was lettered "Ferries & Cliff House" for the steam-powered street railway operation which once operated in that part of the city. (Whitney purchased the locomotive as it was representative of those that historically ran in the area, and displayed it beside his historic street vehicle collection.) Upon a quick assessment of her condition by the crew, Charlie Hoyle, Neil Vodden and "the boys" found her to be in outstanding condition and have a full tank of Bunker C oil! Unbeknownst to their boss, the anxious crew decided to fire her up while the Clark family headed out for dinner. When they returned, a furious Clark found the locomotive under steam and speeding back and forth down the line. His anger, however, was short lived when he realized the publicity value of the "Little Engine That Could." And in another interesting twist, his wife, Georgiana, was convinced this locomotive ran past her backyard. While dismissive at first, Clark later discovered that the locomotive did in fact run behind his wife's childhood home in Oahu.

Unloading at Roaring Camp, 1966 (Sam Reeves Collection)

Proving willing and able to steam, the little teakettle was quickly painted up for service. Keeping to the railroad's consecutive numbering pattern, she was renumbered "3" and took on the name "Kahuku," the city from which she came. A homeade West Side Lumber Co. spot plate from Heisler No. 2 (originally West Side No. 3) was already on hand and affixed on the front of her smokebox. Accompanied by engineer Charlie Ward, a former SP steam fireman, the "Kahuku" was brought to the Santa Cruz County Fair that year, where she steamed up and down a short stretch of panel track.

First run on RC&BT. Karl Koenig photo

Little 'Kahuku' was far from fit for the most extreme mountain railroad in America, but she found her niche at her new home. The Roaring Camp of 1966 was a far cry from the Roaring Camp of today. It would still be two more years until the railroad is completed to Bear Mountain, and a recreated logging camp was comprised of only a general store and a depot. As operations were originally based from Old Felton depot and the new parking lot had not yet been built, the "Kahuku" was pressed into shuttle service between the Felton depot/old parking lot and the new Roaring Camp depot, where passengers could board a train behind Nos. 1 or 2 into the redwoods. It is said that, upon seeing the little "Kahuku" and short shuttle train, some prospective visitors kept driving down the road, believing the "dinky" was all there was to see! The new parking lot resolved this problem.

Norman Clark printed up these ads in the late
1960s when he fell short on cash! (Phil Reader Collection)

Occasionally, when no other steam power was available, little Kahuku would find herself hauling trains up Bear Mountain...with the assistance of a "dismal" helper, of course. The little 0-4-2's usual companion was perhaps the best-known narrow-gauge diesel in existence - former Denver & Rio Grande Western Davenport #50 - which had first gone down in history as Sumpter Valley #101. In 1975, when Nos. 1 and 2 were down for most of the season, this duo was the typical power on all trains. This lash-up continued in 1977-78, when No. 1 "Dixiana" was being reboilered and a second section, or relief for No. 2, was needed. In July, 1976, the "Kahuku" became the last train to pass over the Spring Canyon 'Corkscrew' trestles, upgrade, before their destruction by fire. The passengers were walked down the hill while the locomotives were trucked back to the shop a week later. A switchback to bypass the severed loop as put in place over the next six months and, despite its average 9-1/2% grade, it is said the "Kahuku" could pull one loaded car up the ladder track, so long as the conductor walked behind!

Roaring Camp Founder F. Norman Clark (1935-1985) with"Kahuku" c.1966

In 1978, Roaring Camp purchased a second Hawaiian locomotive from Dale Gentry of "Old Woman Springs" in San Bernardino County. In the early 1980s, one could occasionally find Oahu plantation veterans - "Kahuku" and "Waipahu" - double-heading up the hill. In 1893, the tired "Kahuku" was withdrawn from service and torn down, awaiting her return to duty.

That chance came after Roaring Camp's crew had completed rebuilding the line's largest locomotive, three-truck Shay No. 7 "Sonora," in 1998. Over the course of three years, the Roaring Camp crew, headed up by senior engineer Tom Shreve, master mechanic Phil Reader, and shop manager Paul Boschan, began slowly rebuilding the locomotive. During this major overhaul and transformation, the Kahuku took on a new smokebox and a new cab - offering increased headroom and more faithful to the original. While the cab was originally to be built by a volunteer organization, the locomotive was almost ready to run by the time that group was just getting started, so the job was instead completed by Wildhorse Woodworks of Scotts Valley. With a bell from Big Trees & Pacific Whitcomb No. 20 and a new boiler jacket (the original Russian Iron had been mistakingly scrapped in the early '90s), the "Kahuku" was once again operable by the Spring of 2000. To promote her return, every Tuesday in July, 2001, was "Tiny Train Tuesday," when free rides would be offered to the old Felton depot. The final touch on the restoration was a vintage Baldwin spot plate located by Phil Reader at Patterson's Antiques in Los Gatos. Owner Chuck Bergtold, a longtime collector of railroad artifacts, donated the plate to the project, and the appropriate number was put on by Jeff Badger at his home shop. To surprise Phil, who would be hostling the following day, Jeff and Kent Jefferys fitted the spot plate one night, and it's been there ever since.

"Kahuku" today (John Goldie photo)

Little " Kahuku" still sees occasional operation at Roaring Camp, and participated in the company's 40th Anniversary festivities in 2003. Many people in the area have no idea such a historic piece of machinery operates practically right in their own backyards, and the "Kahuku" will stand as a real-life "Little Engine That Could" story, a tribute to the Hawaiian sugar industry, and as a source of local railroading pride.

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