All Aboard!

These organizations are the embodiment of dedication, preservation, and community support.

Click on the images below to be directed to their official websites.

www.hawaiianrailway.com

The Hawaiian Railway Society was formed in 1970 by a group of rail fans who wanted to save a special little plantation locomotive – WACo 6 (Waialua Agriculture Company No. 6) -- built on O`ahu in 1921 from spare and extra order train parts.  The mission of the Society is two-fold: first, to save, restore and protect historic train equipment used in Hawai`i, especially by the O`ahu Railway & Land Company, and secondly, to educate people today and in future generations about that history.  Toward that end, the Society operates an active railroad museum located in `Ewa.  They give fully narrated rides on fifteen miles of historic track, and guests are invited to do a self-tour of the train yard to visit other historic pieces of train equipment.  The most recent display is Hawai`i’s restored Merci boxcar, gifted by France to America along with 48 other Merci boxcars in 1949.  Also on the grounds are a toy train museum, a picnic area, and a gift shop. 

www.mercitrain.org

Strictly speaking, the Merci Train organization is not a true Society, but a group of highly dedicated individuals who have come together to educate the world about the 49 Forty-&-Eight boxcars gifted to America by France in 1949.  The late Earl Bennett, Sr. was the man who moved others to bring to life the Merci boxcar stories.  Earl saw his first boxcar in Idaho and this chance encounter sent him on a lifelong journey to find and publicize the whereabouts of the rest.  He was responsible for creating the website which keeps the history of the boxcars alive.  Many other people, equally dedicated to perpetuating the boxcars’ history, round out this group.  If not for mercitrain.org, we might not know the whereabouts and fate of all of the boxcars.