50 Garden Railways | June 2012

The Kula Sugar Company Railway

A Hawaiian plantation line in 1:22.5 scaleby David E. Walasinski | Milan, Michigan | Photos by the author

© 2012 Kalmbach Publishing Co. This material may not be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher. www.GardenRailways.com

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I began thinking of building an outdoor narrow-gauge railroad after I retired. After some thought about maintenance, I decided to keep it simple and compro-

mise a bit on the detail. This proved to be a boon because all the work would have to be done by yours truly. I began designing the trackplan in the fall of 2001 and began construction of this line in April of 2002.

The railway’s initial theme was to be a common carrier in Hawaii. I requested a number of books through our library sys-tem. The best were Narrow Gauge in a Kingdom, The Hawaiian Railroad Compa-ny, and Sugar Trains Pictorial, all by Jesse C. Conde, as well as Sugar Trains: Narrow Gauge Railroads of Hawaii by Gerald M. Best. I also found a number of articles published in the Narrow Gauge & Short Line Gazette.

Locomotives and rolling stockAccording to my research, two LGB steam engines were virtual dead ringers for locomotives used in Hawaii. LGB’s 0-4-2T Chloe needed minor modification as follows; a new cab style, headlight, and conversion to oil. I modified the pilot to remove an unsightly weight and installed new balance weights in the stack and also as a toolbox.

LGB’s 0-4-2T Olomana needed exten-sive modification and back dating. These modifications included removing the rear tank; a new cab; a new stack; new sand and steam domes; a new, shorter smoke-box and front plate; a new, reconstructed front beam; a new rear plate with buffers; and conversion to oil. I also rebalanced the locomotive with carefully concealed weights in the front.

I rebuilt six 12' (LGB #30440) and two 9' (LGB #45170) four-wheel cars to represent cane cars, gondola cars, a sand car, and a work car. Using NG&SLG plans of an Ewa Plantation boxcar, I built an 11' four-wheel boxcar, and I purchased a 12' (LGB #40150) four-wheel boxcar. I installed steam chuff units in both boxcars. Using a Lionel gondola frame and trucks as the basis, I scratchbuilt a 21' coach using NG&SLG plans of a Hawaiian Railroad Co. coach.

All of this equipment originally used standard LGB hook-and-loop couplers for convenience. Four years later, I bit the bullet and installed link-and-pin couplers for a more prototypical appearance. At the same time, I purchased an LGB 0-4-0T O&K steam engine. I modified the cab, front plate, and stack, and converted the

1. Nº 1, Pokaa, with a mixed consist stops at the station. The coach was scratchbuilt by the author. Garden thyme on the left and potentilla on the right flank a healthy stand of dwarf Alberta spruce trees.

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engine to oil to more closely represent a typical O&K industrial engine.

The trackI designed the trackplan to fit a space approximately 5' x 85', half-moon in shape. It extends about halfway around our swim-ming pool as a single-track line, with two automated reversing loops, a small yard, and a single siding. Track is sectional, mostly two feet in length. Curves are two-foot radius on the reversing loops and eight-foot radius elsewhere.

Track is laid on washed #10 gravel, about 2" deep, overlaid with turkey grit. I applied LGB graphite grease to rail join-ers, adding soldered wire jumpers to some locations furthest from the two power feeds at the reversing loops. However, I’ve had some of the jumpers fail due to the difficulty of getting enough localized heat into the heavy rail while soldering. Subse-quently, I later added some over-joiner rail clamps. Looking back, a better solution

would have been to dispense with the rail joiners and use rail clamps exclusively. During the winter, I loosen a few of these clamps to avoid track buckling.

The themeMy concept has morphed into a small sugar plantation served by a common carrier that uses some of its track. I have always liked small equipment with lots of character, which is well suited to the com-promise needed for the return loops on my line.

Trains run on track power. The main power supply is 21�2 amps, supplying 26V filtered DC and 18V AC for the automat-ed switching system. The power unit resides in the garage, with the feed wires running underground to a commercial-grade terminal block located in an incon-spicuous location. A 6" x 3" control unit, consisting of a voltage-regulated speed controller supplying 16V DC, with a reversing and off/on switch, connects via a

20' cable to the terminal block. These units are fused, and are constructed from Radio Shack components.

StructuresSeven structures reside on the railroad, including a water tank, a fueling station, a molasses tank, a Heiau (a Hawaiian place of worship—more about this later), a small powerhouse, a mill building, and a small station. The mill building has track that extends into its interior to allow tem-porary storage of up to eight cars in case of a sudden cloudburst.

I built six of these structures out of wood, styrene, and readily available PVC pipe fittings. The station is a modified Pola structure.

The landscapeI purchased fill soil of bottomland, rich in organic material and consisting of about 30% sand, to form the terrain. This proved to be perfect, allowing easy shaping and

CONIFERS USED AS TREES

Sungold threadbranch cypressChamaecyparis pisifera f ilifera ‘Sungold’

Boulevard false cypress Chamaecyparis pisifera ‘Boulevard’

Blue Star juniper Juniperus squamata ‘Blue Star’

Dwarf Alberta spruce Picea glauca ‘Conica’

Mugo pine, dwarf mountain pinePinus mugo mughus

BROADLEAF SHRUBS USED AS TREES

Littleleaf boxwood Buxus microphylla ‘Koreana’

Winter Gem boxwood Buxus microphylla ‘Winter Gem’

Green Mountain boxwood Buxus x ‘Green Mountain’

Coronation Triumph potentilla Potentilla fruticosa ‘Coronation Triumph’

McKay’s White potentilla Potentilla fruticosa ‘McKay’s White’

PLANTS USED AS SHRUB-COVERED HILLS OR SHRUBBY TREES

Dwarf Japanese garden juniperJuniperus procumbens ‘Nana’

Lavender cottonSantolina chamaecyparissus

Garden thymeThymus vulgaris

English Wedgewood thymeThymus vulgaris ‘English Wedgewood’

PLANTS USED AS TROPICAL FORMS

French tarragon (a credible bamboo imitation)Artemisia dracunculus

Sweet woodruff Asperula odorata, syn. Galium odoratum

Brilliant Star dianthusDianthus ‘Brilliant Star’

Lemon Drop evening primroseOenothera ‘Lemon Drop’

Emerald Pink creeping phloxPhlox subulata ‘Emerald Pink’

PLANTS USED AS SUGAR CANE, PLANTED DENSELY

Common thrift, sea pinkArmeria maritima ‘Splendens’

GROUNDCOVER

Local mosses from my woodsOregano-Thyme mint

Mentha ‘Oregano-Thyme’Irish moss, spring sandwort

Minuartia vernaPeter Davis thyme

Thymus leucotrichus ‘Peter Davis’Elfin thyme

Thymus praecox ‘Elfin’Coconut thyme

Thymus pulegiodes coccineus ‘Coconut’

Creeping red thymeThymus serpyllum

Minus thyme Thymus serpyllum ‘Minus’

Plants on the Kula Sugar Company RailwayMilan, MichiganUSDA Hardiness Zone 5We are located in a sparsely populated rural area. Temperatures range from -10°F to 90°F, with frequent strong winds yearlong.

6

1. Molassas2. Fuel3. Water4. Powerhouse5. Mill6. Station7. Heiau

1

23

5

7

Pool

The Kula Sugar Company RailwayDrawing not to scale

45

36

2

1

7

8

4

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planting. I removed rock material from our field and placed it conveniently to facilitate weeding. I purchased some lava stone and incorporated into the landscape, completing the terrain.

In the beginning, a row of tall, decidu-ous trees grew 15 feet south of the rail-road. The ensuing shade made groundcov-er a problem. Because of this, I planted several varieties of local moss, ranging from flat to about one inch tall, harvested from a small woods at the rear of our property. Mixed with several species of thyme, they provided an excellent effect.

Unfortunately, the trees died from dis-ease and most of the mosses died due to the lack of shade and constant destruction by immature robins. Several varieties of miniature thyme replaced these losses. I tried Irish moss, and while it propagated nicely, it is not durable. I purchased all the plants used on the railroad from local sup-pliers over a two year period.

Virtually none of the trees mentioned in Garden Railways are durable in my area, or they are extremely expensive. Subsequently, I resorted to the top four selections in my plant list for trees. All are readily available at big-box stores at nomi-nal prices. I carefully selected plants with single leaders, with the exception of those that had reasonably straight leaders going below ground level, to increase tree densi-ty and reduce the cost per tree.

Selecting plants that were suitably in scale for the railway has been the most time consuming. Most of the plantings meet this requirement, except for about four boxwoods in the background. I will replace the Green Mountain boxwoods in the near future.

The railroad is built in an exposed

2. A passenger train, headed by Nº 1, passes through dense, tropical-looking foliage—a grove of potentilla and dwarf Alberta spruce trees with an understory of various thymes.

3. An overview of the railroad, looking east. The pool will provide purpose for a tramp island steamer. Landscaping is a balanced blend of repetition and variety.

ILLU

STRA

TIO

N B

Y M

ARC

HO

ROVI

TZ

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location, with no protection from winter winds, except to the northeast, where our house is located. Anyone contemplating a railway under similar conditions should feel confident selecting plants from my plant list. All plants on the line are a minimum of five years old.

MaintenanceTrees have proven to be high mainte-nance, requiring constant trimming to resemble miniature tree forms. Thyme growing adjacent to the track also requires constant trimming; in fact, plant life and weeding are by far the highest mainte-nance items on the railway. The second-highest item to maintain is track ballast. I use turkey grit on top of the track-locking gravel. Between the birds and the rain, it

disappears like magic and requires almost yearly renewal.

Figures used on the railway are from LGB, Pola, or Preiser. I have modified most of them, and repainted almost all of them to eliminate garish colors. Some have been modified and carved using a Dremel tool and small files to reshape clothing and reposition arms, legs, or heads. I placed 26 figures on the railroad, including two wild boars carved from Prieser baby pigs.

The HeiauThe germ for selecting the theme for the railway came from past trips to Hawaii. On these vacations, I purchased several books and pamphlets on the history and culture of the Hawaiian Islands. I resolved

About the authorDavid Walasinski is a retired mechanical-design engineer, 72 years of age. He has been a lifelong model railroader and has built an HO short line, a logging line, and an HOn2 railroad, using kitbash-ing and scratchbuilding techniques for the infrastructure. All of his railroads were built to exacting scale and detail standards. He always makes drawings of struc-tures and rolling stock if plans are not available. Most recently, he built a 20" x 30" Gn15 layout that features a rural maple-syrup and candy factory. His granddaughter plays with this and is learning to operate it.

The Kula Sugar Company at a glance

Name: Kula Sugar Co.Size of railroad: 5' x 85', half-moon shapeScale: 1:22.5Gauge: Nº 1 (45mm)Era: 1930 to 1940Theme: Hawaiian plantation railroadAge: 8 yearsMotive power: Steam outlineLength of mainline: 82'Maximum gradient: 2.5%Type of track: LGBMinimum radius: 2'Structures: Scratchbuilt, one Pola structure (the station)

5. The sugar mill and powerhouse. All buildings except the station were scratchbuilt by the author. The sugar mill and powerhouse are shaded by dwarf Alberta spruce trees.

4. The powerhouse (right), water (left), fuel (center), and molasses tanks.

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that if I ever built a Hawaiian narrow-gauge railroad, I would incorporate at least one scene based on the ancient culture.

This brings me to the Heiau men-tioned earlier. This scene owes its existence to the work of Herb Kane, a preeminent artist and historian of the Hawaiian culture, whose work forms the basis of the Heiau, as well as visits to his-toric sites on the islands.

I constructed the base of the Heiau from small pebble stone, surrounded by a fence made from bamboo skewers. I made the enclosed shelter from of styrene, sup-ported by carved wood stones and a floor painted to match the natural stone, then mounted the entire piece on a wood base.

Inside the shelter, I placed a carved head of the agricultural god Lono; in front of the Heiau are two, tall ki’i akua (statues of god), carved of redwood. The male fig-ures inside I made from modified Preiser body kits, augmented with styrene, linen, and Squadron Green putty. The two standing men, one a chief (ali’i-nui) the other a priest (kahuna-nui), hold kahili staffs (symbols of rank or authority) con-structed of dowel, brass rod, and old sock material. I carved two kneeling men, one playing a pahu (drum) the other a ipu heke (double gourd drum) from wood. I carved and radically reconstructed the two females from modern Pola figures. I made their leis of fly-tying chenille and their leaf headbands from old sock material.

Future projectsTwo major projects are currently on the agenda: A removable dock scene for my island tramp ship and a belt cane conveyor for the mill. A powered ship will circle the pool with a minimum of bumping.

OperationI have a cousin, also a lifelong model rail-roader, who joins me regularly for some hands-on operation. Sometimes we will just lash up a short train and watch it run, while lounging in the pool and discussing the topic of the day. In this mode of oper-ation the train travels over 132' of track for a round trip, taking about three min-utes at a scale speed of 11 mph. The auto-mated reversing loops are a real advantage for this type of operation. As the train dis-appears from view behind the terrain and foliage, the sound modulates, creating a convincing illusion of distance.

6. Hawaiians at the Lono Heiau. All figures have been extensively modified and repainted. Outside the fence, Elfin thyme covers the field.

7. Nº 3, Olomana, with its ubiquitous sand car, returns to the mill with a load of cane. The engineer turns to view a large field of thyme, a possible candidate for another sugar-cane field.

8. Nº 1 with the baggage car and first-class coach, out on the mainline. Mugo pine (left) and dwarf Japanese garden juniper look like thick groves of conifer trees.