Laupahoehoe Train Museum

You are traveling along Hwy 19 on the Hilo-Hamakua Heritage Coast about half way from Hilo to Honoka'a watching for mile marker 25. If you're paying attention, you'll notice a large concrete sidewalk. Though it's the only sidewalk on the coast, its significance would be lost if there weren't a story behind it—and of course there is. This sidewalk was the loading platform for the old Laupahoehoe Train Station. That's right, train station. Trains once traveled this coast. As a matter of fact trains rolled over much of the island.

The Laupahoehoe Train Museum and Visitors Center is located at the site of the old Laupahoehoe Station. Take a trip back in time in this handsomely restored railroad employee home, beautifully decorated in early 1900s furnishings. There are photos, artifacts, memorabilia and stories about the many island railroads, sugar plantations and local cultures that built the Big Island.

A caboose, engine and boxcar are on track outside the building where they are being restored. This community-run, all volunteer museum is a work in progress and worth exploring. It's open Monday-Friday from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.

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