Hawaii Railway Co. #5 - Connecticut's "other" steam locomotive. If you ask a steam enthusiast about operable steam locomotives in the State of Connecticut, chances are they'll immediately tell you about the Valley Railroad Co. and it's trio of steamers. But ask if there are any more and you may get some blank stares. Yes folks, there is one more. You are looking at Hawaii Railway Co. #5, a rather diminutive, 36" gauge, 2-4-2, which operates near the western border of the state, in the town of Kent. Owned by an industrious group, called the Connecticut Antique Machinery Association or "CAMA", this little tea kettle is part of a diverse collection of 19th and 20th century machines, ranging from vehicles, to farm equipment to stationary steam engines. All of it is on display at CAMA's headquarters along Route 7 in Kent. I guess you could describe CAMA as a museum of sorts, but the term "museum" conjures up visions of things stuffed and mounted, and that's not what you'll find here. All of their stuff runs. While CAMA usually has regular hours when they are open for visitation, the time to stop by is during one of the two, "Power Up" weekends that they typically hold, in the spring and fall. It's during that time that little #5 here emerges from her shed and provides rides for visitors. Lacking any restored rolling stock when I visited, all rides were conducted with seating on top of the fuel oil tank on the tender. They have several hundred yards of track, and the little engine runs back and forth pretty much all day. At the time of my visit, the group indicated that there were plans to restore some cars for the engine to pull, and to extend the track further, within the large plot of land owned by the group.
Hawaii Railway Co. #5 is a 1925 Baldwin product, and was the last steam locomotive delivered to the narrow (36") gauge line that was incorporated in 1880. The Hawaii Railway Co. primarily served the sugar cane industry and was viable until just after World War II, when trucking companies pretty much took away all of their business. This engine was retired in 1945, with barely 20 years of service on her. She was set aside for a museum that was to be built, but it never materialized. In 1960, she was purchased by an American Engineer, Robert Keller, who had her shipped to the US, where he performed an operating restoration on her and ran her for a short period on a small tourist line near South Lake Tahoe, CA. Later, Mr. Keller became the operator of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad, and he moved the engine to Chama, NM, although she was basically just stored there. Over the next 20 years, the locomotive changed hands a couple of times, finally coming into the ownership of Dr. Richard May, who took her to a number of events, notably Railfair '91 in Sacramento. Eventually, he brought her to the CAMA Museum in Kent, CT., where she would have a place to run. After a few years of operation, the CAMA group was able to raise the funds to purchase the engine from the doctor, ensuring that she would finally have a permanent home. She is stored indoors today on the CAMA grounds, and is meticulously cared for by the volunteers there.
