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I'm guessing there was a much higher population density for the folks building tunnels under rivers and oceans than we have here.
And in Hawaii, it's Oahu vs. the Neighbor Islands. Oahu is so different (crowded) than the neighbor islands, residents of the neighbor islands have a valid fear of being overrun with weekend traffic. There are advantages to isolation.
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Originally Posted by hotzcatz
Before pushing for inter-island travel, I'd rather see the trains which used to run between Pahoa and Pauuilo on the Island of Hawaii be restored. Those got eaten during the big tsunami on April 1st, 1946. Although some alternate forms of inter-island travel would be nice, but I don't see it happening. There is a huge economic hill to get over as well as dealing with the ocean itself.
The railroad actually ran until 1960 on the BI, and there remains a lot of evidence and artifacts of its existence. There was a turntable/roundhouse that's now being used as a garage by the county, down by the swim and tennis stadium complex in Hilo. There's a Railroad Avenue that runs through Paradise Park subdivision, which is the actual roadway of the railroad. There's an old train station in Pahoa, although you'd never recognize it, and there are (used to be?) a few box cars here and there in the industrial area.
Can't say how well it would serve the community, however. It'd take a lot to get something running again, and probably much of the right-of-way is now in private hands.
There's a restored section of railroad in the Lahaina/Kaanapali area, and when I lived there, a *few* locals took it to work at the hotels. But it was a fairly authentic representation of turn-of-the-century technology, and you'd have a bruised okole after the short ride. The Big Island isn't all that tourist oriented, and ... well -- Railroad Avenue is a good road, that ought to be more than just a street in a subdivision!
Quote:
Originally Posted by hotzcatz
A ferry between Maui, Lanai & Molokai is currently in use. That ferry operates in some fairly calm waters which are sort of protected from open ocean because of the way the islands are situated. To get between Oahu and Lanai/Molokai isn't too bad as far as distance but you're getting into some heavier seas. Between Oahu and Kauai is open ocean and a deep channel. Also not as much population so less reasons for folks to go between those two particular islands. The channel between Maui and the island of Hawaii is the Alenuihaha channel which is ferocious.
Yup. Nice to see comments from somebody who knows a few things. Nice post!
A guy was walking along the beach in California and came upon a bottle laying in the sand. He picked up the bottle and pulled out the cork and a genii appeared. The genii said "For freeing me from the bottle I will grant you a wish."
The guy said "Build me a bridge between California and Hawaii so I can drive there when I want." The genii said "That bridge would be too long a span over open ocean water and impossible even for me to build, give me something else." The guy then said "Write me a book with everything there is to know about women in it." The genii said "How many lanes wide do you want that bridge?"
There seem to be quite a few smal aircraft air strips, get yourself a little cessna 150 and do the island hops yourself. If you fly yourself and a passanger it will more than make up for the fuel and you will eventually recoup the cost of the entire plane with the outragious prices for island hops.
If it were 60$ for a round trip that would be one thing but 60-75 for one way is really expensive, then add a wife and maybe a kid and you are now into big bucks for a round trip.
The only wild card would be tie down or hangar costs, thats always the crux with owning small aircraft. I am not sure what thoes fees are in any given small air port like say dillingham.
The only wild card would be tie down or hangar costs, thats always the crux with owning small aircraft.
And then there's cruxes 2 through 10 - the insurance, and then there's the maintenance, and then there's the cost of fuel ($1.50 - $2 more a gallon than on the mainland) and then there's the cost of the plane (even a basic well-used 150 is >$100K these days) and the fact that you cannot legally charge someone for passage, and the fact that flying regularly over open water is not for wimps. And that keeping your license up as you get older becomes more and more problematic.
SIDEBAR- One of my personal heroes, Burt Rutan, who designed such breakthrough aircraft as the round-the-world Voyager, and the Virgin Galactic Starship, has not been able to pilot his own planes for almost 10 years due to a heart condition. That sucks.
IOW, that is not likely to be a popular solution nohow.
A lot of those small airstrips aren't functional anymore. Laupahoehoe has cows wandering across it, Pauuilo Mauka is overgrown, Kukuhaiele is overgrown, etc. They were used when the sugar cane fields needed air spraying and have fallen into disrepair since sugar left. Small trees, eight foot tall clumps of guinea grass and holes are typical of those airstrips now. There also aren't any facilities for refueling either. On the Big Island, there is Hilo, Kailua-Kona and possibly Kamuela airports where you can refuel although I'm not sure about Kamuela. Upolu can be landed at, but no fuel. Also at Upolu and Kamuela there are no rental cars so once you land you're on your own.
There used to be a passenger schooner which went between islands. Wind powered and it took rather awhile to get between the islands and there were very few amenities on board, but it did last for quite awhile. I think it was named the Kileaua, but it's not been working for a very long time. Sometime since the late 1800's. However, a passenger sailing boat might have a niche market for inter-island travel.
Hotzcatz, I really love your posts. Been meaning to say that for a long time.
Here's what is a key factor in most of the "why is it this way," and "why isn't it this way?" posts that show upon this forum... because the population in the state is so small, that's why!
Seriously, at a total population of maybe 1,400,000, the entire State of Hawai'i is actually less populous than any of the last 8 mainland cities I've worked in.
I don't think any realistic business model could be constructed today around a ferry system that connects the islands, not unless it went much further, ad became a tourist attraction in its own right, ala State of Washingto Ferry System. There the ferry system itself is the #1 tourist attraction.
Perhaps having a ferry system as a tourist attraction might work, then? I do like the Washington State ferries, they are a lot of fun. I don't see them as being an open ocean type of vessel, though. Do you think they'd work between the islands here? Somehow I think the ocean would eat them.
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