Honolulu's "Second City" - Oahu Railway - Pearl City - Kapolei - West Oahu - Ewa - Kalaeloa

One of the things that I'm not sure has been thought about in Honolulu's plan for a NEW Railway

is that the O.R.&L. was initially implemented as a Commuter Railway to service a "Second City" with the created name of "Pearl City". The Pearl City area and Pearl Harbor peninsula where the

Pearl City station was built was still largely vast open land, awaiting development. Dillingham

believed that by creating a planned community in Pearl City that he would both sell real estate and give residents a reason to use his railway as a commuter transit system.

So it shares to a degree what Ewa-Kapolei represents today as a "Second City". The difference

of course is that the new "Second City" is a much larger area, has it's own ocean port and airport, and is physically further away from downtown Honolulu. Once you begin to see the significant

differences, as well as Oahu's more unique needs for a "regional" Railway Service, it

becomes clear that hauling FREIGHT between cities will be an important component

of any logically operated Oahu railway system.

Off in the distance, a view of Diamond Head. At left, Punchbowl Crater.

A Rail Spur ran down the peninsula, so that people could conveniently catch a train close by

their home and go either into Honolulu, or over to the planned community's Grove Recreational area. Later in the 1930's, Pan Am would make this this community their Clipper Base.