After World War II, business and traveler dependence on railroads in Hawaii, as on the mainland United States, waned in favor of trucks, automobiles, and airplanes. In 1947, the Oahu Railway obtained permission to abandon all lines except those immediately around the Pearl Harbor area. In 1950, many of those lines went also, sold to the U.S. Navy for $1.00. By 1961, the remaining trackage of the Oahu Railway was removed for scrap. The railroad had been the spark for a agricultural industry of incredible wealth in Hawaii. It was also a scenic wonder, sometimes passing within two feet of the ocean surf, chugging along the coast of Oahu, affording its riders one of the world's spectacular sights for a round trip fee of $1.90.
All the equipment from Hawaiian railroads at Travel Town was donated through the efforts of the local chapter of the Railway and Locomotive Historical Society, who made all the initial contacts in Hawaii in 1953.
The long ocean voyage across the Pacific did not turn out to be the final journey for some of the Hawaiian equipment; beginning in 1955, the Oahu Railway and Land Company Locomotive #85 pulled Combination Car No. 36 and Coach No.1 on excursion rides right here at Travel Town. The track paralleled the route along which the Ventura Freeway would be constructed 10 years later called the Crystal Springs & Southwestern Railway, it cost 20 cents for adults, 10 cents for children, and ceased operation in 1961.`