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Steam locomotive No. 12 was built in 1928 for the Kahului Railroad Company in Hawaii by the Baldwin Locomotive Works of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It operated on the Hawaiian island of Maui to haul sugar cane from the fields to a mill and then take the finished sugar to the port of Kahului. Later extensions of the line allowed it to haul other commodities, such as pineapple, to the port. No. 12’s Hawaiian background has earned it the nickname “Pineapple Princess”.
By the 1950’s, the Kahului Railroad was replacing its steam locomotives with diesels. No. 12 was kept as a back up for the diesels and became the only steam locomotive on the railroad. The Kahului Railroad was abandoned in 1966 and No. 12 made its last run in Hawaii on May 24 of that year. No. 12 is a 2-6-2 locomotive (the numbers refer to its wheel arrangement of two lead wheels, six drive wheels and two trailing wheels. The lead and trailing axles help guide the locomotive into curves). The Kahului Railroad had no turning facilities for its locomotives so they had to run backwards half of the time. No. 12 was designed with this in mind - its wheel arrangement allows to function equally well going forwards or backwards and its “whaleback” tender provides the engine crew with great visibility while backing.