In the 19th and 20th centuries, Hawaii had numerous narrow-gauge railroad lines on most of the islands. Primarily these carried sugar cane from the field to the mill, but many also carried cargo and passengers.
The
only standard gauge line was the Hilo Railroad (1899-1946), on the Hamakua
coast of the Big Island. The history of that line is maintained by the
Laupahoehoe Train Museum.
They have a fairly good record of what types of engine and cars were used, so a historical recreation of the railway (e.g., in VTP) should be possible.
The narrow-gauge lines also have a bit of historical documentation, although it is scattered about. For example, many of the cars went back to the mainland, as with the Kahului Railroad Company's No. 12 which ended up on Georgetown Loop, Colorado.
There is a single book, Railroads of Hawaii: Narrow and standard gauge common carriers by Gerald M Best (1978), which is now out of print, rare and expensive.