New Hope Railroad Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids
New Hope Railroad
Overview

No. 40 at New Hope Station in May 2019
Headquarters	New Hope, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Reporting mark	NHRR
Locale	Bucks County, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Dates of operation	1966 (1966)–present
Technical
Track gauge	4 ft 8 ¹⁄₂ in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Length	18 miles (29 km)

The New Hope Railroad (NHRR) is a special kind of train line in New Hope, Pennsylvania. It's a shortline, which means it's a shorter railway line. It's also a heritage railroad, which means it keeps old trains running for people to enjoy.

The New Hope Railroad uses both classic steam trains and modern diesel trains. It's a fun way to experience train travel from the past!

What the Railroad Does
- Fun Train Rides
- Moving Goods for Businesses
History of the New Hope Railroad
- Saving the Railroad
- Improvements and New Beginnings
Trains and Cars
See also

What the Railroad Does

The New Hope Railroad offers two main types of services: fun trips for visitors and moving goods for businesses.

Fun Train Rides

The New Hope Railroad runs exciting trips for people who want to experience a ride on an old train. These trips start in New Hope. You can ride on either a steam-powered train or a diesel-powered train.

Most of the time, the trains travel between New Hope and Lahaska. Sometimes, they even go as far as Buckingham Valley. The railroad uses old passenger cars for these trips. Many of these cars were built a long time ago, between 1914 and 1932. They used to belong to the Reading Company.

Moving Goods for Businesses

Besides fun rides, the New Hope Railroad also helps businesses. It moves raw materials and finished products for different companies. These companies range from large chemical businesses to places that make everyday products.

The New Hope Railroad connects with another railway, the Pennsylvania Northeastern Railroad, in Johnsville. This connection helps them move goods even further. Some of the main businesses they serve are in Warminster, like CRC Industries, Castrol, and Double H Plastics. They get weekly deliveries from the railroad.

History of the New Hope Railroad

The first train arriving in New Hope in 1891.

The train tracks used by the New Hope Railroad today have a long history. They were originally part of the New Hope Branch of the Reading Company. This line first reached Hartsville Station in 1891. Then, on March 29, 1891, the line was extended all the way to New Hope, Pennsylvania.

In 1932, the steam trains on part of the line were replaced by a special rail car called a Doodlebug. This happened after electric train service started in other areas. Passenger service between Hatboro and New Hope ended in June 1952.

Saving the Railroad

By the early 1960s, the Reading Company was having money problems. They wanted to get rid of train lines that weren't making money. A group of train fans and business people, led by Kenneth Souser, decided to save the line. They started a company called Steam Trains, Inc. Their goal was to run steam trains for fun.

Steam Trains, Inc. became known as the New Hope & Ivyland Railroad (NHIR). On June 20, 1966, they bought the 16.7-mile long train line for $200,000.

The new company started its train operations on August 6, 1966. They bought four steam locomotives and seven passenger cars. They also rented freight trains from the Reading Company. However, the company faced financial difficulties. Steam Trains, Inc. declared bankruptcy on June 5, 1970. But the trains kept running under a special manager.

New Hope Railroad trains: No. 40, GP30 2198, and SD40-2 5577.

In 1974, the Bucks County Industrial Development Corporation (BCIDC) bought the tracks. They wanted to make sure train service continued in Bucks County. They chose McHugh Brothers Heavy Hauling, Inc. to run the freight service.

Improvements and New Beginnings

By the summer of 1976, the railroad received money from the state to fix its tracks. These tracks really needed repairs. By August 1977, volunteers from the Buckingham Valley Trolley Association started running passenger service. This connected New Hope with commuter trains in Warminster.

The county's investment paid off. Both passenger and freight services did very well in the 1970s after the track upgrades. Finally, on June 30, 1979, the New Hope Railroad was no longer bankrupt.

Starting July 3, 1980, volunteers from the New Hope Steam Railway (NHOP) took over the weekend train rides. They ran trains until 1990. At that time, the tracks and equipment were again in poor condition.

In 1990, the BCIDC sold the line to the Bucks County Railroad Preservation and Restoration Corporation (BCRP&RC). This company slowly began to rebuild the railroad. They brought it to its good condition that you see today. In 1993, the railroad's official reporting mark became NHRR. BCRP&RC is the company that operates as the New Hope Railroad.

Trains and Cars

The New Hope Railroad has many different types of trains and cars. These include powerful locomotives and various passenger and freight cars.

Locomotives (Engines)

These are the engines that pull the trains.

Locomotive details
Number	Type	Class	Builder	Built	Former owner	Status
40	Steam	2-8-0	Baldwin Locomotive Works	1925	Lancaster and Chester Railroad	Operational
1533	Steam	4-6-0	Montreal Locomotive Works	1911	Canadian National Railway	Stored, awaiting possible restoration
8218	Diesel	GP7	Electro-Motive Diesel	1957	Canadian Pacific Railway	Operational
2198	Diesel	GP30	Electro-Motive Diesel	1963	Pennsylvania Railroad	Operational
5577	Diesel	SD40-2	Electro-Motive Diesel	1972	Canadian Pacific Railway	Operational
7010	Diesel	GP9	Electro-Motive Diesel	1959	Canadian National Railway	Operational

Former Locomotives

These are engines that used to be part of the New Hope Railroad's collection.

Locomotive details
Number	Type	Class	Builder	Built	Former owner	Current owner
9	Steam	0-6-0	American Locomotive Company	1942	United States Army, Virginia Blue Ridge Railway	SMS Rail Lines
3028	Steam	4-8-4	American Locomotive Company	1946	Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México	ALCO Technical & Historical Society
7087	Diesel	C30-7	General Electric	1981	Seaboard Coast Line, CSX	None (scrapped)

Rolling Stock (Train Cars)

These are the cars that are pulled by the locomotives. They include passenger cars for people and freight cars for goods.

Rolling stock details
Number	Type	Builder	Built
72	Baggage car	American Car and Foundry	1923
870	Coach	Bethlehem Steel Company	1932
983	Coach	Central Railroad of New Jersey	1923
1096	Tool car	Pullman-Standard Corporation	1960
1127	Coach	Harlan and Hollingsworth	1924
1220	Coach	Harlan and Hollingsworth	1922
1424	Coach	Harlan and Hollingsworth	1914
1430	Dining car	Harlan and Hollingsworth	1914
1505	Coach	Harlan and Hollingsworth	1916
1525	Open-air car	Harlan and Hollingsworth	1927
1536	Coach	Harlan and Hollingsworth	1927
2817	Event car	Long Island Rail Road	1955
4907	Dining car	Canadian Car and Foundry	1919
9123	Coach	Bethlehem Steel Company	1932
800301	Dining car	American Car and Foundry	1949
303	Hopper car	Pullman Standard	1955
1606	Tank car	Fleischmann Transportation Company	1948
1753	Tank car	Pennsylvania Tank Car Co.	1927
3752	Tank car	Union Tank Car Company	1936
6622	Tank car	ACF	1940
8435	Boxcar	Magor Car Corp.	1931
1113	Coach	Harlan and Hollingsworth	1924
1366	Open-air car	Harlan and Hollingsworth	1918
8570	Boxcar	Magor Car Corp.	1934
9005	Boxcar	Despatch Shops Inc.	1942
9811	Boxcar	Pullman Standard	1952
12153	Hopper	Bethlehem Steel	1944
38009	Flatcar	Magor Car Corp.	1951
53033	Dump car	Eastern Car Ltd.	1957
480047	Flatcar	Pennsylvania Railroad Samuel Rea Shops	1959
C127	Caboose	Laconia Car Company	1921