| New Hope and Ivyland Railroad | |
|---|---|
| Reporting mark | NHRR |
| Locale | Bucks County, Pennsylvania |
| Dates of operation | 1966– |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) (standard gauge) |
| Headquarters | New Hope, Pennsylvania |
| Website | www.newhoperailroad.com |
The New Hope and Ivyland Railroad (reporting mark NHRR)[1] is a shortline railroad in Pennsylvania. It also operates a heritage railroad, offering passenger excursions.
The NHRR provides contract track and locomotive services to freight and passenger railroads in North America and has been involved with various film and television commercial projects.
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NHRR provides a variety of industries with transportation services and is involved in the import and export of raw materials and manufactured products. Freight customers range from national chemical companies to consumer product manufacturers.
NHRR interchanges with Pennsylvania Northeastern Railroad, which interchanges with CSX in Lansdale to provide its customers access to rail freight service anywhere in North America. Its largest customer is CRC Industries of Warminster, a large manufacturer of chemicals used in the auto repair industry.
Excursion passenger trains are operated on a regular schedule during the tourist season using steam and diesel locomotives. Excursions depart from the passenger station in New Hope or at the passenger station in Lahaska. Passengers may get off at either station and take a later train back to their originating station. Passenger trains depart the New Hope Station on the hour and from the Lahaska Station 20 minutes past the hour. The last train of the day ends in New Hope.
In addition to the regular New Hope-Lahaska excursion trains which operate daily between Memorial Day and late November and on weekends all year round, the NHRR also has several special event trains throughout the year. Special seasonal trains include Easter, Fall Foliage, Halloween and Santa trains. Additionally, rare 32-mile round-trip trains operate as the Spring and Fall Foliage trains to Warminster.
Special passenger trains are operated in charter service providing dinners, brunch and wine tasting trains through the rolling hills and valleys of beautiful Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
The NHRR was originally known as the New Hope Branch of the Reading Company (RDG), which leased the North Pennsylvania Railroad, of which it was a part. The railroad ran as far as Hartsville Station (near Bristol Road) until March 29, 1891, when the line was extended to the long-desired terminal of New Hope, Pennsylvania.[2]
A decade after June 1952, when Hatboro-New Hope passenger service terminated, the RDG's financial situation was precarious. Looking to rid themselves of unprofitable branch lines via abandonement, a group of train buffs — established as Steam Trains, Inc. — were seeking to operate steam trains on a for-profit basis. Steam Trains, Inc. became organized as the New Hope and Ivyland Railroad, and on June 20, 1966, the 16.7 mile line was sold for $200,000.[2]
Steam Trains, Inc. started their operations on a high note, often in an extravagant fashion. The company leased freight locomotives from the RDG, and used only hired labor to operate their excursions. The line was eventually sold to the former Philadelphia Electric Company (now Exelon) in order to stay solvent. Steam Trains, Inc. declared bankruptcy on June 5, 1970.[2]
The Bucks County Industrial Development Corporation (BCIDC) purchased the trackage from the Philadelphia Electric Company in early 1974 to "preserve rail service through the center of Bucks County."[3] The county selected McHugh Brothers Heavy Hauling, Inc. to operate freight service over the line via a lease agreement.[2] McHugh Brothers continued hauling freight until James McHugh's departure in 1989.[3]
By the summer of 1976, the railroad receive state funding to rehabilitate crumbling infrastructure that sorely needed fixing. By August 1977, volunteers from the Buckingham Valley Trolley Association [BVTA] (now the Electric City Trolley Museum Association) were operating state-sponsored passenger service connecting the toursity town of New Hope with SEPTA/Conrail commuter trains at Warminster Station.[2]
Bucks County had made a wise investment, as both passenger and freight service flourished during the 1970s once track upgrades were made. Finally, on June 30, 1979, the New Hope and Ivyland Railroad finally emerged from its decade-long bankruptcy.[3]
Beginning July 3, 1980, volunteers of the New Hope Steam Railway (NHSR) resumed weekend excursion service after the BVTA decided to end it. The NHSR ran trains under a lease agreement with the BCIDC until 1990, when the line and its equipment were once again in a state of decay and disrepair.[3] The BCIDC sold the line outright to the for-profit Bucks County Railroad Preservation and Restoration Corporation in 1990, who slowly began to rebuild the railroad to its current state of good repair.
In 1914, a segment of the classic silent film The Perils of Pauline was filmed on the tracks used by the New Hope and Ivyland Railroad today. The site is still called Pauline's Trestle.
The NHRR is primarily a single-track railroad with passing sidings at Lahaska, Buckingham Valley, Wycombe and Ivyland. Most of those passing sidings (with the exception of Lahaska, which is used for moving locomotives used in excursions around the train in order to reverse to New Hope) are currently used as storage tracks for passenger and freight cars.
No block signalization exists on the NHRR, however, almost all highway grade crossings have been modernized with full signals and gates.
The stations along the NHRR were:
Locomotives used in the excursion passenger service is usually provided by steam locomotive #40, which is a 1925 Baldwin with a 2-8-0, or Consolidation, wheel arrangement. #40 (ex Cliffside Railroad, exx-Lancaster and Chester Railway), is supplemented with a variety of diesel powered locomotives which are used primarily in the railroad's busy freight business.
Diesel locomotives include EMD GP30 #2198 (ex-CR, exx-PC, née-PRR), and modern six axle C30-7 and SD40-2 locomotives. During the winter months (January, February, and March) #40 normally receives its annual inspection, which leaves one of the diesels to resume passenger operations. The railroad also owns one other steam locomotive. Canadian National 4-6-0 #1533 was the railroad's workhorse until December, 1975, when it was partially dismantled and stored behind the New Hope engine house; its tender is stored on the deadline north of the depot. US Army 0-6-0 #9 had several careers on the New Hope; she ran in 1966 but was stored and replaced with #40 in 1967 until that engine was withdrawn from service in 1968. In 1969–70, #9 again ran but was then retired; in 1976 she was resurrected once more and ran until 1981 when her flue time ran out. The locomotive was partially dismantled and stored (with her tender) on the deadline until 2009 when it was sold to SMS Rail Lines of Bridgeport, NJ and trucked to their yard. It has since been undergoing restoration to active service. NdeM #3028 is a QR-1 4-8-4 which is on long-term lease from the Great North Eastern Railroad Foundation in New York. She has been under overhaul on and off since 1996, and as of September 2009 is undergoing heavy machining inside the maintenance shed, bumping out several coaches undergoing final restoration.
| Number | Model |
|---|---|
| 40 (ex-Cliffside, exx-L&C) | 2-8-0 |
| 2198 (ex-CR, exx-PC, née-PRR) | GP30 |
| 5577 (ex-CP) | SD40-2 |
| 7087 (ex-CSX, exx-L&N) | C30-7 |
| 1533 (ex-Canadian National) | 4-6-0 |
| 3028 (ex-NdeM) | 4-8-4 |
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