The New Hope Valley Railway is a heritage railroad in

Bonsal, North Carolina Bonsal is an unincorporated community in the New Hill, North Carolina postal district, in extreme southwestern Wake County, North Carolina, United States. Bonsal was a railroad junction between the Durham & South Carolina Railroad (D&SC) (origin ...

operated by the North Carolina Railway Museum, Inc., an all-volunteer, nonprofit, and tax exempt educational and historical organization. The railroad consists of a total of 5 miles of track between the communities of

and

New Hill, North Carolina New Hill is an unincorporated community located in southwestern Wake County, North Carolina, United States, at the crossroads of old U.S. 1 (State Road 1011, running northeast–southwest), New Hill Olive Chapel Road (running north) and New Hill ...

. The North Carolina Railway Museum, located in

, features a collection of antique train cars, artifacts and historic train memorabilia, and a G-scale model railroad layout and club.

Excursion trains

The New Hope Valley Railway excursion train

The railroad operates passenger excursion trains each month from April to December. Special trains are operated for

Halloween Halloween or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve) is a celebration observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints' Day. It begins the observanc ...

on the evening of the last three Saturdays in October. They have many other themed train excursions throughout the year.

Operate-a-Loco

The New Hope Valley Railway has many different special activities that people can participate in. One of them is their Operate-a-Loco program. On select Saturdays and Sundays, anybody who wishes to (must be over age 18 and have a valid drivers license) may come and drive one of their diesel locomotives. You are guided along their 4 miles of track (8 mile round trip) under the supervision of one of their trained engineers. All equipment and other items are provided by the railway.

Organization

The railroad is operated by an all-volunteer crew, and it is a member of the

HeritageRail Alliance The HeritageRail Alliance is an organization for promoting the interests of and sharing information among railway preservation groups and tourist railroads. Programs and services This is a placeholder. Please describe the group's programs and se ...

and the East Carolina Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society (NRHS).

Collection

The

North Carolina Railway Museum The New Hope Valley Railway is a heritage railroad in Bonsal, North Carolina operated by the North Carolina Railway Museum, Inc., an all-volunteer, nonprofit, and tax exempt educational and historical organization. The railroad consists of a tot ...

also displays a collection of historic railroad equipment used in North Carolina at the railroad's Bonsal terminal. This is a primarily outdoor exhibit, and is open to the public on ride days throughout the year. For more information, goto www.triangletrain.com.

Locomotives

* 5 - General Electric diesel locomotives, obtained from the United States Army, United States Navy and United States Marine Corps * 1 -

Whitcomb Whitcombe or Whitcomb may refer to: People * Whitcombe (surname) * George Faunce Whitcomb *Ian Whitcomb (1941-2020) Places ;United Kingdom * Whitcombe, Dorset, England * Whitcombe, Somerset, England ;United States * Whitcomb, Indiana * Whitcomb, ...

diesel locomotive * 1 - Baldwin-Lima-Hamilton diesel locomotive * New Hope Valley Railway ALCO S1

1 - ALCO S1 diesel locomotive * 1 - A 0-4-0T steam locomotive built by Vulcan Iron Works in 1941 for New York Shipbuilding of

Camden, New Jersey Camden is a city in and the county seat of Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Camden is part of the Delaware Valley metropolitan area and is located directly across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At the 2020 ...

, taken out of service in early 2017 for the FRA 1472 day inspection. Engineering work on 17's boiler was completed in 2019. A new smokebox was ordered in late 2019 and completed in January 2020; delivery to Bonsal is expected in February 2020. * 1 - A

2-6-2 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels, six coupled driving wheels and two trailing wheels. This arrangement is commonly called a Prairie. Overview The major ...

Prairie Type Steam locomotive built by Vulcan Iron Works in 1927 for the McRae Lumber & Manufacturing Company. Sold to the

Cliffside Railroad Cliffside Railroad was a Class III railroad operating freight service in southwestern North Carolina from 1905 until service ended in 1987. The line was formally abandoned in 1992. History The Cliffside Railroad Company was incorporated on Mar ...

in 1933 and renumbered 110, and was the last steam locomotive to operate on the road before it dieselized in 1962. The 110 was eventually sold to the

Stone Mountain Scenic Railroad The Stone Mountain Scenic Railroad (SMRR) is a standard gauge railroad that circles the perimeter of Stone Mountain Park in a loop, and provides views of the mountain en route. History The railroad utilizes what was originally an industrial sp ...

, a tourist railroad that operates around the perimeter of

Stone Mountain Park Stone Mountain is a quartz monzonite dome monadnock and the site of Stone Mountain Park, east of Atlanta, Georgia. Outside the park is the small city of Stone Mountain, Georgia. The park is the most visited tourist site in the state of Georgia. ...

in Stone Mountain, Georgia. The 110 operated here until 1982, when it encountered running gear issues. The railroad's owner, the Stone Mountain Memorial Association, then placed it on display. The Stone Mountain Memorial Association donated the engine to the New Hope Valley Railway in Bonsal, North Carolina in 2012, and the engine was moved to the railway in early February 2013. The New Hope Valley intends to restore the engine to operating condition, which is anticipated to take five to seven years at an estimated cost of $600,000 based on an initial survey of the engine performed in 2012. Work on the 110 is on hold pending the 1472 of engine 17.

Rolling stock

* Seaboard Air Line Railroad #01190: Steel M-8 Caboose * Seaboard Air Line Railroad #5228: Wooden Caboose *

Aberdeen and Rockfish Railroad The Aberdeen and Rockfish Railroad is a short-line railroad operating in North Carolina. At one time the AR was a Class 2 railroad. The railroad has of track that runs from Aberdeen to Fayetteville, North Carolina. History The AR was inco ...

#308: Wooden Caboose *

Norfolk Southern Railroad The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad in the United States formed in 1982 with the merger of Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. With headquarters in Atlanta, the company operates 19,420 route miles (31, ...

#335: Wooden Caboose built in 1913 for the original NS. (Last surviving Norfolk Southern wooden caboose) *

#711 Crane boom tender and camp car * Southern Railway Combine baggage car and Railway Post Office #188 * Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Baggage Car #1665 (not currently on public display) * US Marine Corps flatcars converted to open excursion cars for passengers (4) * US Marine Corps flatcars (2) *

Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway was a Class I railroad formed in 1869 in Virginia from several smaller Virginia railroads begun in the 19th century. Led by industrialist Collis P. Huntington, it reached from Virginia's capital city of Richmond to ...

#23044 insulated cushion-underframe boxcar (not currently on public display) *

US Army Transportation Corps The Transportation Corps is a combat service support branch of the U.S. Army. It is responsible for the movement of personnel and material by truck, rail, air, and sea. It is one of three U.S. Army logistics branches, the others being the Qu ...

Kitchen Car #87109 (houses museum gift shop and exhibits) * Swifts Premium Refrigerator car (Reefer) * Southern Railway boxcars (2) * Southern Railway #958060 Pullman low side gondola *

Pullman Company The Pullman Company, founded by George Pullman, was a manufacturer of railroad cars in the mid-to-late 19th century through the first half of the 20th century, during the boom of railroads in the United States. Through rapid late-19th century d ...

former 12-1 tourist sleeper ''Calais'' (not currently on public display) *

#910 camp car (not currently on public display) * Boston & Maine Railroad RDC9 #6929 trailer passenger car (previously on lease to the Red Springs & Northern Foundation in

Parkton, North Carolina Parkton is a town in Robeson County, North Carolina, Lumberton metro area, United States. The town was so named because it was a place where farmers tied up their horses while waiting for the train. As of the 2010 census, the town population ...

) ***Note: This car was moved back to Bonsal on April 17, 2014. * Various other examples of railroad and construction equipment

History

The railroad line operated as the New Hope Valley Railway was originally constructed as the

Durham & South Carolina Railroad The New Hope Valley Railway is a heritage railroad in Bonsal, North Carolina operated by the North Carolina Railway Museum, Inc., an all-volunteer, nonprofit, and tax exempt educational and historical organization. The railroad consists of a tot ...

(D&SC) in 1905-1906 to tap the timber resources of the valley of

New Hope Creek New Hope Creek is a watercourse that rises in rural Orange County, North Carolina, in the United States. It drains the western portion of Orange County and the southern half of Durham County and flows into the northern end of Jordan Lake reserv ...

, and served the communities of

where it had a junction with the Seaboard Air Line Railroad (now part of

CSX CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The railroad operates approximately 21,000 route miles () of track. ...

Beaver Creek, North Carolina Beaver Creek is an unincorporated community in Ashe County, North Carolina, United States, located off U.S. Route 221, south of West Jefferson. The Virginia-Carolina Railway once had service through this area. The Virginia–Carolina Railway w ...

Seaforth, North Carolina Seaforth is a former Unincorporated area, unincorporated community in Chatham County, North Carolina, United States located on U.S. Route 64 in North Carolina, U.S. Highway 64. It lies at an elevation of 217 feet (66 m). References

Uni ...

Farrington, North Carolina Farrington is an unincorporated community in Chatham County, North Carolina, United States. It is now part of the Fearrington Village census-designated place. There are three sites in Farrington listed on the National Register of Historic Places ...

, Blands, North Carolina, Penny, North Carolina, and

Durham, North Carolina Durham ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Durham County, North Carolina, Durham County. Small portions of the city limits extend into Orange County, North Carolina, Orange County and Wake County, North Carol ...

. The line was extended south between 1911 and 1913 from

Duncan, North Carolina Duncan is an unincorporated community located in the Buckhorn Township of Harnett County, North Carolina , United States. It is a part of the Dunn Micropolitan Area, which is also a part of the greater Raleigh–Durham–Cary Combined Statistica ...

where it joined the

. The D&SC line was leased by the

in 1920 to provide the larger railroad with access to the City of

. In 1925 a spur was built at

to serve the new plant of the American Tobacco Company in that city. The line was rebuilt on a new alignment in the 1970s by the US Army Corps of Engineers when the

B. Everett Jordan Benjamin Everett Jordan (September 8, 1896 – March 15, 1974) was an American businessman and politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a United States senator from North Carolina from 1958 to 1973. Early life and education The ...

Dam was constructed, impounding the valley of

to form

Jordan Lake B. Everett Jordan Lake is a reservoir in New Hope Valley, west of Cary and south of Durham in Chatham County, North Carolina, in the United States; the northernmost end of the lake extends into southwestern Durham County. Part of the Jordan ...

. The line eventually became (briefly) part of the Southern Railway, and a 6-mile section was sold to the East Carolina Chapter, NRHS in 1983. This organization was subsequently renamed the

, Inc. early in 2008. The northern portion of the original railroad, from the community of

north to

has been converted into the

American Tobacco Trail The American Tobacco Trail (ATT) is a long Rails-to-Trails project located in the Research Triangle region of North Carolina, running along an abandoned railroad bed originally built for the American Tobacco Company in the 1970s. The route cross ...

. To the south, the railroad is part of the Shearon Harris nuclear power plant and its surrounding land.

References

External links

New Hope Valley Railway

National Railway Historical Society

HeritageRail Alliance
{{DEFAULTSORT:New Hope Valley Railway Heritage railroads in North Carolina Railroad museums in North Carolina Museums in Wake County, North Carolina Transportation in Wake County, North Carolina