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The New Hope and Ivyland Railroad, Historic Railroading in East-Central PennsylanviaThe New Hope and Ivyland Railroad is a very popular shortline/excursion carrier located in east-central Pennsylvania. Today the NHRR operates roughly 16.5 miles of railroad with a connection to CSX at Ivyland, PA. While the railroad does have freight operations (which pays the bills!) it is perhaps best known for its steam locomotives and vintage rail cars, which carry thousands of visitors annually.
The railroad had a turbulent history until mid 1970s when it finally began to stay out of financial trouble. Today, while the railroad’s diesel fleet hauls freight ranging from chemicals to merchandise it’s historic steam locomotives haul passengers on everything from dinner trains to special holiday excursions. To give a brief history of the Reading Railroad it was another of the many anthracite carriers of the Northeast and perhaps the most famous (it was even featured in Monopoly!). Unfortunately, while the Reading was the most famous anthracite carrier it was also relied the heaviest on the commodity and when demand began to disappear following WWII so did the Reading’s profits. While the railroad was one of several that collapsed in the wake of the Penn Central disaster to be absorbed into Conrail it was certainly one of the most interesting and colorful anthracite carriers of all. Prior to World War II the Reading did fairly well, moving millions of tons of anthracite from western mines to eastern ports, a staple which was quite profitable, at least while demand held. And, despite a system that only connected the larger cities of Philadelphia and New York, the Reading did have one posh passenger train, the Crusader, a streamlined operation between New York/Jersey City (in conjunction with the CNJ at its Jersey City Terminal) and Philly. In its initial streamlining the train used a simple 4-6-2 Pacific (streamlined at the Reading Shops) and matched it to its lightweight consist of five cars (built by the Budd Company), bedecked in stainless steel. One other interesting aspect of the Reading Railroad, especially for its main role in hauling coal, was the railroad’s extensive, and electrified, commuter operations around the Philadelphia regions. By the 1930s the railroad had electrified its lines, extending from its now-abandoned Reading Terminal in Philadelphia, to Norristown, Chestnut Hill, Doylestown, Hatboro, and West Trenton. Amazingly, even as late as the 1960s, the Reading was continuing to expand its commuter/electrified operations! Below is a current roster of the railroad courtesy of The Diesel Shop: Diesel Locomotives #531 - GE C30-7 #2198 - EMD GP30 #5577 - EMD SD40-2 #7064 - GE C30-7 #7087 - GE C30-7 #505 - EMD MP15DC #503 - EMD SW1500 #505 - EMD MP15DC Steam Locomotives #9 - Alco 0-6-0: Built in October of 1942; ex-Virginia Blue Ridge #9, ex-U.S. Army #616, nee-USA #4023 #40 - Baldwin Locomotive Works 2-8-0: Built in November of 1925; ex-CRR #40, nee-L&C #40 #1533 - Montreal Locomotive Works 4-6-0: Built in 1911; ex-CN #1325 #3028 - Alco 4-8-4 Niagara: Built in 1946; ex-National Railway of Mexico #3028 On June 21, 1970 the PC declared bankruptcy and not long after so did most of the other surrounding carriers, including the Reading on November 23, 1971. With things not improving the Reading, along with most of the other Northeastern railroads, became part of the federally created Consolidated Rail Corporation on April 1, 1971.
For more reading on shortlines like the New Hope & Ivyland consider the book American Shortline Railway Guide from author Ed Lewis. The book has gone through several updated editions to keep up with the ever-changing world of the shortline industry. Today, the publication highlights almost 600 shortlines across the country with general background information about each. If you have any interest in shortlines you will very likely enjoy this book.
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