New Hope & Ivyland No.40

Name: New Hope & Ivyland No.40
Address: 32 West Bridge Street, New Hope, PA, 18938, US
Telephone: (215) 862-2332

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New Hope & Ivyland No.40

New Hope & Ivyland Railroad No.40 | Built in December 1925 | Returning to service October 2017

04/01/2019

Mark your calendars

11/17/2018

First day of revenue service for our #40. All the hard work of the men and women in our shop has finally paid off!

11/15/2018

First snow of the season.

11/15/2018

First test run with some weight behind her.

11/15/2018

A testament to a job done well, tacking a few extra miles on a smooth test run. Photo Credit: J.Brems

11/07/2018

Exciting day at the New Hope Shop. Valve Cages and Cylinder Sleeves are being installed. Check our Instagram and Facebook throughout the day to track our progress.

11/01/2018

Our mechanical forces have been hard at work on #40 since the last update. A number of important milestones have been crossed on the journey to the holiday season return to service!

The first of two completely rebuilt air compressors was mounted a few days ago. This critical work should serve to resolve the air system issues the engine has struggled with.

After inspection, replacement of the fireman's side injector was deemed necessary, so a new unit was installed.

The mechanical lubrication system has been addressed, including a major rebuild of the Nathan lubricator itself.

New sight glass valves were installed, as well as a number of other minor plumbing projects.

Side rods have been polished, reinstalled, and prepped for the installation of oil cup lubrication. The exception being the main rods and valve links, which remain removed in anticipation of soon-to-be-installed valve and cylinder sleeves. The lead truck axle has also been removed to make clearance for the same.

The annual inspection and hydrostatic test were also completed this month.

Check back soon for more updates and photos of the ongoing projects on the engine!

07/09/2018

Line boring in progress!

07/09/2018

Many of you have probably noticed #40's absence from the railroad over the past few months. Fear not! The engine is back in our engine house undergoing phase 2 of an extensive restoration project. Projects in this smaller wrap-up phase include cylinder work, an air system overhaul, and cosmetic restoration.

Today was a milestone in this effort. Nearly 100 years of service has caused significant wear on the inner bores of both the steam cylinders and valve cages. New sleeves will be machined and pressed in as part of this phase, but line boring this massive casting is critical work that must be completed first.

Hardly boring if you ask us!

03/25/2018

Easing out of the engine house for another day of Easter Bunny Express trips. Come join us for an enjoyable hour trip with Peter Cotten Tail.

Address

32 West Bridge Street
New Hope, PA
18938

Telephone

(215) 862-2332

Website

http://newhoperailroad.com/

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Our Story

Out of all the steam locomotives that currently reside in New Hope, the most well known is old number 40. For the past few decades, this coal fired machine from another era has delighted thousands of visitors, transporting them back to a much simpler era when everything revolved around the railroads that worked day and night to keep this country running smoothly. Through economic ups and downs, quite a few wars, and tons of social changes, this historic locomotive continues to perform its task as its builders originally intended, moving its train from one place to the other in a safe and timely manner.

Once located about thirty seven miles from the tiny town of New Hope, the massive Baldwin Locomotive Works was a well known name in the production of American steam locomotives. Founded one hundred years before our number 40 rolled off the production line, this company employed thousands of skilled laborers who produced products that could be seen hauling freight and passengers all across the United States. It was in this facility in the later months of 1925 that our story begins.

The Lancaster & Chester Railroad, a twenty nine mile shortline headquartered in Lancaster, South Carolina, placed an order with Baldwin for the construction of a coal fired machine to move trains over the line which ran between its namesake South Carolina towns. For a price of $25,125.96 Baldwin outshopped a locomotive with the popular 2-8-0 wheel arrangement. Also known as a Consolidation type, the locomotive had two leading wheels, eight driving wheels under the boiler and nothing trailing. This type of steam locomotive dated back to the 1860s and had been proven quite successful in operation, especially on freight consists.

Complete with a tender holding six thousand gallons of water and eight tons of coal, the locomotive was ready to go to work. The Lancaster & Chester numbered their new acquisition 40 and placed it in service hauling freight between their customers and the interchange with the larger railroads. Most of this freight consisted of textile products from the large Spring Mills Company facilities. For the better part of twenty two years, number 40 performed well for its original owner.

After the conclusion of World War II, the L&C management would begin to see the benefits associated with the operation of diesel motive power and soon began acquiring replacements for their steam fleet. With 40 and its stablemates now out of a job, the locomotive was sold in 1947 to the Cliffside Railroad, a 3.7 mile operation located in Cliffside, North Carolina.

As one of the primary commodities on the Cliffside was textiles, number 40 would fit in immediately to its new surroundings. However as its new stablemate, number 110, was the favorite locomotive among the crews, the Baldwin Consolidation would soon become the backup power. The main reason for this was the fact that the 110, a Vulcan Iron Works engine with a 2-6-2 wheel arrangement, was a lot smaller and thus easier to operate along the line.

Number 40 would become unemployed once again in 1962 when its second owner finally dieselized the operation, despite being in good operating condition. Later that year the locomotive would move back north near the place of its birth when it was acquired by Steam Trains Incorporated, the founding group of the New Hope & Ivyland. Originally stored at a Reading Company owned roundhouse in Wilmington, Delaware, it was soon relocated to the Reading shops in the coal region town of St. Clair, Pennsylvania, near Pottsville, with other Steam Trains equipment. There the old workhorse would be refurbished cosmetically in anticipation of a future passenger excursion career while its new owners looked for a permanent home. Finally in 1966, with Steam Trains' purchase of the northern end of the New Hope Branch from the Reading Company, number 40 and the rest would be moved from St. Clair to their new home in Bucks County.

For the first couple of years in New Hope, number 40 was mostly regulated to static display status around the yard, only seeing a brief period of operation during 1967, due to the crews' preference for its stablemate number 1533. In the mid 1970s, the locomotive would finally see major work done to make it ready for operation, and in 1975 the Consolidation would become the main excursion engine on the line, with old 1533 retired and in need of quite a few repairs. Sharing passenger train responsibilities with another smaller steam locomotive throughout the late 1970s and 1980s, number 40 was finally taken out of service once again in 1986 for major repairs which would take five years to complete. Various diesels would handle 40's passenger duties during this period.

Finally in the early summer of 1991, with a major rebuilding behind it, old number 40 was steamed up and began pulling trains over the New Hope Branch once again. Since that time, the locomotive has been the primary mover of passenger excursions out of New Hope to various points along the seventeen miles of country railroad, including Lahaska, Buckingham Valley, Wycombe, and Ivyland. In addition to the historic passenger trains, number 40 has also been used over the years for various television commercials and historic photo freights for the benefit of photographers, some of which have included recreating the looks it once had on the L&C and the Cliffside. Still in service over ninety years after its construction, this Consolidation is one of only a handful that still operate today, a living piece of history still working strong.

New Hope & Ivyland Railroad No.40

Builder- Baldwin Locomotive Works: Philadelphia, PA

Year Built- 1925

Model- 2-8-0 "Consolidation"

Builder Number- 58824

New Hope & Ivyland No.40

04/01/2019

11/17/2018

11/15/2018

11/15/2018

11/15/2018

11/15/2018

11/07/2018

11/01/2018

07/09/2018

07/09/2018

03/25/2018

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