New Hope & Ivyland
The New Hope & Ivyland runs on an old section of the Reading Railroad. The tourist railroad began in 1962 by a group of railfans that were looking for a place to run a tourist railroad. The railroad began operating in 1966 but began having problems financially. Eventually the railroad filed for bankruptcy and stopped running. In 1980 volunteers began operating the railroad again by leasing it from another company. In 1990 the group finally bought the railroad back and has turned the railroad in to a successful operation. The main power on the tourist trains since 1991 is 2-8-0 #40. This engine was built by baldwin for the Lancaster and Chester Railway in South Carolina in 1925.
I visited New Hope in August 2003. This town is a very busy place. The station is right in the middle of town and surrounded by tourist shops. The line is very scenic. I was surprised at the speed the train travels at, many tourist railroads run at a very casual pace, but the New Hope & Ivyland can really move. The crew was also very nice. I was chasing one of the trips and was watching the engine runaround the train when the fireman called me over and let me take a look around the cab while they were getting ready to run back to new Hope - thank you!
New Hope & Ivyland official web site