New Hope Valley Railway

[Steve DeGaetano]

Out at the railroad where I volunteer (New Hope Valley Railway, Bonsal, NC), one of our members is a very accomplished photographer. He caught me last month as I was "switching over" from firing the engine on compressed air, to the steam pressure I had built up in the boiler. I do that by keeping a little puddle of oil ignited in the fire pan, and then re-lighting the fire from the burner off that. Sometimes it gets a little smoky in the cab (cough cough!).



If you want to see some great shots of our railroad, our members, and our guests enjoying themselves, you can check out the rest of the album here.

[Cannonball7]

Great pictures, Steve! Thanks for sharing...

[Steve]

Cool! Lots of great photos at the link, too!

[Steve DeGaetano]

Thanks guys.

Steve, with your photography skills, I thought you'd like some of them.

[Cannonball7]

Steve, there are really some cool shots of you. I hope you've gotten the originals so that you can blow up and frame!

On a separate note, I plan to visit New Hope once y'all get the 110 up and running. I have great memories riding behind her as a kid at Stone Mountain Park. I am really looking forward to seeing her 'back in action'.

[Steve DeGaetano]

Thanks CB. While work is ongoing with 110, I suspect it will be many years before she will run again. We just had all the holes in the tender tank welded up and the interior lined, so it should be water tight. We really need a boiler survey done by a qualified boilermaker. There are lots of broken staybolts. It probably need a new firebox.. And the driver tires will all need to be replaced.

[Cannonball7]

I am not surprised that the 110 needs so much work. Stone Mountain ran those steam engines into the ground and didn't take care of them. Then, they parked them outside to rot in the elements. So sad.

I am really happy that the 110 found a great home at New Hope where she can run again someday.

[Steve DeGaetano]

Thankfully, like most Vulcan engines, the boiler appears to have been seriously over-built, so hopefully we're good there. It's just going to take lots of time and lots of money--both in short supply at our all-volunteer museum.

[Bruce R Pier]

If you think Vulcan boilers are overbuilt, you need to look at a Porter!

[boBQuincy]

I live in Cary NC and get to visit the New Hope Valley Railroad occasionally. It's a great little railroad with a fascinating history!
Here are some of my photos:
suzieandbob/trains/nhvrr/HTML/index.htm?1