History
The original New Hope Valley Railway was built in 1904 to carry timber and other agricultural commodities such as cotton, corn and tobacco throughout North Carolina. Passenger trains were run to connect to other rail lines across the state. The original rail line ran through the New Hope Valley itself. This valley was flooded by the creation of Jordan Lake.
The current New Hope Valley Railway was chartered in 1983 by the East Carolina Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society. The organization first began its volunteer-operated train rides in the spring of 1984. Today, the Triangle’s Train rolls across its historic track through piney woods and over a trestle on an hour-long round trip from Bonsal to New Hill and back to the Bonsal depot one Sunday each month from April through December.
Our locomotives:
Steam
Our steam locomotive makes two excursion each Ride Day, at 12:15 p.m. and 2:45 p.m. Built more than 70 years ago, our steam powered Locomotive 17; the Triangle’s only regularly-scheduled standard gauge steam engine, is still going strong.
Diesel
Our diesel locomotive excursions depart from the depot at 11 a.m., 1:30 p.m. and 4 p.m. on monthly Ride Days.
