A Day in the New Hope Valley

On July 27th, 2024, I visited the New Hope Valley Railway in Bonsal, North Carolina for the first time since 2013 to see and ride their Brew n' Choo trains, pulled by US Department of Defense 65 Tonner 671 and US Air Force 80 Tonner 1640 respectively. The NHV holds a special place in my heart, as it was the first heritage railroad I ever visited, and their main steam locomotive Carbon Limestone 0-4-0ST 17 was the first operating steam locomotive I ever saw. As some of you may know, 17 is currently undergoing an FRA inspection, having last ran in 2017. This inspection has taken longer than expected thanks to the pandemic and other reasons, but work on the locomotive is still progressing as evident by the boiler being reinstalled onto the chassis just weeks before my visit, and is a little over 65% complete so far. Despite me getting sick while I was there, I really enjoyed visiting the NHV again and I look forward to coming back when 17 returns to steam.
Please consider donating to the New Hope Valley Railway for the completion of Carbon Limestone 0-4-0ST 17 or any of their other projects at www.triangletrain.com/donate
Copyright © Ben Benson Studios 2024. Unauthorized use or reuploading of this video is strictly prohibited. Violators will receive a copyright claim.

[@gideonstupke2257]

I heard that they're trying to restore a 2-6-2 there, plus their tank engine they have

[@BenBensonStudios]

Correct. Work on Cliffside Railroad 2-6-2 110 will start once their tank engine 17 is done.

[@DillianTrainzStudios]

Nice that you got to visit a railroad from your childhood! BTW, how do you do those onboard shots at 1:41?

[@BenBensonStudios]

I simply rest my camera on the car I'm riding in and just record for a few seconds at a time. Sometimes I stick my camera out of the car a little bit if I have to.