56-809: The New Hope Railroad ( reporting mark NHRR ), formerly and colloquially known as the New Hope and Ivyland Railroad and New Hope Steam Railway and Museum , is a shortline and heritage railroad located in New Hope, Pennsylvania . Today, the railroad operates both steam and diesel powered locomotives and is an associate member of Northeast Operating Rules Advisory Committee . The heritage operations use both steam and diesel powered locomotives for excursion trips out of New Hope . Regular NHRR excursions typically operate between New Hope and Lahaska, with some occasionally going to Buckingham Valley. The railroad mostly uses former Reading Company passenger cars, which date between 1914 and 1932, for excursions. NHRR
112-458: A Doodlebug after electric service was introduced between Hatboro and Philadelphia. In June 1952, Hatboro-New Hope passenger service terminated. In the early 1960s, the RDG's financial situation was precarious. Looking to rid themselves of unprofitable branch lines via abandonment, a group of train aficionados and businessmen led by Philadelphia attorney Kenneth Souser established Steam Trains, Inc. with
168-695: A 2-digit code indicating the vehicle's register country . The registered keeper of a vehicle is now indicated by a separate Vehicle Keeper Marking (VKM), usually the name of the owning company or an abbreviation thereof, which must be registered with the Intergovernmental Organisation for International Carriage by Rail (OTIF) and the European Union Agency for Railways (ERA) and which is unique throughout Europe and parts of Asia and Northern Africa. The VKM must be between two and five letters in length and can use any of
224-464: A hyphen. Some examples: When a vehicle is sold it will not normally be transferred to another register. The Czech railways bought large numbers of coaches from ÖBB. The number remained the same but the VKM changed from A-ÖBB to A-ČD. The UIC introduced a uniform numbering system for their members based on a 12-digit number, largely known as UIC number . The third and fourth digit of the number indicated
280-570: A line from Whippany to Essex Fells . Having access to two major railroads meant that McEwan's customers could enjoy competitive shipping rates from both connections. On August 28, 1903, the Whippany River Railroad and the Whippany & Passaic River Railroad were merged into the new Morristown & Erie Railroad. M&E operated a modest passenger service, but automobile competition ended that in 1928. Freight business grew as
336-593: A more direct connection using trackage rights over the Morris and Essex lines and would provide freight service to customers along the Rahway Valley, which was abandoned in 1992. It would also allow interchange with the recently reactivated Staten Island Railway freight connection to New Jersey. As of 2012, the M&;E's contract with Union County to rehab the Rahway Valley between Summit and Cranford had expired and
392-700: A predecessor of the CNW, from which the UP inherited it. Similarly, during the breakup of Conrail , the long-retired marks of the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) and New York Central Railroad (NYC) were temporarily brought back and applied to much of Conrail's fleet to signify which cars and locomotives were to go to CSX (all cars labeled NYC) and which to Norfolk Southern (all cars labeled PRR). Some of these cars still retain their temporary NYC marks. Because of its size, this list has been split into subpages based on
448-770: A weekly basis. The line currently operated by the New Hope Railroad was originally known as the New Hope Branch of the Reading Company (RDG), which leased it to the North Pennsylvania Railroad , of which it was a part. The railroad ran as far as Hartsville Station (near Bristol Road, which eventually became Ivyland) until March 29, 1891, when the line was extended to the long-desired terminal of New Hope, Pennsylvania. In 1932, steam powered trains above Hatboro were replaced with
504-602: Is involved in the import and export of raw materials and manufactured products. Freight customers range from national chemical companies to consumer product manufacturers. NHRR interchanges with Pennsylvania Northeastern Railroad in Johnsville, which in turn interchanges with CSX Transportation in Lansdale . NHRR's primary customers are based in Warminster; CRC Industries , Castrol and Double H Plastics are served on
560-524: Is single track and has many grade crossings. It serves Cedar Knolls and Whippany in Hanover Township, and East Hanover and Roseland. The line currently ends east of Interstate 280 in Roseland. The outer half-mile has been out of service since customer Bobst Group, Inc. closed it doors. Track conditions have since degraded. NJT has expressed interest in the line. In 2000 the agency placed
616-514: Is under the auspices of Myles Group. Beginning on July 1, 2017, the Dover & Rockaway River Railroad (D&R) took over service and maintenance of the Chester, Dover & Rockaway and High Bridge Branches. To get between its lines, the M&E has trackage rights on New Jersey Transit 's (NJT) Morristown Line and Montclair-Boonton Line west of West End (the junction at the west end of
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#1732772427654672-790: The Bergen Tunnel with NJT's Main Line ); it uses the Main Line and the Bergen County Line to interchange with the New York, Susquehanna & Western Railway at Passaic Junction (rail yard) . M&E locomotives are NJT cab-signal equipped and not considered to be foreign railroad power on NJT lines. Freight is interchanged with Norfolk Southern Railway (NS) at Lake Junction and with Conrail Shared Assets (CSAO) and CSX at Center Street, Harrison (east of Newark Broad Street on
728-571: The Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad (DL&W) at Morristown. When the railroad defaulted on their bonds, paper mill owner Robert W. McEwan purchased the line from its creditors in 1896. Thanks to the numerous mills and other customers located along the line, the railroad enjoyed success and was looking to expand. Seeking a connection with the Erie Railroad , McEwan chartered the Whippany & Passaic River Railroad in 1902 to build
784-680: The High Bridge Branch , it splits from the Chester Branch at Ferromonte Junction and heads southwest through Succasunna and Flanders . The line ends west of U.S. Route 206 in Flanders. Originally excluded from the Conrail system in 1976, the line remained in service under a subsidy agreement by local authorities until 1981. Morris County purchased the line from the state in 1982. There was talk New Jersey Transit would use
840-747: The SEPTA -owned Octoraro Railroad from July 1, 2003, to November 18, 2004. The line is currently operated by the East Penn Railroad . On November 1, 2003, M&E took over operation of the Rockland Branch , a former Maine Central Railroad line now owned by the state of Maine. M&E created a subsidiary, the Maine Eastern Railroad, for its Maine operations. Seasonal excursion passenger trains were operated between Brunswick and Rockland, Maine . As of January 1, 2016,
896-669: The TTX Company (formerly Trailer Train Company) is named for its original reporting mark of TTX. In another example, the reporting mark for state-funded Amtrak services in California is CDTX (whereas the usual Amtrak mark is AMTK) because the state transportation agency ( Caltrans ) owns the equipment used in these services. This may also apply to commuter rail, for example Metrolink in Southern California uses
952-513: The 26 letters of the Latin alphabet . Diacritical marks may also be used, but they are ignored in data processing (for example, Ö is treated as though it is O ). The VKM is preceded by the code for the country (according to the alphabetical coding system described in Appendix 4 to the 1949 convention and Article 45(4) of the 1968 convention on road traffic), where the vehicle is registered and
1008-568: The AAR, maintains the active reporting marks for the North American rail industry. Under current practice, the first letter must match the initial letter of the railroad name. As it also acts as a Standard Carrier Alpha Code , the reporting mark cannot conflict with codes in use by other nonrail carriers. Marks ending with the letter "X" are assigned to companies or individuals who own railcars, but are not operating railroads; for example,
1064-695: The Buckingham Valley Trolley Association [BVTA] (now the Electric City Trolley Museum Association ) were operating state-sponsored passenger service connecting the touristy town of New Hope with SEPTA/ Conrail commuter trains at Warminster. Bucks County had made a wise investment, as both passenger and freight service flourished during the 1970s once track upgrades were made. Finally, on June 30, 1979, NHRR finally emerged from its decade-long bankruptcy. Beginning July 3, 1980, volunteers of
1120-533: The CNJ connection near Chester to Succasunna. In 1983 Conrail planned to abandon the branch line, but Holland Manufacturing and Westinghouse Elevator purchased the line to continue rail services to their facilities. In 2009, Morris County, New Jersey , purchased the line and leased rail operations to M&E. Branching off from Lake Junction, it ends in Succasunna . M&E freight service uses this line to access
1176-480: The High Bridge Branch at Ferromonte Junction . The line was rehabilitated in 2010 with the use of federal stimulus funds obtained by the line's new owner, Morris County Department of Transportation. This is one of two branch lines M&E began operating in 1986. The High Bridge branch is owned by Morris County, New Jersey , and is leased to M&E. A former Central Railroad of New Jersey line called
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#17327724276541232-634: The Linden-Cranford, New Jersey segment of the Staten Island Railway (SIRY) and Cranford-Summit, New Jersey segment of the former Rahway Valley Railroad (RVRR) as the newly created Union County Central Railroad. M&E entered into a 10-year agreement with Union County starting on May 15, 2002, for the rehabilitation and operation of these dormant freight lines. Conrail objected to the filing as M&E would need trackage rights over NJ Transit 's Raritan Valley Line to travel between
1288-534: The M&E enjoyed modest growth throughout the 1980s, the railroad continued to seek out new opportunities for expansion. In 1995, Friedland negotiated a contract with Tosco (formerly ConocoPhillips, now Phillips 66 ) to be the contract operator for switching operations at Bayway Refinery in Linden, New Jersey . Bayway is one of the largest refineries on the East Coast. The untimely 1998 death of Friedland shocked
1344-517: The M&E under "projects to be defined/studied" for the year 2020. On July 1, 2017, the Dover and Rockaway River Railroad took over operation of the following three Morris County owned rail lines: The former DLW Chester Branch was extended in 1869 to Chester, New Jersey , to serve the local mining industry. A connection with the CNJ Chester Branch also existed. In the early 1950s DLW abandoned and tore up their Chester Branch from
1400-482: The Morris County-owned Dover & Rockaway Branch, Chester Branch, and High Bridge Branch. The M&E also operated the Maine Eastern Railroad from November 2003 to December 31, 2015. The modern Morristown & Erie traces its roots to the original Whippany River Railroad, chartered on August 1, 1895, and hastily constructed to connect Morristown and Whippany. Interchange was established with
1456-572: The NJT M&;E main line). In addition to freight service, M&E operates charter passenger service and rents railcars and conducts contract rebuilds of passenger cars. It also allows film production companies to rent equipment for filming. Recent films including Far from Heaven , Mona Lisa Smile and The Station Agent , as well as the reality television series The Next Food Network Star and some TV commercials have been filmed using M&E equipment. Scenes for Shontelle 's music video for
1512-643: The New Hope Steam Railway (NHOP) resumed weekend excursion service after the BVTA decided to end it. The NHOP ran trains under a lease agreement with the BCIDC until 1990, when the line and its equipment were once again in a state of decay and disrepair. The McHugh Bros. operated NHIR until 1989 when their lease ended and the Morristown & Erie was contracted to operate the railroad. The BCIDC sold
1568-510: The Southern portion of the line from Ivyland to just north of Almshouse Road, were sold to the former Philadelphia Electric Company (now Exelon ) in order to stay solvent. Due to extremely low ticket prices to generate sales that led to no additional income of riders, Steam Trains, Inc. declared bankruptcy on June 5, 1970. Operations continued under a court-appointed trustee. The Bucks County Industrial Development Corporation (BCIDC) purchased
1624-682: The VKM BLS. Example for an "Einheitswagen" delivered in 1957: In the United Kingdom, prior to nationalisation, wagons owned by the major railways were marked with codes of two to four letters, these codes normally being the initials of the railway concerned; for example, wagons of the Great Western Railway were marked "G W"; those of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway were marked "L M S", etc. The codes were agreed between
1680-541: The acquiring company discontinues the name or mark of the acquired company, the discontinued mark is referred to as a "fallen flag" railway. Occasionally, long-disused marks are suddenly revived by the companies which now own them. For example, in recent years, the Union Pacific Railroad has begun to use the mark CMO on newly built covered hoppers, gondolas and five-bay coal hoppers. CMO originally belonged to Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha Railway ,
1736-542: The business as the Morristown & Erie Railway. Investments were made in track and repairing locomotives. Aggressive marketing helped bring traffic back to M&E. Friedland became a spokesperson for short line railroading, and was able to use these connections to help grow his business. He also had a strong sense of history, and is also credited with the opening of the Whippany Railway Museum in 1985. Around this same time, Friedland helped orchestrate
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1792-433: The company and short line industry that had come to respect him as a leader. In his 16 years at the helm of the M&E, he ascended from an obscure railroader to an industry icon. The New Jersey Short Line Railroad Association has an award named in his honor "for meritorious service to the short line industry." The expansion of M&E continued after Friedland's death. In 2001, the M&E was selected to repair and operate
1848-666: The customers on this branch are located in an industrial park along Green Pond Road, at the north end of the branch. In 2001 the M&E was selected to repair and operate a rail line consisting of the New Jersey portion of the Staten Island Railroad between Linden and Cranford, and the former Rahway Valley Railroad between Cranford and Summit. Both sections are now known as the Rahway Valley Railroad. The New Jersey Department of Transportation owns
1904-456: The ex-SIRY and ex-RVRR. Conrail had previously negotiated exclusive trackage rights with NJT back in 1984, but expressed willingness to work out a special arrangement with M&E should service resume. As of May 2012, M&E removed their equipment from the RVRR and SIRY, pursuant to the 10-year agreement with Union County. The M&E would embark on its second foray into Pennsylvania, operating
1960-448: The first letter of the reporting mark: A railway vehicle must be registered in the relevant state's National Vehicle Register (NVR), as part of which process it will be assigned a 12-digit European Vehicle Number (EVN). The EVN schema is essentially the same as that used by the earlier UIC numbering systems for tractive vehicles and wagons , except that it replaces the 2-digit vehicle owner's code (see § Europe 1964 to 2005 ) with
2016-474: The former Rahway Valley Railroad route from Summit to a connection with the former Staten Island Railway and Conrail at Cranford, New Jersey . The M&E would be the operator of any reactivated Rahway Valley line service from Summit to Cranford. Operation of the Rahway Valley line from Summit to Cranford would allow the M&E to access their operations at the Bayway Refinery in Linden via
2072-516: The goal of operating steam trains on a for-profit basis. Steam Trains, Inc. became organized as the ' New Hope & Ivyland Railroad (NHIR), and on June 20, 1966, the 16.7-mile line was sold for $ 200,000. Steam Trains, Inc. started their operations on August 6, 1966 on a high note, often in an extravagant fashion, with the purchase of four steam locomotives and seven passenger cars. The company leased freight locomotives from RDG, and used only hired labor to operate their excursions. The "air rights" over
2128-540: The line outright to the for-profit Bucks County Railroad Preservation and Restoration Corporation (BCRP&RC) in 1990, who slowly began to rebuild the railroad to its current state of good repair. In 1993, the reporting mark was changed to NHRR. BCRP&RC is the official corporate structure, doing business as the New Hope Railroad. Reporting mark A reporting mark is a code used to identify owners or lessees of rolling stock and other equipment used on certain rail transport networks. The code typically reflects
2184-532: The line received its first diesel, an S-4 from Alco . When Andrew J. Cobb III assumed the presidency in 1961, many of the mills that had been steady customers began to shut down and consolidate. In 1960, DL&W and Erie Railroad merged to form Erie Lackawanna Railway , eliminating competition for shipping rates to M&E. By the 1970s, the Northeastern railroad industry was in decline, and M&E looked to alternative revenue streams. The Morristown shop
2240-923: The line to connect their lines at High Bridge and Lake Junction to Hacketstown in 1983 but the plan fell through. The line south of Flanders to High Bridge was then dismantled and later became the Columbia Trail in 1995. Originally the Dover & Rockaway Railroad , the second of two former CNJ lines taken over by M&E in 1986. The line operates from D&R Junction (where it meets the NJ Transit Morristown Line) in Wharton through downtown Dover northeast to Rockaway . The line ends along Green Pond Road in Rockaway Township, north of Interstate 80 . This line passes through downtown Dover and Rockaway with many street crossings. All
2296-500: The lines, and the County of Union administers the contract. As of late 2006, only the southern portion of the Rahway Valley Railroad has been restored, as the restoration of the northern portion from Summit to Cranford is being challenged in court and lacks sufficient county funding. The first M&E train ran on the southern portion of the line on July 13, 2005. The intention was that Union County would work to revive freight service on
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2352-536: The mills along the line kept switching crews busy. The economic downturn associated with the Great Depression affected M&E. Frugal management kept the railroad viable through the worst of the 1930s. M&E would be the only U.S. railroad to rid itself of all debt during the era leading up to World War II . The railroad passed out of the McEwan family by 1943 and continued under new management. In 1952,
2408-409: The name or identifying number of the owner, lessee, or operator of the equipment, similar to IATA airline designators . In North America , the mark, which consists of an alphabetic code of two to four letters, is stenciled on each piece of equipment, along with a one- to six-digit number. This information is used to uniquely identify every such rail car or locomotive, thus allowing it to be tracked by
2464-685: The operation of the line has been taken over by the Central Maine and Quebec Railway , which was later acquired by Canadian Pacific Railway in June 2020. In 2009, the M&E took over contract operations of the Stourbridge Railroad (former Lackawaxen & Stourbridge), based in Honesdale, Pennsylvania . Passenger excursions continued to be sponsored by Wayne County. Operations were quietly suspended in 2012. Service return in 2015
2520-572: The owner of a reporting mark is taken over by another company, the old mark becomes the property of the new company. For example, when the Union Pacific Railroad (mark UP) acquired the Chicago and North Western Railway (mark CNW) in 1995, it retained the CNW mark rather than immediately repaint all acquired equipment. Some companies own several marks that are used to identify different classes of cars, such as boxcars or gondolas. If
2576-405: The owner, or more precisely the keeper of the vehicle. Thus each UIC member got a two-digit owner code . With the introduction of national vehicle registers this code became a country code. Some vehicles had to be renumbered as a consequence. The Swiss company BLS Lötschbergbahn had the owner code 63. When their vehicles were registered, they got numbers with the country code 85 for Switzerland and
2632-407: The purchase of the Chester Branch, and began operating the line under contract for the new owners on December 21, 1983. He also worked with Morris County officials to help purchase and operate remnants of the former Central Railroad of New Jersey Dover & Rockaway and High Bridge branches in 1986. The M&E also briefly operated the New Hope & Ivyland Railroad between 1989 and 1990. While
2688-406: The railroad it is traveling over, which shares the information with other railroads and customers. In multinational registries, a code indicating the home country may also be included. The Association of American Railroads (AAR) assigns marks to all carriers, under authority granted by the U.S. Surface Transportation Board , Transport Canada , and Mexican Government. Railinc , a subsidiary of
2744-1029: The railroad's 110th anniversary. The Lehigh Limited' s two first class observation cars (the Kitchi Gammi Club and Babbling Brook ) and the train’s snack car (the Birken ) were on display at Grand Central Terminal (GCT) in New York City on May 11 and 12 during the Parade of Trains exhibit for GCT's centennial celebration. The Whippany line is M&E's original main line, in use since 1903 and with some portions dating back to 1895. The 9-mile (14.48 km) line runs between Baker Interlocking (connection with NJT's Morristown Line in Morristown, where M&E's main office, yard, and shop are located) northeast to Roseland in Essex County . The line
2800-569: The railways and registered with the Ministry of Railways , Government of India . Morristown %26 Erie Railway Morristown & Erie Railway ( reporting mark ME ) is a short-line railroad based in Morristown, New Jersey , chartered in 1895 as the Whippany River Railroad. It operates freight rail service in Morris County, New Jersey and surrounding areas on the original Whippany Line between Morristown and Roseland , as well as
2856-762: The railways and registered with the Railway Clearing House . In India, wagons owned by the Indian Railways are marked with codes of two to four letters, these codes normally being the initials of the railway divisions concerned along with the Hindi abbreviation; for example, trains of the Western Railway zone are marked "WR" and "प रे"; those of the Central Railway zone are marked "CR" and "मध्य", etc. The codes are agreed between
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#17327724276542912-609: The reporting mark SCAX because the equipment is owned by the Southern California Regional Rail Authority —which owns the Metrolink system—even though it is operated by Amtrak. This is why the reporting mark for CSX Transportation , which is an operating railroad, is CSXT instead of CSX. Private (non-common carrier) freight car owners in Mexico were issued, up until around 1990, reporting marks ending in two X's, possibly to signify that their cars followed different regulations (such as bans on friction bearing trucks) than their American counterparts and so their viability for interchange service
2968-550: The song " Say Hello to Goodbye " were filmed on at M&E's Whippany passenger car storage facility in summer 2011. In conjunction with Conrail Shared Assets , the M&E operates as the switching and terminal railroad at ConocoPhillips ' Linden Terminal/ Bayway Refinery ) In May 2013 M&E announced its first public main line excursion in nearly three decades in the form of the Lehigh Limited operated in cooperation with NS and NJT operating from Hoboken Terminal to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania on August 24, 2013, to commemorate
3024-505: The trackage from the Steam Trains, Inc. in early 1974 to "preserve rail service through the center of Bucks County." The county selected McHugh Brothers Heavy Hauling, Inc. to operate freight service over the line via a lease agreement. McHugh Brothers continued hauling freight with Edward L. McHugh as president until his departure in 1989. By the summer of 1976, the railroad received state funding to rehabilitate crumbling infrastructure that sorely needed fixing. By August 1977, volunteers from
3080-480: Was impaired. This often resulted in five-letter reporting marks, an option not otherwise allowed by the AAR. Companies owning trailers used in trailer-on-flatcar service are assigned marks ending with the letter "Z", and the National Motor Freight Traffic Association , which maintains the list of Standard Carrier Alpha Codes, assigns marks ending in "U" to owners of intermodal containers . The standard ISO 6346 covers identifiers for intermodal containers. When
3136-452: Was leased to a locomotive rebuilder for a period of time, but it was not enough. The last paper mill had closed and carloads were down to a dozen per week. The railroad tried to invest its freight earnings into non-transportation areas, but these experiments failed. By 1978 the railroad filed bankruptcy. A consortium of businessmen under the leadership of Benjamin J. Friedland purchased M&E in 1982, and immediately set to work on rebuilding
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