Hi,Took my little guy to ride with Santa at New Hope today. #40 powered the 9:30 and 12:30 trips, but for a reason not explained, she sat out our 11:00. It was OK, Santa was the star today.Following up the thread earlier, here is #9 today... and pretty #40.Rob

Hi, Rob: does your post mean that a diesel took the trip at 11:00, and was it the GP30? Also, a photo never quite does justice to a restoration project. Did it look like real progress on No. 9, or more like an investigation of its condition? Do you think it will actually run in the foreseeable future? It seems to me that no. 40 needs a break, plus heavy repairs, since she has been running solo for as long as I can remember. It would be nice if NH & I could sustain a stable of steam power, if it is in the cards to do so.

Oh, man, what a bummer!!!! Poor old #9!!! EDM, do you remember all the fun we had with that old girl? The stuck whistle, the "powerhouse" pea coal, the stack draft fan with the bare wires (and puddles and steel locos!!), crawling under the 44-tonner and draining diesel fuel into a coffee can to use for soaking the busted-up pallet lumber and lighting off the fire? And how about loading coal by hand into 5-gallon plastic pails on an August day? But those "coal scoop potato pancakes" sure tasted good!!!#9 sure deserves a better fate than stripped and abandoned on the tail track..... A gusty little engine!!!

I have pictures of the "bucket brigade" loading coal, so I must have been there that day or one like it. You don't happen to remember giving a teenage kid a cab ride, do you . . . ?I recall talking my parents into yet another interruption of a family vacation trip and stopping by the Virginia Blue Ridge where the old conductor had fond memories of number nine, "a fine engine". Ironically, years later I bought and dismantled the VBR. We found a few steam engine parts back in the shop, which I think we passed along to Jack Showalter, with the exception of a spare smoke stack which went to TVRM.I've been told several times by folks at the NH&I that they have no plans to work on the 9 and want it sold to a good home.Alan Maples

Again I do not see anything that looks all that bad. If I were in need of an operating locomotive of this size 9 would be one of the first I would look at. Here is a relatively modern locomotive with the asbestos removed and in a disassembled state making inspection much easier. I think most or all of the interior firebox sheets are removed so all you need is a tester and your eyes to take a good look at the boiler. The cylinders look to be closed up so they should be relatively protected. A lot of time and money could be saved on disassembly and asbestos removal. As long as the important parts are there and the tender is in reasonably good condition I do not see any big problems in the photo. Simply putting the parts back on and painting would make a good display engine out of the 9. I agree she needs a better home and hope one is found soon. John Bohon

Howie, those were the good old days, all right. I remember using my truck to jump-start a front end loader (hotwired, of course) so we wouldn't have to bucket brigade the "coal". The loader had no reverse, so we rolled it back off the ramp in neutral, IIRC.And then there was the day we lost a pipe plug on a lubricator line, came home with a C-clamp holding a piece of metal and a cardboard "gasket". Later we did the same thing on one of the BLW diesel's water glasses. The summer of the C-clamp-Not the best riding engine, but she could pull! I've often thought about her with Col. Hill's lead truck; what a great engine she would have been for that run. It is a crime to see her stuck down in the weeds, ripped apart. If it's any consolation, I saw MCC 4039 on Memorial Day; not running, but at least in one piece and painted.To answer Alan, I think 9 has been apart for at least ten years. There was a management or ownership change, and they were planning on fixing both 40 and 9. They either ran out of money, or decided that the 9 wasn't worth fixing. They have been working on the Mexican 4-8-4; I guess having two road engines instead of a road engine and a switcher makes better sense. The other crime is the 1533, but that story must go back thirty years by now.

Isn't that the locomotive that' for sale on Barnhart? It's been listed for a long time....Smokebox

1533 was the prettiest steam loco in the region at one time. How and why it has wound up looking as it does today is a mystery to me. Various sources have told me that some fool burned holes in her boiler with a torch, thinking he knew a better way. In truth, I have no idea, although Ross Rowland recently posted a note saying that after the 4-8-4, 1533 goes back into the shop. I hope she is rebuilt as she was when in service. What a branchline needs a 4-8-4 for is beyond my understanding. Rebuilding #9, as an 0-6-0, makes little sense when one considers the ride and pulling capacity. One can only hope that all her parts are still located in one spot. About two years ago, #9 was the focus of a minor suburban revolution of NIMBY's who wanted "that scrap yard" out of their precious Bucks County. If she is in relatively good condition, perhaps rebuilding her and leasing her out to budding operations elsewhere in the northeast might be appropriate. When #7 was cut up, I was told her parts went towards restoring the #9.

Last time I walked up to the #9 I saw there was a large piece of her firebox on the left side cut out. It looked like it was in really bad shape. They are in no way working on that locomotive. She is just sitting and rusting away. I have been told that El Taco Loco (4-8-4) is going to be used for off line excursions.-Eric

Hi Tim.Yes, I was on the 11:00 with the GP-30. If it had to be a diesel, at least it was the 30. Not sure about #40's day to day condition, but she's one of the hardest working gals in the biz with a very high availability rate.Rob

1533 was a Bicentenial project that didn't get done in time. NHIR was supposed to run 4 steam round trips a day New Hope to Warminster and got some State money to help prepare track and locos. When 3 steam locos weren't ready in time, a weekday Warminster-Buckingham Valley round trip was added to the schedule to appease the State, and 1533 was never completed.I think that #9 has #7's tender.

hmm, it looks like it's really easy to clean out 9's mud ring!