New Hope Railroad 2198 & 8218: Winter Diesel Service (4K)

Along with the steam powered excursions the New Hope Railroad offers, there are also a number of diesel powered excursions that depart during the holiday season. In addition to steam service, the railroads operates two addition trains powered by GP-30 #2198 and GP-9u #8218. Three trains would operate simultaneously over the quaint line nestled in the heart of Bucks County with the gleaming winter sunlight shining. In this film we follow both diesel powered excursions for the day. Behind 2198 would be a consist of stainless-steel coaches from Southern Pacific and Santa Fe origins and the standard assortment of New Hope coaches behind 8218. Please sit back and enjoy the New Hope Railroad's wintertime diesel service by Keystone Rail Productions!

History of 2198:
New Hope & Ivyland 2198 is an EMD GP-30 built in 1963 for the Pennsylvania Railroad. Originally numbered 2250, the locomotive was tasked with hauling the Pennsylvania's freight trains between Philadelphia and Chicago. After the Pennsylvania Railroad had merged with the New York Central, the locomotive was renumbered to 2198 during it's years on the Penn Central. The locomotive received little service as the Penn Central went into bankruptcy. Conrail then serviced the locomotive in 1978 to operate in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. In 1991, after serving Conrail for a number of years, the locomotive was sidelined into storage. In 1996, the locomotive was required by the New Hope Railroad and was primarily used for freight service and when the steam locomotive was inoperable. In recent years, 2198 has been used as the primary head end power for trains not powered by steam. NH&I 2198 remains as one of the sixteen PRR GP30's and one of the few to remain in near original condition.

History of 8218:
New Hope Railroad 8218 is a GP-9 built in 1957 for the Canadian Pacific Railway. Originally, both the long and short hoods were equal in height and was numbered 8678. For the next 31 years, the locomotive would serve the CP in various types of service. After an extensive overhaul in 1988, the locomotive was renumbered 8218, the high hood was chopped down to become shorter, the installation of additional windshields in the cab for increased visibility, and was reclassified as a GP-9u. Once the rebuild was completed, 8218 was assigned to branchline service in the United States and Canada. In 2015, the locomotive was finally retired and purchased by the NHRR only a few months later. By the fall of 2017, the locomotive was repainted in a simple New Hope scheme and used on passenger operations. In 2022, the locomotive received a new paint scheme similar to that of 2198 and is used as the primary power for many of New Hope Railroad's passenger operations.

Locations:
0:00 New Hope
1:43 Reeder
2:23 Lower Mountain
3:06 Reeder
3:53 South Sugan
4:30 New Hope
7:07 South Sugan
7:55 Reeder

To learn more and support the New Hope Railroad, please visit:
https://www.newhoperailroad.com/

Special Thanks To:
The New Hope Railroad
Staff of the NHRR
Crews of 2198 & 8218
The KRP Family

Filmed on Sunday, December 4, 2022

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