Welcome to TriangleTrain.com
New Hope Valley Railway / North Carolina Railway Museum (NCRM)
Come out and visit us! The NCRM operates New Hope Valley Railway so that visitors can experience a ride on our historic railroad. Also affectionately known as the “Triangle’s Train”, it travels along 4 miles of historic railroad track through piney woods and over a trestle on an hour-long, round trip from Bonsal to New Hill and back. In addition, on some ride days we also offer food and drinks for sale. Please keep in mind that we are only open to visitors during the times we run trains during scheduled ride days. Steam locomotive rides are not available at this time but our diesel locomotives travel down the same route and offer the same exciting excursions. Join us as a member and help us maintain and operate the railway! Please review the Plan Your Visit page for important information regarding your visit. Buy tickets online.
2024 Santa’s Reindeer Roundup Express 
Join us in our rail yard for holiday decorations, a train ride with Santa and an activity to find the missing reindeer along the train route and in the rail yard. Buy Tickets online now as many departure times have already sold out. Please arrive 30 minutes to one hour before your departure time to park, pick up your tickets and enjoy the museum exhibits, garden/model railroad, our gift shop and food truck fare from The Dogfather. Happy holidays!
2025 Tickets Now On Sale
The 2025 train ride schedule is now online for ticket purchases. Click on Buy Tickets above or go to Plan your Visit / Schedule to see what is available. Our holiday rides–Halloween and Santa trains for 2025–will not go on sale until later in the year.
Rail Yard Museum Exhibits Now Open on Non Ride Days
The North Carolina Railway Museum exhibits, excluding the Gscale Model Railroad, will be staffed and “Open to the Public” every week until December 21, 2024. See our schedule below. For appointments, email [email protected] On train ride days, the museum operation times may vary with the train schedule – for New Hope Valley Railway Train Excursion Rides (train days), check the Triangle Train website (https://www.triangletrain.com)
- Wednesday 9:00AM to 1:00PM(By Appointment Only)
- Thursday 9:00AM to 1:00PM
- Friday 9:00AM to 1:00PM
- Saturday 9:00AM to 1:00PM
We will be closed on Thanksgiving and the Friday after. After the winter break for railway and property maintenance, the North Carolina Railway Museum exhibits will reopen to the public with the same schedule on Wednesday, March 26, 2025. Come see the Dogwoods Trees in full bloom.
Child-sized ear protection
We have two noise-reducing child-sized ear protectors available in the Gift Shop that may be borrowed for free during the train ride to reduce the impact of the train horn. We are required by law to use the horn for safety purposes. Sitting in the middle rows in the middle cars will also put you farthest away from the train horn. Our child ear protection is available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Birthday Party Caboose – Have your kid’s birthday party at New Hope Valley Railway – Sold out for this year!
Launching of Adopt-A-Train program!
The North Carolina Railway Museum is delighted to announce that NOW you can adopt a train – locomotive, caboose, or railcar from our collection of heritage rolling stock! Your 12-month, symbolic adoption makes a great gift for your kids or love ones, memorial recognition, or business promotion at the same time that you are supporting our mission of preserving and sharing North Carolina railroad history for generations to come! For more information
Making Headlines
We appreciate the Triangle’s interest in our trains, events and rail yard! Below is some of the media coverage we’ve received.
- Santa’s Reindeer Roundup Featured on NCTripping.com
– Article about The Most Scenic Trains in North Carolina- 40/120 Year Anniversary Celebration VIP presentation video
- News & Observer – Feature on New Hope Valley Railway
- Tarheel Traveler – Feature on New Hope Valley Railway
- August 2023 NRHS News – Article about the Nuclear Fuel Train history and New Hope Valley Railway inaugural trip for the Engineers and Security
- Fuel Train Caboose Simulation Video – Cabooses previously used in spent nuclear fuel rod disposal
- Young at Heart Adventures – Exploring New Hope Valley Railway
- Butch Patrick – Koach to Koast, A visit to New Hope Valley Railway
- North Carolina Weekend on PBS NC – Take a Vintage Train Ride on the New Hope Valley Railway
- Travel and Leisure, 5 Beautiful Train Rides in North Carolina
- Southern Living, Train Rides to take in North Carolina
- Jacobs Rail Expedition, A video of a typical train ride
- Spectrum News, History of Train Travel, Spectrum/guest login required for full access
- Cary Living Magazine Pages 28 & 38 Santa Rides and Save the 10 Nov/Dec 2022
- NRHS (National Railway Historical Society) News, Save the 10 article (30 seconds to load)
- Chatham News & Record, Halloween Express, November 4, 2022
- PBS North Carolina Weekend, May 26, 2022, NHV section starts at 10:40 time marker
- Duke Energy story on Save the 10, May 18, 2022
Like and Follow our social media channels to stay up-to-date on the happenings in our rail yard. Facebook: @TriangleTrain
OAL, Steam & Social
Operate-a-Loco
Operate a real locomotive
from the engineer’s seat
Steam Loco #17 Refurb
Donate now to help this initiative!
The New Hope Valley Railway is the Triangle’s Train, offering excursion rides on vintage equipment at the North Carolina Railway Museum. The North Carolina Railway Museum is a private, educational, tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to preserving and sharing North Carolina’s railroad history. The open-air museum features displays of historic railroad equipment and artifacts, a large garden railroad, memorabilia, and a gift shop.
Year the organization was started.
Miles of track for an hour ride out & back.
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