The Historic Railcars Are Home!
In May 2022, ten historic railcars were relocated from the Duke Energy’s Harris Nuclear Plant (HNP) and transported five miles along public roadways to their new home at the North Carolina Railway Museum, home of the New Hope Valley Railway. Each railcar was carefully lifted by crane onto a flatbed truck for the journey and then transferred from the truck onto museum tracks using a second crane.
You can watch video highlights of the first day’s move—including one of the two cabooses and a flatcar—on our YouTube channel. Be sure to subscribe to the Triangle Train New Hope Valley Railway channel to see more.
Additional information about these historic railcars can be found in Duke Energy’s Illumination.
We extend our sincere thanks to everyone who supported our Save the 10 project. Together, supporters helped us raise nearly $200,000, including a $50,000 North Carolina State matching grant, to make the relocation possible. If you would like to make a donation towards our ongoing restoration activities, Donate here.
History of the Save the Ten Project
Less than five miles from the North Carolina Railway Museum (NCRM), home of the New Hope Valley Railway (NHVR), ten historic railroad cars sat on a disconnected rail siding at HNP. To save them from the scrap yard, our all-volunteer railway raised the necessary funds and relocated all ten cars to the museum’s rail yard in spring 2022.
This effort followed an earlier acquisition in the mid-1990s, when NCRM obtained four additional railroad cars that were stored at HNP until funds
could be raised to pay to move them to museum grounds.
Following the events of 9/11, plant security restrictions prevented us from accessing our railcars at HNP until late 2019. When NCRM volunteers were finally able to visit the four museum-owned cars, they learned that Duke Energy also had six additional railroad cars once used in Carolina Power & Light (now Duke Energy) Spent Nuclear Fuel (SNF) train service available for donation, provided we could cover the cost of moving them. For the safety of their crews, the six SNF train rail cars never carried any radioactive material onboard or were exposed to radiation during their nearly 20 years in service.
Plans to relocate the cars were soon disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020. Nearly all NHVR rides that season were canceled, and those that did operate were limited to just 30 percent capacity. Because most of our revenue comes from train ride ticket sales, the result was significant financial losses that quickly depleted our reserve funds.
Below are the 10 railroad cars that were moved to the NCRM rail yard. Items 1-4 were owned by NCRM and are in weathered condition but restorable. Items 5 and 6 were owned by Duke Energy and donated to NCRM.
- Historic ex-Pullman Sleeper (Calais/Alexandria) – Built in 1916, originally named Calais and later renamed Alexandria. In the late 1940s it was acquired by the Seaboard Air Line Railroad and converted into a foreman/cook car for maintenance trains. One end was later modified to resemble an observation car, reportedly so it could appear in a movie featuring a presidential candidate giving a speech from the rear platform.
- Atlantic Coast Line Baggage-Express Car – Once used to carry luggage, baggage and mail on passenger trains. Its open interior makes it a strong candidate for future use as a museum display space.
- Ex-Pullman Baggage/RPO Car – Built in the 1910s for the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad, later acquired by the original Norfolk Southern Railway and converted into a camp car for maintenance crews. Outfitted with bunk beds, seating, a kitchen and restroom, this car once operated with the NS #711 crane tender car now at NCRM.
- Hi-Cube Tall Boxcar – Believed to be one of the last surviving Chesapeake & Ohio 60-foot high-cube plug door boxcars retaining its original paint.
- Two Cabooses (Duke Energy) – Saved from scrapping, both are in solid condition. Outfitted with amenities such as a kitchen, air conditioning, bathroom, and generator. NCRM has restored them and renamed them to #302 and #309. #302 is open as a static museum exhibit during scheduled rides and is added to the train during Halloween and Christmas to provide additional passenger space. #309 is part of the train on most ride days and can be reserved using our Buy Tickets link.
- Four Flatcars (Duke Energy) – These unique depressed-center flat cars were also slated for scrap. One of these flatcars is used as part of our “ghost train” during our Halloween rides.
For questions about the Save the Ten project, please contact us at info@triangletrain.com and one of our volunteers will be happy to assist.
