The New Hope Railroad has quite a complicated history, and it goes all the way back to the early 1960s. During that era, scenic train rides were a growing trend that swept the nation and it didn't take long for a group of Philadelphia area railroad enthusiasts and businessmen to start their own excursion train. After the group of railroad enthusiasts obtained the northern 16.7 miles of the Reading Company's New Hope Branch in central Bucks County the New Hope and Ivy railroad was launched in 1966 as a tourist destination.  Unfortunately, due to federal regulations at the time railroading became a high-cost industry, and the New Hope and Ivy was no exception. And so in 1974, the railroad was purchased by the Bucks County Industrial Development Corporation which brought sound management practices to the little line. For a while, the railroad was maintained by volunteers up until 1990 when the railroad was sold once again, this time to the Bucks County Railroad Preservation & Restoration Corporation which rebuilt the property and invested $2 million back into the railroad. Although the New Hope and Ivy's name was changed to the New Hope Railroad,  it continues to operate as a tourist train service to this day.