NH&I 1980 - 1981 Freight Operation

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Steam locomotives would return in freight service on the NH&I for a brief period in 1980 - 1981, and they were scheduled runs. 

The NH&I will loose it's largest freight customer that supported the railroad since 1976 and the NH&I will try to regain this lost revenue.

The NH&I's freight traffic would drop off in December 1979 with the closure of the Camden Fiber Mill in Warminster which was 98 percent of the lines freight revenue. Jimmy McHugh convinced a new customer CARTEX to come on line, the company was using the Doylestown branch of Conrail but was dissatisfied with the service there. The Buckingham Valley rail yard became a transloading facility with the old main track now being used as the siding so tractor trailers could be backed up to boxcars on platform track. This enabled the light weight foam materials that were used for car seats to be easily handled by hand and placed into the boxcars. The former passing siding was now made into and used as the main line track, the south switch and lead for the former siding were changed sightly to be make it better suited for this operation. 

The 500 NH&I / McHugh family owned box cars would also cast a problem for the NH&I when the Rock Island railroad who leased 250 of the McHugh family fleet became bankrupt and no longer needed the cars along with fact that they could not pay the money owed to the McHugh company. The Rock Island RR went on strike and for a two week period durung that time, Jimmy & JC McHugh along with two other management people from the NH&I worked as Rock Island management employees and as train crews on that line. JC worked as a brakeman at the Silvis yard and Jimmy operated the switch engine, the other two NH&I staff members worked as a lead brakeman and conductor on the trains from the Chicago south yard to Silvis and return. At the lines main rail yard at Silvis, IL any NH&I / McHugh cars were placed onto trains that were heading off the Rock Island RR. 

Another blow would come to the NH&I / McHugh company when the Delaware & Hudson railroad would become bankrupt and return an additional 250 cars. The D & H company also would not pay the money that was owed to the McHugh company.

Jimmy McHugh found a nother source of revenue for the NH&I by leasing track space to the ITEL group to store their railcars on the NH&I, these were the yellow Railbox and blue M&NJ boxcars. Because more storage track was required for the ITEL boxcar storage, several new sidings were built or extended along the line. 

Also the McHugh Bros. company now began to leased out over 10 hirail - boom trucks, 5 heavy duty flat trucks, 15 pickup trucks to rail contractors in 1980 - 1981 on various rebuild and electrical projects on NJ Transit rail lines. The company also had 7 tamping machines along with another 30 peices of M-O.W equipment. This created additional revenue for the NH&I / McHugh company to help offset some of the losses due from the lines customer base declining from the closing of the Camden Fiber Mill, the freight for Davis Feed Mill in Rushland, and Thorpe Farms at New Hope being diverted rail to truck.

May 31, 1980, the #40 steam locomotive and a caboose was operated as a NH&I freight train to Warminster station. The train would back up to Ivyland were the caboose was coupled to the south end of two boxcars full of paper for the mill at New Hope.  The #40 was run around the train and pulled this small freight consist to New Hope and spotted the boxcars on the back track mill siding.

The reason why this #40 train was operated and was kept a secret is because there was a rumor that some members at the B.C.I.D. wanted to operate the railroad themselves since the NH&I was now going to be out of bankruptcy. The renewal of the NH&I / McHugh lease would become due on June 1, 1980 and the McHugh family learned of this rumor and went over the lease agreement with finding a technically that stated the #40 was to be repaired and in operating condition within 6 months of the signing of the lease. However the lease did not require that steam passenger trains to be operated, and it only required that inprovements be made to the railroad decaying 1973 condition of the NH&I and that the freight operation had to remain in business. A few of the B.C.I.D. members did not like that the NH&I was now becoming an industrial freight operation, however this was the orignal intent for saving the line when B.C.I.D. purchased it. An many of the properties located along the southern part of the right a way from Buckingham Valley south was zoned as industrial space.

NH&I #40 was again back under steam on May 31, 1980, the first time in since December 1976 when she was taken out of service. The men on #40's running board are: Mike Bortz fireman, John Bortz Jr conductor, JC McHugh engineer, & Jimmy McHugh. Jimmy McHugh would be engineer of #40 from Buckingham Valley to Ivyland. Then Jimmy would ride in the caboose with the VIP guest that were invited for the trip. 

The 44 ton GE center cab locomotive #400 could no longer handle the trains on the NH&I with the increased boxcar loadings from a new customer located at the former Buckingham Valley passenger station platform area that was changed into a trans loading facility. The 44 tonner was just to light for the winter traffic of 3 to 4 cover hopper cars for Thorpe Farms and a boxcar of paper for the paper mill that would have to be taken to New Hope. These car loadings along with another with 5 to 10 empty McHugh boxcars per train that would be heading to Buckingham Valley could not be handled with #400.

The ex-Warner Company #11 Baldwin VO 750HP diesel locomotive was purchased by the McHugh company during the winter months of  1980. The unit was then renumbered 395 but was never repainted into the McHugh paint scheme, it was hand painted green over the Warner Co. lettering on the hood and red paint applied to cover the rusty white paint on the frame. #395 is at the Ivyland interchange with JC McHugh as engineer and Dan Martin as conductor.

On a snowy December day in 1981 former Warner Company #11 a Baldwin VO-1000HP switcher is at Wycombe station, take notice to the stored Railbox cars on the siding.   

The leased out #302 was returned from the Raritan River Steel Company located in Perth Amboy, NJ and it then went to the McHugh facility in Penndel, PA to be was rebuild over a 6 month period. The #302 return to the NH&I in early April 1981, but only for a brief peiod before being leased out again.

#40 at Buckingham Valley, here Jimmy McHugh is lubericating the crossheads. The main line, siding, & highway crossing have just been rebuilt. Take notice to the tamper and #400 on the new siding lead ( old main ) track. The #400 was kept at Buckingham Valley because trains would leave here 3  to 4 times a week taking loaded boxcars to ivyland and bringing back emptys. The #395 was kept at New Hope with trains leaving there only 2 days a week, and it would handle the larger trains and meet Conrail.

Revenue steam powered freight service on the NH&I with paid crews in 1980 with locomotive #9. Here #9 is being readied for night time freight service and will leave New Hope around 6:30pm with 3 empty boxcars from the Union Camp paper mill. This would happen twice in 1980, once when #400 would suffer a traction motor failure and be out of service in March and then again in May when #395 would have mechanical problems. 

McHugh Bros. equipment numbers 313 & 309, both Baldwin 1200HP switchers had been leased to one customer since being purchase in 1974. The US Steel - Fairless Works in 1980 would purchase both of the ex-Erie Lackawanna units formely #613 & #609.

0-6-0 steam locomotive #9 would be operated with a signal McHugh freight car and caboose on it's last day of service in August 1981. With the last Sunday NHSR passenger train finished at 5:30pm the #9 would have it's tender filled with water and take on a bit more coal. At 7:00pm #9 would make it's last journey under steam on the NH&I with a small freight train to Ivyland. JC McHugh would be engineer, Gary Fairbanks  was fireman and Dan Martin conductor. The caboose would have Cindy Scofield along with a few others riding in it. At Wycombe station Jimmy McHugh would join the train and he would be engineer of #9 to Ivyland.

The US Steel - Fairless Works would return ex-Copper Range 1000HP Baldwins #100 & #101 to the NH&I in October 1981. However the #100 suffered a crankshaft failure do to the US Steel employees not checking the oil level of the motor. The #100 & #101 both went to the rail siding at Penndel, PA so and were scheduled to be rebuilt. #101 would be rebuilt and return to the NH&I during the spring of 1982.  Then on May 15th 1982 Bobby McHugh would be killed in an auto accident. Jimmy, JC, and his cousin E.P McHugh would have a bitter battle over keeping #100 and rebuilding it with the remaining McHugh family. After Jimmy, JC, & EP's departure from the McHugh Bros. companies the #100 was scrapped by Edward L McHugh, Adelaide M McHugh, & Bill McNulty, for some quick cash.