A New Hope holiday is built on old things still doing their jobs. There's a locomotive built in 1925, a church from the 1870s that now seats 120 diners, a Victorian mansion hung with orange and cinnamon garlands, and a tree lighting that has gathered people downtown for more than 40 years. This season the oldest of them, the steam engine, is in the shop. So the New Hope Railroad's newest Santa ride is selling reserved seats, unlimited cocoa and more time with Santa.
The engine in the shop
Locomotive No. 40 is a 2-8-0 that Baldwin Locomotive Works built in November 1925. It runs on coal and weighs 156,000 pounds empty. The railroad's own history of the engine says it went out of service for repairs in 1986, was rebuilt in 1990 and came back to public service in early summer 1991. For most of the 35 years since, No. 40 has been the steam in the New Hope Railroad's holiday rides.
It went back into the shop over last winter. A note on the Steam Locomotive Information database says No. 40 left service on December 29, 2025 for its 1,472-day overhaul. A Railway Preservation News roundup of steam engines in 2026 says the same: No. 40 "has just gone down for her 1472 SDI."
You can see the change on the railroad's website. The North Pole Express page still has a link labeled "Santa's Steam Train Ride." Click it and you land on a page called Santa's Premium Train Ride. The Premium page doesn't say which locomotive pulls the train, and the railroad reserves the right to change motive power. If your family's tradition is steam, call the railroad about your departure before you book.
What the railroad is selling this year
The Premium ride carries a "New for 2026!" tag. Its slogan, "More Magic. More Santa. A Seat Just For You," sums up the pitch. Everything from the regular ride comes along: Christmas music, hot chocolate and a cookie, visits from Santa and Mrs. Claus, and a sleigh bell for each child. On top of that you get reserved seating, unlimited hot chocolate, more time with Santa and Mrs. Claus, and more songs from the roaming musicians.
The letter-writing piece is the detail most families will remember. In First Class and in Coach, children hand their letters to a New Hope Express Agent and get a small keepsake on the spot. After the ride, a reply arrives in the mail with a return ticket. First Class guests 21 and older get one complimentary spirit added to their cocoa, and the optional photo package includes a bonus photo.
Here's how the two rides compare:
| Santa's North Pole Express | Santa's Premium Train Ride | |
|---|---|---|
| Pulled by | A vintage diesel locomotive | Not named; the railroad may change motive power |
| Seating | Private Rooms, First Class, Coach Class, Private Caboose | Reserved table in First Class, reserved bench in Coach, Private Caboose for up to 15 |
| Cocoa | Hot chocolate and a cookie | Unlimited hot chocolate |
| Santa time | Visits from Santa and Mrs. Claus | Longer visits, plus a letter handoff and a mailed reply |
Both rides leave from New Hope Train Station at 32 W. Bridge St. The North Pole Express goes out to Lahaska and back. Visit Bucks County lists the North Pole Express from November 20 through December 30, 2026, with private cabooses and coach cars available to rent. Fares change with the date, departure time, class of service and demand, and you'll only see the current price during online booking. The railroad recommends booking ahead because popular departures sell out. The station has self-service kiosks, but it doesn't guarantee same-day tickets. For a weekend date in December, book before Thanksgiving.
The other old buildings working the season
With the locomotive away, the town's other landmarks carry the season, and most of them are within a short walk of the station.
The Parry Mansion opened its holiday house tours on November 6, so they're already running. The New Hope Historical Society calls it a Victorian Christmas, with fresh greenery, orange and cinnamon garlands and candlelight in every room. Tours run during museum hours through December 13. Society members get in free and nonmembers pay $30. There's also a raffle for the holiday centerpiece on display: three tickets cost $5, and the winner is announced December 13.
Bucks County Playhouse opens Irving Berlin's Holiday Inn on November 19, a week from today, and runs it through January 3, 2027. The musical follows a song-and-dance man who leaves show business for a Connecticut farmhouse that turns into an inn open only on holidays. The score has more than 20 Berlin songs, including "Blue Skies," "Heat Wave" and "White Christmas." Nick Corley and Shea Sullivan co-direct, and Sullivan also choreographs. The show runs about two and a half hours with an intermission. The ASL-interpreted performance is December 13 at 1:30 p.m., and groups of 10 or more book through the Sales Manager at 267-930-4816.
On South Main Street, Oldestone sits at 15 S. Main inside the former New Hope Methodist Episcopal Church, built in the 1870s. The old sanctuary is now a 120-seat dining room, and the former pulpit is the host stand. BUCKSCO Today reported in October that the building is listed for sale at $4.25 million, down from nearly $6 million when it first went on the market in June. The same report said the restaurant was still taking online reservations and marketing itself that week. Before Oldestone, the building was Marsha Brown's restaurant, which opened there in 2003. If a holiday dinner in that room is on your list, book it this season.
The dates that stay put
The civic events don't change year to year, so plan the rest of the calendar around them. Each one fits with a Playhouse matinee, a train departure or an afternoon at the mansion.
- Friday, November 20: The North Pole Express season begins.
- Sunday, November 29, 5 p.m.: The Annual New Hope Christmas Tree Lighting, presented by the Greater New Hope Chamber of Commerce and the Logan Inn. The tradition is 40-plus years old, with holiday music, hot chocolate and Christmas cookies before Santa arrives.
- Sunday, December 6, 4 p.m.: The Chamber's holiday parade, with music, floats, entertainers and Santa.
- Saturday, December 12, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.: The Spring Creek Farm Holiday Market at 6262 Meetinghouse Road. Bucks County Parent says vendor and activity details are still to come.
- Sunday, December 13: The last day of the Parry Mansion holiday tours, the centerpiece raffle drawing, and the 1:30 p.m. ASL-interpreted Holiday Inn.
- Wednesday, December 30: The last North Pole Express run on the Visit Bucks County schedule.
The two Sundays are the easiest days to build around. On November 29 you could book an afternoon North Pole Express, then walk over for the 5 p.m. tree lighting. On December 6, you could tour the Parry Mansion before the 4 p.m. parade starts. December 13 has the most going on, so book it first: the last mansion tours, the raffle drawing and the interpreted matinee all fall on the same day.
This season, the North Pole Express runs behind one of the railroad's vintage diesels, and the reserved Premium seats and Santa's mailed replies are this year's additions at the Bridge Street station.
If your family has a New Hope holiday tradition you'd like to keep, or you're curious how this town's calendar shapes life near Bridge Street and Main, The Walton-Winn Team would love to hear about it. Let's talk about your Bucks County home.
