February 1, 2009
It was a dark and stormy night on January 3, 2009 when approximately 30 Railroad enthusiasts were seen taking photos of #7470 and its period freight train in the North Conway yard. The wind speed seemed to be gusting to hurricane force at times which drove the wind chill factor way below zero! These guys were serious about getting their photos! The folks who had signed up with Lerro Productions only had one chance to get their winter night photos and this was it.
The night photo session followed a very successful steam powered trip earlier in the day when GP-7 #573 hauled 211 riders out to Notchland, where steam locomotive #7470 took over and hauled them back to North Conway. Stops were made along the way for run-bys at Notchland, Cobb Farm Road, Attitash Bear Peak, Goves (which is the location of the new highway bridge over the railroad at West Side Road and Rte 302 in Bartlett), Woodland pines (East Branch Saco River Bridge) and a double arrival at North Conway Station. Once again we had a very enjoyable time with all our friends from the Massachusetts Bay Railroad Enthusiasts who were the sponsors of the trip. We had nearly twice as many people on board the train this year as we did last. Plans are to repeat the trip again in 2010.
The next day at about 6:45am #7470 with her train of period freight cars was again hauled out to Notchland by the 573. This time stops were made along the way in both directions so that folks who had signed up for the Lerro Productions charter could get out and get lots of shots of the train. This is the first time since my tenure here that we have operated a pure steam hauled freight train complete with wooden caboose. Lots of excellent photos were taken of this train some of which can be seen at Railpictures.net You’ll have to put the appropriate criteria into the search blocks but the results will be well worth the effort. Be sure to check our photo page for some new photos as well.
The following weekend #7470 worked with ex-B&M F-7 #4266 (owned by the 470 club of Portland, Maine) to celebrate the old Boston & Maine Railroad Snow trains of the 1930s and 1940s. Conway Scenic Railroad and Cranmore Mountain teamed up to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the arrival of Hannes Schneider at the North Conway Station. Mr. Schneider is known as the father of modern day skiing and he put North Conway on the map in 1939 when he arrived to head up the ski school at Cranmore. The event was very well attended and every one seemed to be having a great time. Since the Conway line is out of service for the winter (and temporarily turned over to the NH Bureau of Trails) it was necessary to run the trains between North Conway and Glen. We did back the train down the hill to the easterly Yard Limit in North Conway so that the recreation of the arrival of Mr. Schneider at the Station was from the south just as it would have been 70 years ago. One all diesel trip was run the next day (Sunday) in a snow storm to Glen and thus ended the 2008 season well into 2009 on January 11.
Polar express went very well this year with trains being powered by steam on December 11, 12 & 13. We operated Polar for 15 days making two trips each day for a total of 30 runs.
On December 3rd the railroad operated a plow extra all the way from Depot Street on the Quarry Branch to HAZEN in Whitefield utilizing Russell Plow #4211. As far as I know it has been at least 25 years since this line has seen a plow extra of this nature. This was done so that the line could be surveyed for clearances by a hy-rail truck that followed the plow extra. We are expecting two over-dimension loads bound for Northeast Utilities in Conway to be received sometime in late May of this year. On the plow extra through the Notch, we encountered some large chunks of ice on the right of way (refrigerator size) and a wash down of mud and rock on the track just before the Gateway. The mountain is a very hostile environment in winter, no doubt about it.
Over in the roundhouse the crew is busy working on the new dining car, which at this time still has not been named. The exterior of the car will be ready for primer pretty soon. Miles of old wire have been pulled out of the conduits and plans are well underway for outfitting the car with new appliances, furniture and fittings. The RDC-1 which has been named Millie in honor of CSRR President Russ Seybold’s Mom is currently in stall 1 of the roundhouse. Millie is in the process of being painted and lettered for Conway Scenic. A small restroom is being installed in one end of the car and the railroad is adding the necessary trainline power and P.A. cables. At this time #573 is sitting in the parking lot up on blocks and both of her trucks have been sent to the Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway shops at Derby, Maine. MM&A will rebuild the trucks and replace all the wheels with new ones. All of the springs will be replaced, center plates will be rebuilt and all worn pins and bushing will be renewed. They will also evaluate the traction motors for continued service and make recommendations based on what they find.
Over at the station we are working on planning this year’s events, including A DAY OUT WITH THOMAS™ in July, Railfans Weekend in September,and all of the others.
As always thank you for your support and interest in the Conway Scenic Railroad.
ALWAYS EXPECT A TRAIN!
Paul Hallett
