February 2025 Wheel Report
By Brian Solomon
Photos by Mike Lacey
Plow Extras
Keeping the railroad open over Crawford in the winter has required numerous plow extras. Since Saturday Winter at Crawford excursions have been schedule throughout January and February, plow extras have typically operated from North Conway on the Mountain Division over Crawford Notch on Fridays. Former Maine Central 255 has been assigned to these trains with the former Central Vermont Railway Russell plow facing westbound. In situations where the base level of snow has only been a few inches, the snow and ice accumulation in the rock cuts has still required special attention and can take hours to be cleared effectively. In addition to Friday extras, plow trains have also run mid-week, both to clear portions of the Mountain Division and the Conway Branch. On Tuesday, February 11th, a plow extra worked first to Conway and then west to Bartlett. Since these are extra trains, they operate without a schedule, and timing is up to the needs of the operating and track departments.
Presidents Week
The railroad has lots of trains scheduled for Presidents Week, and plans to operate daily from February 14th through the 23rd. Snow Train will make three to five trips daily between North Conway and Conway, with the popular new Winter at Crawford excursion running on Saturdays with select mid-week departures. In addition, the railroad introduced a new Valentine’s weekend offering called Rat Pack on the Rails, which is a dinner plus show train experience featuring romantic music from the famed Rat Pack of the 1950s and 1960s. The program for ticket holders includes a romantic dinner at The Ledgeview Grille (located at the North Conway Country Club, just beyond the east-end of the North Conway station platform) followed by a specially produced rolling musical show aboard Conway Scenic’s first class passenger cars. The train is scheduled for three evening beginning February 14th. The success of this train may lead to more on-board theatrical productions later in the season.
Plans for Conway Scenic’s 2025 Spring and Summer season
In 2025, New Hampshire’s Conway Scenic Railroad will celebrate a century and a half of railroad service on the former Maine Central Mountain Division over Crawford Notch. This coincides with the railroad’s 30 year anniversary of excursion service on this route. Conway Scenic has planned a new expanded schedule for its signature Mountaineer excursion. This will include new departure times, and some days with multiple departures from North Conway to Crawford, plus special events. For many visitors, 2025 will be the best time make a train trip over Crawford Notch in decades.
In addition to expanded Mountain Division operations, in 2025 Conway Scenic is also expanding peak season services of its popular Valley Train that provides the 1-hour round trip on the former Boston & Maine Conway Branch. Where the scenic Mountaineer aims to recreate the experience of a classic 1950s transcontinental streamliner, the Valley recreates the thrill of traveling from town to town in a mid-20th century train. This relatively short trip has been popular with young families and has served as core of the excursion program on the Conway Branch since Conway Scenic began tourist train service in August 1974. Where in recent years the railroad has scheduled midday trains to Bartlett or Sawyer River, beginning this Summer the railroad will operate up to six scheduled runs between North Conway and Conway. Not only will this allow for more midday trains on the Conway branch, but will free up track space to run two Crawford trains on busy days.
Safety and Rules Class Rescheduled
Conway Scenic’s annual Safety and Rules class has been rescheduled for Saturday, April 5th. The class will be held at the Gibson Center located at 14 Grove St., in North Conway.