July 2026 Wheel Report

By Brian Solomon
Photos by Mike Lacey

Successful July 4th!
Conway Scenic Railroad enjoyed a very successful July 4th weekend. This is typically one of the busiest summer weekends, when the railroad enjoys ridership levels similar to peak Autumn days. In addition to its normally scheduled trains, on Saturday, July 4th, the railroad also offered its annual Firecracker Express trains. These reverse-flow excursions carry passengers from the Conway Freight House, located in the town of Conway, to the North Conway station so that passengers can enjoy the festivities and fireworks display. This year, the three scheduled Firecrackers were sold nearly to the limits of capacity, which represents an excellent turnout. Capacity was functionally limited by the return run to Conway at the conclusion of the fireworks, which consisted of an 11-car train — double the length of the railroad’s regularly scheduled Valley Train excursions to Conway.

Off the Rails!
The railroad’s latest offering made its debut on July 10. Off the Rails is a rolling comedy show featuring comedian Rob Barnes. This one-of-a-kind comedic scenic tour is a new offering that runs on the Friday afternoon round trip train to Conway that also carries cars for the Valley Train. This excursion is planned to run in the comfort-class car CP Reed on select summer Fridays. The hour-long, laugh-out-loud stand-up comedy experience departs from North Conway station at 4:00 p.m. Off the Rails joins Murder on the Rails, Conway Scenic’s interpretation of the classic murder-mystery experience, as another exciting theatrical offering giving guests new ways to enjoy rail travel. Tickets for Off the Rails and Murder on the Rails may be booked online via conwayscenic.com or through the North Conway ticket office.

Flying Yankee Association Special
On Sunday, June 28, the railroad hosted a one-time fundraiser special for the Flying Yankee Association to assist the association in its goal of restoring the Boston & Maine/Maine Central 6000, the one-of-a-kind, Budd-built streamlined Flying Yankee train set. The special operated with a variation of the passenger car consist normally assigned to Conway Scenic’s Mountaineer, and powered by 470 Club’s historic former Boston & Maine diesels, with the pair of F7As 4266/4268 working the Conway end and GP9 1741 on the west end. It was scheduled to depart North Conway at 8:30 a.m., first working the former B&M branch to Conway, where guests viewed the Flying Yankee set, and 470 Club’s locomotives were posed for photos with the historic train. Later, the special worked west to Mountain Junction, and beyond via the Mountain Division to Frankenstein Trestle, before returning east to North Conway in the afternoon. Several photo stops were arranged for passengers en route.

Blue Bird On the Valley
For much of July, 470 Club’s restored former Boston & Maine GP9 1741 has been assigned to the Valley Train over the former B&M Conway Branch. Locomotive assignments vary depending on the condition of equipment and the specific needs of the operating department.