Conway Scenic Railroad’s North Conway Station on the first day of public excursions, August 4, 1974.
On August 4 each year, Conway Scenic Railroad celebrates the anniversary of its first day of operation. On that date in 1974, the railroad began running excursions over a short section of the former Boston & Maine Conway Branch, which had served the Mount Washington Valley for more than a century.
Conway Scenic Railroad was founded by Dwight A. Smith in partnership with Carroll P. Reed and William Levy, who redeveloped the historic North Conway station and several miles of the former Boston & Maine Conway Branch. Their goal was to preserve the romance of classic railroading while giving visitors a chance to experience an earlier era of travel. Early advertising invited guests into “an unhurried age when the echo of the locomotive whistle was a more commonplace sound throughout the land.”
Railroads arrived in the Mount Washington Valley later than in much of New England. North Conway’s first line came in 1871 with the Portland & Ogdensburg Railroad, which later became part of Maine Central’s Mountain Division through Crawford Notch. A second line followed in 1872, eventually becoming Boston & Maine’s Conway Branch—the route Conway Scenic restored as the foundation of its original operation.
An early 20th-century postcard view of the Maine Central Railroad’s Mountain Division at Gateway Cut in Crawford Notch. Today, this is part of the route of the Mountaineer.
This 1963 aerial view shows the North Conway station and railroad yard, a decade before Conway Scenic Railroad restored the property.
By the early 1960s, dynamic changes in the regional economy and transportation, especially the rise of the automobile, contributed to declines in railroad traffic and ultimately to the end of regular common-carrier passenger rail service to North Conway. By then, the station and railroad yard were shadows of their former glory.
In 1965, aiming to preserve North Conway’s rustic character, businessmen William Levy and Carroll P. Reed purchased the North Conway railroad properties. In February 1968, Dwight Smith arrived in town aboard a re-created Snow Train excursion—a visit that changed the course of his life and regional history. As Smith later recalled: “I got off the train and walked around. I saw it was all there: the old station, the roundhouse, the park, and the mountains beyond”. Smith soon formed a partnership with Levy and Reed that led to the creation of Conway Scenic Railroad.
In the railroad’s early years, most excursions were hauled by steam locomotive 47 (7470), seen here at the North Conway roundhouse in the early 1970s.
Smith led a dedicated corps of volunteers who restored a steam locomotive, rehabilitated historic passenger cars, and brought the North Conway station and roundhouse back to life. On August 4, 1974, Conway Scenic Railroad officially opened to the public, selling its first 94 excursion tickets.
The railroad has grown into one of New England’s premier heritage railroads. Since 1995, it has also operated longer excursions over the state-owned former Maine Central Mountain Division through Crawford Notch.
Today, the railroad is owned by Profile Mountain Holdings. It is recognized as one of the White Mountains’ leading tourist attractions and a regional economic engine. The railroad offers visitors a choice of excursions from its classic North Conway Station, with trains operating both on its traditional run through the valley to Conway (the Valley Train) and over the scenic route through Crawford Notch (the Mountaineer). Excursions operate year-round, including weekend Snow Trains and the Winter Mountaineer during the winter season.
Conway Scenic Railroad’s Budd Vista Dome Rhonda Lee crosses Frankenstein Bridge on the Mountain Division while operating on the Mountaineer.
Why the name “Conway Scenic Railroad”?
The name Conway Scenic Railroad was carefully chosen. In the early 1970s, to distinguish the new company as an excursion railroad, This was distinct from traditional common-carrier railroads, commuter operators, and the newly formed Amtrak intercity passenger carrier. Early Conway Scenic advertising promised visitors a journey into “an unhurried age when the echo of the locomotive whistle was a more commonplace sound throughout the land”.