Conway Scenic Railroad

The Conway Scenic Railroad (reporting mark CSRX)^[1] is a heritage railroad located in North Conway, New Hampshire, owned by Profile Mountain Holdings Corp. The railroad operates over two historic railway routes: a line from North Conway to Conway that was formerly part of the Conway Branch of the Boston and Maine Railroad, and a line from North Conway through Crawford Notch to Fabyan that was once part of the Mountain Division of the Maine Central Railroad. The Conway line is owned by Conway Scenic, and the Mountain Division is owned by the State of New Hampshire.

Conway Scenic Railroad
GP35 No. 216, GP38 No. 252 and GP7 No. 573 at North Conway Depot
Locale	White Mountains region of New Hampshire
Connections	New Hampshire Central Railroad
Commercial operations
Built by	Conway Branch: Portsmouth, Great Falls and Conway Railroad; Mountain Division: Portland and Ogdensburg Railroad
Original gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Preserved operations
Owned by	Profile Mountain Holdings Corp; Mountain Division right-of-way owned by the State of New Hampshire
Operated by	Conway Scenic Railroad
Reporting mark	CSRX
Length	51 miles (82 km)
Preserved gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Commercial history
Opened	1872
1875	Mountain Division is completed and connected
1890	Boston and Maine Corporation acquires the Conway Branch
1972	Conway Branch abandoned north of Ossipee
1983	Crawford Notch regular service ends in September
1984	Last Crawford Notch train (October)
1992	Mountain Division abandoned east of Whitefield
Closed	N. Conway Station 1961
Preservation history
August 4, 1974	Started
1994	Mountain Division operations begin
Headquarters	North Conway
Website
conwayscenic.com

The railroad's main terminal is located in historic downtown North Conway in the Mount Washington valley. The station complex has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1979.^[2]

History

The Conway Scenic Railroad was formed by Dwight Smith, who was an employee of the Boston and Maine Railroad in the late 1960s. After years of negotiations, Smith was able to convince his employer to sell a portion of the Conway Branch, which it planned to abandon, to him and two local businessmen in 1974, and the Conway Scenic Railroad began that year.^[3] In 1999, the original owners were bought out by husband and wife Russ and Dot Seybold and on January 30, 2018, the railroad was sold again to Profile Mountain Holdings Corp.^[4][5]

Operations

The Dorthea Mae dome car

The railroad operates passenger trains out of its station in North Conway Village from April to December each year.^[6]

Special freight operation

On June 20, 2009, a 20-axle Schnabel car was brought down through Crawford Notch carrying a 227-ton transformer for Public Service of New Hampshire, an electrical utility company. The train was led by locomotives No. 573, No. 6505 and No. 6516. It was the first scheduled freight train through Crawford Notch since September 3, 1983, and the first freight train of any kind since October 1984. The empty cars were shipped out nine days later, led by No. 6505 and No. 4266. This shipment completed the first and only revenue freight move for the Conway Scenic to date.^[7]

Equipment

Locomotives

Locomotive details^{[8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16]}

Number	Images	Builder	Type	Wheel Arrangement	Built	Serial Number	Status
7470		Grand Trunk Railway	Steam	0-6-0	1921	22/1500	Operational
23		Budd Company	RDC-1	(1A-A1)	1952	5504	Operational
216		EMD	GP35	(B-B)	1965	30297	Operational
252		EMD	GP38	(B-B)	1966	32661	Operational
255		EMD	GP38	(B-B)	1966	32664	Operational
360		General Electric	44-tonner	(B-B)	1942	Unknown	Display
501		Alco	Steam	2-8-0	1910	47732	Under restoration
573		EMD	GP7	(B-B)	1950	12369	Operational
1741		EMD	GP9	(B-B)	1957	23239	Operational
1751		EMD	GP9	(B-B)	1965	22036	Operational
4266		EMD	F7A	(B-B)	1949	8476	Operational
4268		EMD	F7A	(B-B)	1949	9932	Operational

Visiting units

Locomotive details^[17]

Number	Images	Builder	Type	Wheel Arrangement	Built	Serial Number	Previous owner	Current owner	Status
Flying Yankee		Budd Company and Electro-Motive Corporation	Streamliner	B-2	1935	Unknown	Plymouth & Lincoln Railroad	Flying Yankee Association	Under restoration

Former units

Locomotive details^{[18][19][20][21][22][7]}

Number	Images	Builder	Type	Built	Wheel Arrangement	Serial Number	Notes
15		General Electric	44-tonner	1945	(B-B)	27975	Sold to Southern Prairie Railway
108		Baldwin	Steam	1920	2-6-2	52820	Sold to Rannoch Corporation
1055		Alco	S-4	1950	(B-B)	78416	Sold to Downeast Scenic Railroad
1757		EMD	GP9	1956	(B-B)	21888	Scrapped after being used as parts source
1943		General Electric	B23-7	1978	(B-B)	42056	Sold to Finger Lakes Railway
2820		General Electric	U23B	1975	(B-B)	40130	Sold to Finger Lakes Railway
6505/6516		GMD	FP9s	1954/1957	(B-B)	A635/A1046	Sold to Pan Am Railways

2022 accident

On the morning of January 3, 2022 at 4:44am, a radio inside No. 7470's cab caught fire, and it caused the inside of the locomotive's cab to burn up as well. The fire also damaged the spring in the whistle valve, causing the whistle to continuously blow, which alerted the nearby steam locomotive mechanic, who called 9-1-1.^[23] The nearby fire department arrived shortly afterward to put the fire out. Had it not been for the whistle valve blowing itself, the 1874-built roundhouse it was stored in would have received critical fire damage and collapsed onto No. 7470. The cab has since been repaired and the engine returned to service in June 2022.^[24]

Appearances in film

In the 2005 Christmas television film, The 12 Dogs of Christmas, starring Jordan-Claire Green, the museum's depot was filmed in several scenes during the beginning of the film, and the Conway Scenic's passenger cars were also used in the film.^[25]

See also

• North Conway Depot and Railroad Yard
• List of heritage railroads in the United States
• List of heritage railroads in New Hampshire
• List of heritage railways