Conway Scenic Railroad

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Conway Scenic Railroad
GP35 No. 216, GP38 No. 252 and GP7 No. 573 at North Conway station
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
Stations	1
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 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 leases the Mountain Division that is owned by the State of New Hampshire.[2]

The railroad's main terminal is located in historic downtown North Conway in the Mount Washington valley. The North Conway station complex has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1979.[3]

The Conway Scenic Railroad was formed by Dwight Smith, who was an employee of the Boston and Maine Railroad in the late 1960s.[4] 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.[4][5] 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.[6][7]

The Dorthea Mae dome car

The railroad operates passenger trains out of its station in North Conway Village from April to December each year.[8] The railroad also operates the Mountaineer train from North Conway, through Crawford Notch up to Fabyan Station from May through November each year.[4][9][10]

On July 30, 1980, the first paid freight movement for the railroad occurred. A huge brush slasher was dropped off by the Maine Central at Intervale siding. From there, steam locomotive No. 108 hauled it from Intervale to Conway Village.[11]

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 most recent revenue freight move for the Conway Scenic to date.[12]

In recent years, the Conway scenic has been looking to restore the rest of the Mountain Division, specifically the stretch in Maine that runs from Fryeburg to Portland. The primary goal is to establish a new freight service to serve local businesses, though tourist operations are a secondary possibility.[2]

Locomotive details[13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22]

Number	Image	Type	Model	Built	Builder	Serial number	Status
7470		Steam	0-6-0	1921	Grand Trunk Railway	22/1500	Operational
23		Buddliner	RDC-1	1952	Budd Company	5504	Operational
216		Diesel	GP35	1965	Electro-Motive Diesel	30297	Operational
252		Diesel	GP38	1966	Electro-Motive Diesel	32661	Operational
255		Diesel	GP38	1966	Electro-Motive Diesel	32664	Operational
360		Diesel	44-ton switcher	1942	General Electric	Unknown	Display
501		Steam	2-8-0	1910	American Locomotive Company	47732	Display, awaiting restoration
573		Diesel	GP7	1950	Electro-Motive Diesel	12369	Operational
1741		Diesel	GP9	1957	Electro-Motive Diesel	23239	Operational
1751		Diesel	GP9	1965	Electro-Motive Diesel	22036	Operational
4266		Diesel	F7A	1949	Electro-Motive Diesel	8476	Operational
4268		Diesel	F7A	1949	Electro-Motive Diesel	9932	Operational

Locomotive details[23]

Number	Image	Type	Model	Built	Builder	Serial number	Previous owner	Status	Current owner
Flying Yankee		Diesel-Electric	Streamliner	1935	Budd Company, Electro-Motive Corporation	Unknown	Plymouth & Lincoln Railroad	Under restoration	Flying Yankee Association

Locomotive details[24][25][26][27][12][28]

Number	Image	Type	Model	Built	Builder	Serial number	Notes
15		Diesel	44-ton switcher	1945	General Electric	27975	Sold to Southern Prairie Railway
108		Steam	2-6-2	1920	Baldwin Locomotive Works	52820	Sold to Rannoch Corporation
1055		Diesel	S-4	1950	American Locomotive Company	78416	Sold to Downeast Scenic Railroad
1757		Diesel	GP9	1956	Electro-Motive Diesel	21888	Scrapped after being used as parts source for F7A 4268.
1943		Diesel	B23-7	1978	General Electric	42056	Sold to Finger Lakes Railway
2820		Diesel	U23B	1975	General Electric	40130	Sold to Finger Lakes Railway
6505/6516		Diesels	FP9s	1954/1957	General Motors Diesel	A635/A1046	Sold to Pan Am Railways

On the morning of January 3, 2022 at 4:44 AM, 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.[29] 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.[30]

In the 2005 Christmas tv movie, The 12 Dogs of Christmas, starring Jordan-Claire Green, the museum's depot was filmed in several scenes during the beginning of the movie, and the Conway Scenic's passenger cars were also used in the movie.[31]

• 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

• Railfan & Railroad. Vol. 19. Carstens Publications. 2000. p. 6, 7.
• Tourist Trains 2004. Kalmbach Publishing Company. February 2004. p. 216.

• Conway Scenic Railroad official website

• Site Map of 2016 website[1]