Conway Scenic Railroad

North Conway, NH / Aug 2006 / RWH

csrx_logo Following the end of the American Civil War in 1865, ideas on how to expand this great nation began to surface. The feasibility of a railroad connecting New England with the Great Lakes had been explored earlier in the century; however, the idea was always dismissed because it seemed too difficult and much too costly. In 1867, a group of Maine businessmen, including a former governor, formed the Portland and Ogdensburg Railroad Company for the purpose of building a rail line from Portland, Maine, to Ogdensburg, New York, hoping to connect the profitable seacoast of New England with the growing industrialized mid-western region of the country.

Conway Scenic Railroad

csrx_state egyptian he Conway Scenic Railroad is a longstanding tourist railway operation organized in 1965 and based in the White Mountains community of North Conway, New Hampshire. The company operates scheduled tourist passenger trains over two historic railway routes: a line from North Conway to Conway that was formerly part of the Conway Branch of the venerable Boston & Maine Railroad, and a line from North Conway through Crawford Notch as far as Fabyan, New Hampshire, once part of the Mountain Division of the Maine Central Railroad. The Conway line is owned by Conway Scenic Railway and the Mountain Division is owned by the State of New Hampshire. North Conway features a peculiar and historic railroad depot, as well as a locomotive facility which maintains the company's fleet of steam locomotives and first generation diesel motive power. After decades of private ownership, in 2018 the operation was sold to Profile Mountain Holdings Corp. of Bondsville, Ma.

CSXRX route map / web

1989 tourist train guide ad / collection

1998 tourist train guide ad / collection

postcard / collection

Motive Power

Conway Scenic #573

North Conway, NH / Aug 2006 / RWH

Conway Scenic #573

builder:Electro Motive Division

model:GP7

type:B-B road switcher

built:Sep 1950, EMD #12369

series:2610 produced 1949-54

engine:EMD 567B (16 cyl, 1500 hp)

notes:

blt Maine Central #573
to Delaware & Hudson #573
to Maine Central #573
to Springfield Terminal #27
to Conway Scenic #573

Aug 2006 / RWH

North Conway, NH / Aug 2006 / RWH

North Conway, NH / Aug 2006 / RWH

Conway Scenic #2820

North Conway, NH / Aug 2006 / RWH

Conway Scenic #2820

builder:General Electric

model:U23B, upgraded

type:B-B road switcher

built:Feb 1975, GE #40130

series:425 produced

engine:GE FDL-12 (12 cyl, 2250 hp)

notes:

blt Louisville & Nashville 2820
to Seaboard System #3320
to CSX Transportation #3320
to Reading & Northern #2390
to Quincey Bay Terminal #21
to Conway Scenic #2820
no longer on roster

Boston & Maine #4266

North Conway, NH / Aug 2006 / RWH

Boston & Maine #4266

builder:Electro Motive Division

model:F7A

type:B-B passenger cab

built:Mar 1949, EMD #8476

series:2261 produced 1949-53

engine:EMD 567B (16 cyl, 1500 hp)

notes:

blt Boston & Maine #4266
unit privately owned

North Conway, NH / Aug 2006 / RWH

Rolling Stock

Conway Scenic

Open coach / North Conway, NH / Aug 2006 / RWH

Conway Scenic #1109

Coach / North Conway, NH / Aug 2006 / RWH

Conway Scenic "Gertrude Emma"

Pullman observation / North Conway, NH / Aug 2006 / RWH

RWH

North Conway, NH / Aug 2006 / RWH

Locations

North Conway overhead / Google Maps

northconway_inset The North Conway Depot was built by the Portsmouth, Great Falls & Conway Railroad in 1874, two years after the Conway Branch was completed. The Portsmouth, Great Falls & Conway was absorbed by the Boston and Maine Railroad in 1890. The station served the village of North Conway for 87 years. With the exception of the small hamlet of Intervale just to the north, North Conway was the northern terminus of the Conway Branch (the southern terminus being Boston), and saw heavy use in the summer, North Conway being a popular resort destination. Beginning in 1932, downhill skiing made North Conway an increasingly popular destination, and dedicated skier trains unloaded their passengers at the depot.

In the mid-20th century, passenger rail travel declined due to competition with automobile transport. In the later years of passenger service, the Boston & Maine stopped operating traditional locomotive-and-coaches trains, and switched to Budd Rail Diesel Cars. Finally, on 3 December 1961 passenger service to North Conway was abandoned. Just over 10 years later, on 30 October 1972, freight service was also discontinued, and the station, yard, and rail line were abandoned.

Abandonment did not last long. In 1974, three local businessmen and a host of volunteers restored the abandoned terminal and founded a new heritage railway called the Conway Scenic Railroad. More restoration work was done in 1996.

As the northern terminal, North Conway Depot was built to be the most impressive station on the Conway Branch. Architect Nathaniel J. Bradlee used a unique, Russian-inspired Victorian design. The station's floor plan includes a ticket office, a baggage room, and two waiting rooms (one for men and one for women). One of the waiting rooms now serves as a gift shop. Two curving mahogany staircases lead to offices in metal-sheathed domed towers on the second level. An eight-day E. Howard & Co. clock faces the town. The area immediately in front of the station is an open park.

Wikipedia