The Conway Scenic Railroad is a

heritage railroad A heritage railway or heritage railroad (US usage) is a railway operated as living history to re-create or preserve railway scenes of the past. Heritage railways are often old railway lines preserved in a state depicting a period (or periods) i ...

North Conway, New Hampshire North Conway is a census-designated place (CDP) and village in eastern Carroll County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 2,116 at the 2020 census. A year-round resort area, North Conway is the second-largest village within the to ...

, United States, 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 The Portsmouth, Great Falls and Conway Railroad (PGF&C) (later known as the Conway Branch of the Boston and Maine Railroad) is a former rail line between Rollinsford and Intervale, New Hampshire, in the United States. At Rollinsford, the line c ...

of the Boston and Maine Railroad, and a line from North Conway through

Crawford Notch Crawford Notch is a major pass through the White Mountains of New Hampshire, located in Hart's Location. Roughly half of that town is contained in Crawford Notch State Park. The high point of the notch, at approximately above sea level, is at ...

to Fabyan that was once part of the

Mountain Division The Mountain Division (later the Mountain Subdivision) is a railroad line that was once owned and operated by the Maine Central Railroad (MEC). It stretches from Portland, Maine on the Atlantic Ocean, through the Western Maine Mountains and Whi ...

of the

Maine Central Railroad The Maine Central Railroad Company was a U. S. Class I railroad in central and southern Maine. It was chartered in 1856 and began operations in 1862. By 1884, Maine Central was the longest railroad in New England. Maine Central had expanded to ...

. The Conway line is owned by Conway Scenic, and the Mountain Division is owned by the

State of New Hampshire New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the north ...

. The railroad's main terminal is located in historic downtown North Conway in the

Mount Washington Mount Washington is the highest peak in the Northeastern United States at and the most topographically prominent mountain east of the Mississippi River. The mountain is notorious for its erratic weather. On the afternoon of April 12, 1934 ...

valley. The station complex has been listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

since 1979.

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. 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.

Operations

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

Special freight operation

On June 20, 2009, a 20-axle

Schnabel car A Schnabel car or Schnabel wagon is a specialized type of railroad freight car. It is designed to carry heavy and oversized loads in such a way that the load makes up part of the car. The load is suspended between the two ends of the cars by lif ...

was brought down through Crawford Notch carrying a 227-ton

transformer A transformer is a passive component that transfers electrical energy from one electrical circuit to another circuit, or multiple circuits. A varying current in any coil of the transformer produces a varying magnetic flux in the transformer' ...

for Public Service of New Hampshire, an electrical utility company. The train was led by locomotives 573, 6505 and 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 6505 and 4266. This shipment completed the first and only revenue freight move for the Conway Scenic to date.

Locomotive Roster

Main units

Inoperable units

Former units

Appearances in film

In the 2005 Christmas television film, ''The 12 Dogs of Christmas'', starring

Jordan-Claire Green Jordan-Claire Green (born October 31, 1991) is an American actress. She is most well known for her role as Michelle in the film '' School of Rock''. Ten years after the film's release, the cast, together with Jack Black, gathered in Austin, Texas ...

, 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.

References

External links

Conway Scenic Railroad official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Conway Scenic Railroad Heritage railroads in New Hampshire Transportation in Carroll County, New Hampshire Transportation in Coös County, New Hampshire Tourist attractions in Carroll County, New Hampshire Tourist attractions in Coös County, New Hampshire North Conway, New Hampshire