The Silver Lake Railroad is a
heritage railway
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 ...
located in
Madison Madison may refer to:
People
* Madison (name), a given name and a surname
* James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States
Place names
* Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital of Wisconsin and the largest city known by this ...
,
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a U.S. state, 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 t ...
,
USA
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
.
History
Founded and owned by
Neil Underwood,
Silver Lake Railroad opened on July 7, 2007, operating from Madison Station (aka
Silver Lake Depot) in the town of Madison. This station was a stop for the
Boston and Maine Railroad
The Boston and Maine Railroad was a U.S. Class I railroad in northern New England. Originally chartered in 1835, it became part of what was the Pan Am Railways network in 1983 (most of which was purchased by CSX in 2022).
At the end of 1970, B ...
from 1872 until passenger service ended on the line in 1961. The station has been restored over the period from 2002–2007, and much of its original features are intact. The original order boards and
stationmaster office were undisturbed, as well as the interior of the station (now housing the Silver Lake post office), which displays its original varnished woodwork. As of 2017, the railroad has ended it excursions and no longer does operations as they ran their last train that same year.
Equipment
Silver Lake Railroad's rolling and display stock currently at the station:
* 1917
H. K. Porter, Inc 0-4-0
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents one of the simplest possible types, that with two axles and four coupled wheels, all of which are driven. The wheels on the earliest four-coupled locomotives were ...
steam engine
*
Plymouth 24-ton locomotive
*
Vulcan 10-ton locomotive
* 30 inch
gauge
Gauge ( or ) may refer to:
Measurement
* Gauge (instrument), any of a variety of measuring instruments
* Gauge (firearms)
* Wire gauge, a measure of the size of a wire
** American wire gauge, a common measure of nonferrous wire diameter, es ...
Plymouth locomotive
* Midsize Plymouth locomotive
* Fairmont A8
Gang Car
* Three Fairmont A6 gang cars (used for power cars)
* Fairmont S2 railcar
* Fairmont railcar converted to small trolley
* Three open passenger cars
* Boston and Maine and
Union Pacific
The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...
baggage carts
* a 1941 Sterling
Diner
A diner is a small, inexpensive restaurant found across the United States, as well as in Canada and parts of Western Europe. Diners offer a wide range of foods, mostly American cuisine, a casual atmosphere, and, characteristically, a com ...
Route
The railroad operates on the historic Conway Branch (abandoned in October 1972), traveling northward past a chain of ponds in
Madison, New Hampshire
Madison is a town in Carroll County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 2,565 at the 2020 census. Madison includes the village of Silver Lake and the village district of Eidelweiss.
History
The area was one of the first to have ...
to a crossing south of
Conway. Rides are approximately 40 minutes, aboard two open-air passenger cars powered by a Fairmont A6 railcar. The line passes a series of lily ponds and beaver ponds which have beaver lodges and dams in them. Scenery includes the Mt. Washington Valley and views of the
White Mountains. Wildlife that can be seen along the line include but are not limited to moose, bears, deer, and birds.
Silver Lake Railroad's most previous run was in September of 2017. As of October of 2021, no plans exist to have it return.
See also
*
Miniature Train at Silver Lake (Ohio)
References
*Tom Eastman, "Silver Lake's Little Railroad That Can", ''
The Conway Daily Sun
''The Conway Daily Sun'' is a five-day (Tuesday through Saturday) free daily newspaper published in North Conway, New Hampshire, United States, covering the Mount Washington Valley. It has been published since 1989 by Country News Club, and was t ...
'', August 24, 2007
External links
Silver Lake Railroad- official site
Heritage railroads in New Hampshire
Tourist attractions in Carroll County, New Hampshire
Transportation in Carroll County, New Hampshire
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