Transformer Move, June 2009

History was made on June 20, 2009, when, for the first time since the early 1980s, a freight train travelled through Crawford Notch. Even more notable was the fact that the train also carried passengers in a move that was stunning in terms of its logistics.

A 2-piece electrical transformer, manufactured in China and weighing about 411 tons, shipped into Searsport, ME, then travelled by rail on a Schnabel Car through ME, into VT and Canada, then NH where it was carried by New Hampshire Central to Hazen Junction in Whitefield, NH. There it was met by the Conway Scenic Railroad for the final leg of its journey to Public Service of NH’s Conway Substation. The final rail destination was the rail siding on Depot Street in North Conway.

Here, the two pieces were separately off-loaded onto a 12-axle Goldhofer heavy hauler, operated by Marino Crane out of PA, for a final four-mile, over-the -road journey down Routes 16 & 302 in North Conway, ending at the substation.

The transportation project was undertaken by PSNH and its vendor Marino Crane, while working closely with state and local government agencies, as well as CR England Trucking, the Montreal, Maine & Atlantic, St. Lawrence & Atlantic, NH Central RR, and CSRR. Railfans lined the entire route from Whitefield to North Conway.