Wheel Report Archives

  By Brian Solomon Construction and Repair Projects The week of May 22th saw several important repair projects underway simultaneously. This included the long anticipated repair to the River Road trestle on the Conway Branch. The work required the road below the bridge to be closed with detours in place from May 23 to May 25, while contractors replaced major structural members that had been damaged during 2022 bridge strikes. During this same period, several grade crossings were repaired including the private crossing on the Mountain Division at Sugarwood (near the twin span Saco River bridge in Glen), which allow for the removal a temporary speed restriction on the line. Another set of contractors repaired the station tower roofs on the North Conway Station. Also in late May and early June, two track geometry vehicles inspected the railroad to help…

By Brian Solomon Busy Spring April 2023 proved to be unusually robust in terms of ridership and work on the railroad. We had several very busy weekend on our Conway and Sawyer River excursions. During April and early May we have had Work Extras out on the line most weekdays. During this period, most trains were assigned either GP38 252 or GP9 1751, with GP35 216 held in reserve. Mid-month April, GP38 255 was taken out of service for its mandatory 92-inspection. Our roundhouse crew also continued making improvements and repairs to equipment. Coach/ Snack bar Car 1133 Mount Washington received significant renovation and improvement. This included restoration and re-installation of vintage luggage racks in seating areas, new window sashes and new counter spaces at the snack bar. Materials have been arriving for upcoming track and bridge work. In the…

By Brian Solomon Easter Bunny Express The railroad opened its Spring 2023 Season with the annual Easter Bunny Express. Three trains operated to Conway each day on Saturday April 8 and Sunday, with departures at 11am, 12:30 and 3pm. The Easter Bunny was on hand to greet guests in front of the station and on the trains. Former GP38 255 did the honors hauling a six-car train consisting of; Hattie Evans, CP Reed, Dorthea Mae, Mount Webster, George B. Small, and Mount Bemis. The weather was very fine and we enjoyed robust ridership. Working on the Railroad During weekdays the railroad has been under a system-wide Work Authority to enable our track and operating department to coordinate their activities to open the railroad and make the necessary repairs to operate our Spring excursions. In addition to operation of On-track maintenance…

By Brian Solomon Conclusion of Snow Train 2023 Snow Train 2023 concluded with a stint of daily operations from February 18 through President’s Week until Sunday February 26. One of the highlights of the final weeks of Snow Train was a visit from the television crew of New England Traveler on February 21st. They spent time interviewing railroad staff and filming on board the train, which included recording performances by Eastwood Station, who sang their Snow Train—written about the North Conway to Attitash Winter run. The success of winter operations boosted business by dramatically increasing ridership and revenue during the previously quiet January and February periods, while offering some season employees opportunities to work during the winter. The railroad expects to continue with Snow Train operations in the coming years. More Plow Trains The railroad has continued to keep the…

By Brian Solomon Plow Extras The early weeks of winter were exceptionally mild, but this didn’t paint an accurate picture of the whole 2023 winter season. By late January, several storms had dumped blankets of heavy wet snow in the Mount Washington Valley. Unlike the light fluffy powder that can be easily plowed from the…

By Brian Solomon Spring Season Debut April 2, 2021 dawned beautiful and clear. It was an auspicious start to our Spring season that began with our annual Easter Bunny Express. We scheduled three trains a day for Friday, Saturday and Sunday, boarding at 11 am, 12:30 and 2:30pm, all operating using a foreshortened streamlined train…

By Brian Solomon 2020 Finale In late December, the big news at Conway Scenic was firing steam locomotive 7470 for excursion service. We made the decision to focus steam operations during the week between Christmas and New Years to get the locomotive ready for its 2021 debut on Winter Steam that was held January 2nd….

By Brian Solomon How’s this for something novel? I’m writing this month’s Wheel Report from the fireman’s seat of Boston & Maine F7A 4266! It’s been a busy December at Conway Scenic, and I’ve been trying to accomplish multiple tasks at the same time. In November, we learned with little warning that the Believe in…

Pumpkin Patch Conway Scenic Railroad’s Pumpkin Patch event was very popular. We operated three trains per day over eight days in the last three weekends in October. Free pumpkins were available for every child, donuts, cider and hot drinks were on sale at the Conway freight house. A variety of equipment was on display including…

By Brian Solomon Foliage and Busy Trains Autumn came early to Conway Scenic Railroad. By the third week of September brilliant colored trees had dotted the Mount Washington Valley. In October, the railroad was experiencing robust patronage, with many trains sold out to the limits of Covid-19 capacity constraints. Our Mountaineer ran 7 days a…

By Brian Solomon Busy Summer Conway Scenic Railroad enjoyed a robust summer season despite restrictions relating to the Covid-19 Pandemic. Although we necessarily needed to limit the number of guests traveling and imposed social distancing and other safety measures, we did our best to accommodate as many people as we could. At peak times many…

By Brian Solomon The good news is that through the summer Conway Scenic has been visited by a rising tide of guests. At times our greatest challenged has been how to handle so many people while safely complying with State of New Hampshire’s protocols aimed at mitigating the spread of Covid-19. To meet rising demand,…