Conway Scenic Railroad (CSRX) discussion thread

[p42thedowneaster]

Anyone here in the 470 Club? Seems like the club is well-liked by the ownership and management. Maybe this would be a good way to get more access to the railroad? They don't want just anyone wandering around, but maybe you could if you're in the circle?

Also, perhaps if they had adequate membership on hand, qualified members could even give yard and roundhouse tours to the ride patrons to help raise money through donations for their projects.

[Jonathan]

That's my point, we see the issues with this railroad (some people are a little more qualified than myself when it comes to this, I don't see a problem at all, but I'm just a guy who Railfans Conway Scenic a couple times per year) the question now becomes, how can it be fixed?

[NHV 669]

By literally following at least a majority of the suggestions two posts above yours...

Of course you won't notice anything, if you're only there to chase trains a few times a year...

[CPF66]

Anyone here in the 470 Club? Seems like the club is well-liked by the ownership and management. Maybe this would be a good way to get more access to the railroad? They don't want just anyone wandering around, but maybe you could if you're in the circle?

Also, perhaps if they had adequate membership on hand, qualified members could even give yard and roundhouse tours to the ride patrons to help raise money through donations for their projects.

The club since Conways inception has always been tied to the railroad. The club members do a lot of unpaid labor for Conway Scenic in return for storing their equipment.

[CSRR573]

That's my point, we see the issues with this railroad (some people are a little more qualified than myself when it comes to this, I don't see a problem at all, but I'm just a guy who Railfans Conway Scenic a couple times per year) the question now becomes, how can it be fixed?

As some who has ridden every inch of the RR except for the 2820 trip a few yards south of Conway and have been riding those rails since 1991, the whole place is a mess. Trust me, If Il lived closer, Id be there as much as possible. I work for Amtrak in Boston as machinist and I'm an ASE master technician a few times over and would love to volunteer as much of my time I could to the CSRR. Problem is it's a 2.5 plus hour trip up there from the south shore. When Swirk took over he did an interview saying how as a little kid he always wanted to own the RR and i totally felt the same way. The CSRR was the whole reason I got into trains and the RR business, so I sympathized with what he had to say and my childhood dream was to work for the RR. However, at this point, I think he should sell his shares and sell to someone from the valley and understands the value the RR brings to N.Conway(But thats another issue with the corporate world overtaking the town)

And using Covid as an excuse, its seems like the VRR is doing just fine and better since the pandemic, so I think that as an excuse is out the window.

if i ever won powerball, the first thing id do is buy the RR

P.S I was born in North Conway

[ericofmaine]

The club since Conways inception has always been tied to the railroad. The club members do a lot of unpaid labor for Conway Scenic in return for storing their equipment.

Please fact check before you post something like this. Yes, we have been tied closely to Conway Scenic since their inception. A lot of the employees up there are also club members. That said, work done on our equipment is done by our volunteer club members. Anything done for the railroad is done as railroad employees and requires them to clock in and out. There are, amongst other things, liability, workman's comp and laws in the State of New Hampshire that would never allow volunteers to work for them. Also, as an aside, we have leases in place for every piece of equipment up there, there is no "Quid Pro Quo."

[Who]

However, at this point, I think he should sell his shares and sell to someone from the valley and understands the value the RR brings to N.Conway(But thats another issue with the corporate world overtaking the town)

I could see a cooperate company being the next owners of the Conway Scenic, like Patriot Rail, now that they've expanded with the purchase of the Hobo and Winn. I think they would be very interested in it the Conway Scenic.

[MEC407]

Swirk isn't going to sell, though. Why would he? Owning a railroad was his lifelong dream, and presumably he thinks he's doing a good job of it.

[NHV 669]

And as long as it turns a profit, he'll continue to run it. I'm interested to see how this cruise excursion idea works out, because the whole thing relies on timeliness.

[MEC407]

I was thinking the same thing.

[CPF66]

Please fact check before you post something like this. Yes, we have been tied closely to Conway Scenic since their inception. A lot of the employees up there are also club members. That said, work done on our equipment is done by our volunteer club members. Anything done for the railroad is done as railroad employees and requires them to clock in and out. There are, amongst other things, liability, workman's comp and laws in the State of New Hampshire that would never allow volunteers to work for them. Also, as an aside, we have leases in place for every piece of equipment up there, there is no "Quid Pro Quo."

My apologies, I thought thats what was published in the trains article a few years ago.

[Who]

Swirk isn't going to sell, though. Why would he? Owning a railroad was his lifelong dream, and presumably he thinks he's doing a good job of it.

I'm not implying the railroad is going to be sold anytime soon, just stating my opinion that the likely hood of this railroad being next owned by a corporate conglomerate, like Patriot, is very high.

[Who]

I took a looked at their website today hoping to see a schedule for the cruise ships passengers but as I expected, nothing is showing; I figured those departures would only be available to the cruise ships. So, does anyone know what days those trains are scheduled to run? The regular Mountaineer is still the typical Tue, Thu, Saturday. I also noticed that there are no more trips to Fabyan Station in the fall, that's a big surprise to me, did anyone else expect that to be cut from the schedule?