Conway Scenic Railroad (CSRX) discussion thread

[Dick H]

Only the new owners of the CSRX and Mr. Jeffrey, owner of the NH Central RR, know if there will be
a "huge storage bill" to keep the Dome at the NHCR HQ for the next three months or so. I believe
that the previous CSRX management had a good relationship with the NHCR and it would appear
that the new ownership CSRX management continued that relationship, such as loaning the 1751
to the NHCR for freight service.

At any rate, the cost of a derailment with major damage to a locomotive and/or the Dome car itself
and even a single major personal injury would quickly surpass any storage bill. Since the State of NH
owns the Mountain Division, I would suggest consulting with the NH Fish & Game Division, who is the
agency responsible for rescue operations, along with the local fire departments along the line, as to
the danger and possible consequences of retrieving the Dome at this time. In fact, the State would
be prudent to prohibit the move until April at least.

[b&m 1566]

To operate through the notch in November and December is one thing but I imagine January is a different animal all together, at that point you've basically had "2 months of winter accumulating in the notch" (yup just made that up, so use your imagination). I'm surprised the state was willing to even let them attempt to get this car, if I'm not mistaken their lease only allows them to Operate April 1st to December 31st. Any operation outside of that, I though had to be granted to them by the state/snowmobile club.

[backroadrails]

Saw a photo of the #252 derailment up at Sawyers River " 4Th Iron ". With all the snow that's been falling up in The Notch I'd be having a pair of engines keeping the line cleared every day by making a complete R/T. The track crew would dig out the grade crossings, utilize propane flame throwers, spread ice melt where needed. They knew that the car was on the way & getting closer, why let snow get ahead of them? A days wages for a couple of train crew members & some supplies like fuel, dry sand, ice melt, flame throwers would surely cost less than a huge storage bill to keep the car safe till spring. Just my opinion.

If they were to clear the line, it would have been better to keep the line plowed every storm, and then use the plow to flange the line, and if need be have MTM bring the machine they have which they have to burn off vegetation in the gauge. I believe the official term is a "weed burner" and I have seen photos of them being used to clear switches.

[John Smythe]

To operate through the notch in November and December is one thing but I imagine January is a different animal all together, at that point you've basically had "2 months of winter accumulating in the notch" (yup just made that up, so use your imagination). I'm surprised the state was willing to even let them attempt to get this car, if I'm not mistaken their lease only allows them to Operate April 1st to December 31st. Any operation outside of that, I though had to be granted to them by the state/snowmobile club.

I've seen more times than not the amount of damage those snowmobile people can cause. For years we had a vacation home on Sebago Lake in Maine, we would leave the dock & float out in the water as they were anchored very secure during the winter. When we returned in the Spring we could see the damage they caused by using our property as a item to jump over, run over, etc. Guess who paid to fix it each Spring. Finally we set up a booby-trap gadget & afterwards we had no more issues from this particular individual. I know for fact that skimobilers & alcohol go hand in hand, the vast amount of beer cans & liquor bottles strewn along these railroad ROW's didn't come from passengers riding on the trains.

[NHV 669]

Both Route 3 in Carroll (Twin) and 302 coming into Bartlett were marked against snowmobile use. The crew was using shovels, picks, and an air hose to clear the crossing flanges, as well as the bucket loader for plow assistance. It's fairly clear they used everything at their disposal, this wasn't a team of rookies.

The last plow through was 12/17, its not like they let the line sit on purpose. There's little you can do, when you don't normally run past Christmas, and you get fast snow, like we've had up here all week. Monday was probably their best and last chance to have a good go at it.

Given whatever Mr./Mrs. Swirk paid for the car, and its travel east, a few months of storage fees will be little more than a drop in the bucket.

[NHV 669]

Made the last minute call to head north after work, Silver Splendor is still in the same spot in Groveton as of 4pm.

[John Smythe]

Just because a sign states this or that doesn't mean squat to some people. I wish more attempts to run a R/T plowing operation were undertaken after the middle of December. I'm glad to hear that attempts were made with crews armed with shovels, picks, front end loader, etc to open the line. It was always a tough haul for MEC crews in the past to keep the Notch Line open.

I do know that CSX takes their operations seriously, perhaps there was a issue with the dome car & that's why it did not move as quickly as some wanted to see it move. I know the local Middleboro, Mass freight crew very well, ride with them on occasional, very professional people to watch in action.

Always a interesting site to watch ignorant skimobilers trying to outrun the late night local CSX freight train after a snow storm & suddenly see the machine become wedged in a switch or bridge guard rails, damaging the steering, then watching the rider(s) trying to free it, then flipping it over sideways down the embankment turning it into a pile of junk. LOL!!

[MEC407]

When it comes to losing or delaying or misplacing anything out of the ordinary, Selkirk Yard has always been a black hole or a Bermuda Triangle or whatever you favorite metaphor is. In the discussions about the dome car I've seen many mentions of Albany. Selkirk is just south of Albany. Is that what the real culprit is? There have been many, many instances in the past in which a New England railroad was receiving a locomotive or passenger car from elsewhere in the country (or sending one of their own locomotives or passenger cars to somewhere else in the country), and as soon as the loco or car hits Selkirk, it's like time stands still and CSX doesn't know how to make heads or tails of it. That's one reason why Maine Eastern usually sent their locos and cars to/from NJ via Amtrak, so they wouldn't end up in the Selkirk black hole. I'm sure it must've been more expensive to do it that way, but who wants their private varnish languishing in a freight yard for weeks or months?

[gokeefe]

I'm surprised they didn't try to find a way to send it via NS. If they did perhaps the freight and switch charges were prohibitive.

[Backshophoss]

You have to figure on the cars plumbing and tanks needed to be drained and setup for winter "storage" mode,
that would include blowing air thru the water piping to drive all the water out, then disconnect the batteries as well.

And how often the CSX local freight wander by Amtrak's shop? or did PAR/PAS get a one shot ok from CSX and Amtrak to pic up the car??

[p42thedowneaster]

Could be as simple as this...
Maybe they waited for a non-stop run to ensure the car would be moved without being parked overnight?

[b&m 1566]

I drove through Crawford Notch today and noticed what appeared to be two freight cars on the Sawyers River siding. I wasn't expecting to see that; why are they there?

[NHV 669]

That's the box and flat car with a former LVRC plow on it, that CSRX moved on 9/18 with 1751. Probably the only place they had in mind for them for now.

[BandA]

Is CSX liable for late delivery? As for storage charges, comp NHCR with some dome tickets for an employee outing on a scheduled train in July or Aug & call it even. Presumably storage at NHCR's HQ is secure?

[NHV 669]

Presumably storage at NHCR's HQ is secure?

If stored inside the shop, yes. I'm not sure the dimensions of the car or building, but the Geep was parked inside it when I drove by Thursday night. It didn't look like they had ventured south of HQ to the interchange with SLR for some time, which itself was empty, and their yard/transload/repair queue was rather dead for this time of year.

They could always park it south a ways, on the stub track next to Rymes' tanks. It's a bit obscured from Route 3 headed up the hill towards Stratford Village.