All of these changes to Conway Scenic are just the tip of the iceberg. I visited last weekend while up there with my family. I have been going to the railroad since before I even have memories. My best memories of the place are walking the yard on those long summer nights with my grandfather who would teach me all things railroad as we walked. Those are some of the best childhood memories I have. I loved the place so much that I even worked there for a time.
While up there last weekend, the first thing that stuck out to me were all of the fence posts with the yellow chains attached to them surrounding the station, surrounding the yard and surrounding the platform. All of them with "Platform Access Restricted" or "Restricted Area STAY OUT!". 7470 was under steam on the turntable so I decided to go take a look. The second I stepped onto the grass from the parking lot an employee told me that I had to leave the area. I asked if it was the new management and he said yes, "everything is changing" were his exact words. I was angry to say the least.
And I wasn't the only one. I watched an elderly couple get kicked off of the grass while eating icecream. People can say that covid is the reason for this but it's really not. Go check out other tourist railroad operations, you can even watch the Strasburg Railroad live on Youtube. People walking the platforms and the property. Employees talking to patrons. None of that now at Conway Scenic.
There's no Chocorua on the Valley trains anymore because they can't find anyone to do the job. And again, its not due to covid. Go over to glassdoor.com and check out worker reviews from Conway Scenic. The Attitash crew all left in a hurry and not in a good way. The ball signal fell to the ground a couple years back and is still no where to be found. Trains don't ever run on time. Emails are not responded to, employees aren't willing to talk to you and the property is chained off like a construction site.
This isn't the Conway Scenic any of us grew up with. Swirk came in strong and seemed promising but slowly, every single employee that worked there including myself during the Russ and Paul years either quit or was fired. That should speak volumes of this current ownership. You can go search public records online and check out the equity loans Swirk has been pulling against the railroad to buy new dome cars and rent track equipment. Meanwhile you have a steam locomotive with freight car trucks, the suspension of dining services on the Valley trains, no more open air cars, huge piles of garbage piling up in North Yard, zero employee retention and ownership who refuses to listen.
Don't just take my word for it. Go to their Facebook page. All of their posts have the ability for commenting turned off. When there are comments posted, marketing goes through and deletes the ones they don't like. Also, you no longer have the ability to leave reviews on their Facebook page. I have photos of the burnt up cab on 7470, the new dome car crashed into the roundhouse (no one made sure the clearances were enough before backing it into a historic building and busting up the roof), a video of crews rerailing a notch train car at the golf course switch using a chain and a backhoe where the chain breaks nearly causing the car to crash into the worker... its a joke. It's not the railroad I grew up with, not the railroad I worked for. It's sad and heartbreaking. You're no longer welcome.
And to top it all off...7470 will be fired up this weekend for fathers day for display only. I'm sure Swirk will go up into the cab and toot the whistle to his hearts content while people watch from the parking lot, not allowed in the yard, standing behind yellow chains. Welcome to the new Conway Scenic where "Everything is changing."