Conway Scenic Railroad (CSRX) discussion thread

[ericofmaine]

I just got to visit the CSRR for the first time in about five years and I have a few questions:

1. Seems like got a little static display/paint happy. All the freight and especially 501 seem to have just gotten brand new coats of paint. Does CSRR do all that on site? Is this a fairly new thing?

The 470 Club has been actively trying to keep our equipment looking good up there. The 501 was painted 2 years ago and we also recently painted our "State of Maine" BAR car and GATX tank car. We're waiting on staff time and space to do the last BAR reefer.

4. I saw 4266, where's 4268?

4268 is currently in the round house. The engine has been cleaned and painted and will be a display during the Thomas event. During testing, we found that the main generator is bad and we're currently are looking for a replacement.

Eric

[CSRR573]

oh man that sucks to hear. think she'll still be ready for railfans weekend?

[theseaandalifesaver]

Also since when is most of the yard fenced off? I remember being able to walk all the way around to the west side of the engine house.

[MEC407]

Is not the Mountain Branch the name PAR uses for the remaining stub of the Mountain Division that is still in service in Maine?

Yes.

[Dick H]

Two items from the June "Notch Eight" Newsletter of the North Conway Model Railroad Club.

OPM Palmieri noted there was no June 2018 Wheel Report.

The NC freight house has a new deck. The Conway Scenic replaced all the old worn and
rotten deck. The old planking may be over 80 years old, way back in the B&M Days.

[b&m 1566]

With all the dead storage now removed from the freight siding, I wonder if we will see track two restored back to its full length? I'm not sure how it would all work, but it was rumored a year or two ago, that it was being considered as a "future project" in an effort to provide better flow of switching and storage, more so in the autumn when the notch train and its 9 cars(dare I say a 10 in the foreseeable future?) gets in the way of everything. Naturally it will require the relocation of the water spout and possibly the wigwag signal.

[theseaandalifesaver]

How old is the water spout? When was it installed? I can't imagine it's always been there.

[John Smythe]

I hope members were able to utilize the links I provided a few pages back regarding reports & findings, etc written up by NH State DOT officials about revitalizing The Conway Branch & The MEC Mtn. Division from State of Maine line to N. Conway via Redstone. As I read into their reports & conclusions The State of NH would perhaps see the most bang for their buck if the Conway Branch between Conway South to Ossippee were put back into service. It involves some 25 or so miles of ROW & would better serve people from Boston who would like to go do their thing up in N. Conway without all the traffic woes on Rt 95 & 16 / 302.


I am providing a means for interested parties to write or call The NH State DOT Rail & Transit Division to show support. Contact Michelle " Shelley " Winters at 603-271-2468 or write to her at NH DOT Room G25 JOM Building 7 Hazen Drive Concord, NH 03302 Their main phone number is 603-271-3734.


I think since The State of Maine is dragging it's feet to do anything West of S. Windham, perhaps restoring the rails South of Conway Yard makes more sense. The shortest route between Boston to N. Conway & all the area has to offer tourists, day trippers & skiers is this route. Plus there is also freight potential that would alleviate an awful lot of trucks on the roads. NH state officials went through a lot of work preparing those very detailed reports. Like one official wrote all the money that was being thrown at RT 16 rebuilding and it's just as crowded as it was 20 years ago. some of that $$ should have gone towards fixing up the rails. Widening Rt 16 to 10 lanes wide will do little to speed up traffic flow when it reaches the usual bottlenecks, and there are plenty.

[b&m 1566]

How old is the water spout? When was it installed? I can't imagine it's always been there.

The Conway Scenic cut track 2 and put in the switch that exist today. In those days the trains were no more than 4 cars long and didn't need to go all the way up to the north end of the yard just to run the engine around. I can only assume the water spout was put in shortly after. When the trains grew to 5, 6 cars they built a crossover from track 2 to the roundhouse lead (or whatever they call it), this gave them the extra length for the cars while keeping the parking lot entrance open. If the do decide to restore track two, I would imagine they would keep the switch that is there now.

[flyingfox10]

Water spout was installed in the late 70's early 80's.

The yard is currently fenced/roped off for Thomas. Once Thomas is over, things will go back to normal. The permanent cable around the turntable has stopped at the 501 for at least the last 12 years.

[Jonathan]

What's the probability of Shuttles being run on the Conway branch this winter?

[NHV 669]

John, those reports are directly tied to the RFP I mentioned several times a few pages back. All several years old, but with still somewhat valid info. They figured how much rehab would cost for both lines in a multi-phase effort, starting with operating at a bare minimum class I, and working up to a full class II. They then put out the Request For Proposal, soliciting operators to possibly run through freight on either the entirety of the Mt. Division, or the entirety of the Conway Branch to current end-of-track down by the pit. Not a single carrier, including CSRX or NHN, put in a bid, and not much noise has been made since. If freight is going to move on either line, a serious customer is going to have to petition the state, and the current/nearest operator, and likely pony up some serious $$$ for track repair. More than likely it will take several serious customers, with serious carload potential. A couple of guys saying "I'd like to use rail", getting a few cars a week, or a handful a month just isn't going to cut it.

As for the Attitash flag stop being added, that doesn't make them anything close to the MBTA. It is simply a wise business move to add an unofficial stop where one is certainly necessitated on a more-seasonal basis. Stopping a few extra times a day, a handful of times a week, for a few months out of the year, does not make a tourist road a commuter one.

[b&m 1566]

What's the probability of Shuttles being run on the Conway branch this winter?

0%.
Why do you think they should run shuttle trains to/from North Conway and Conway?

[Backshophoss]

Believe the last chance for a replacement Main Generator has now headed west to Provo Ut and to the Herber Valley RR.
PAR might have something buried in the junk piles at Waterville(a long shot,at best ) for $$$$.
They were the last active GP-9's on PAR in Historical paint along with a parts unit in grey.
Lord knows how much a reconditioned generator will cost at 1 of the contract rebuild shops......

[Dick H]

Larry's Truck and Electric (LTEX) probably has some kicking around.
However, the price won't be cheap. When the CSRX made the deal
for the Finger Lakes 1751, it was sent to the Derby shops in ME for
the replacement of the main generator. Where the generator came
from, I have no idea, The Grafton and Upton has several EMD locos
in the dead line. Whether any of them have the correct generator
for the 1757/4268, that could be a possibility, if the G&U plans to
part out some of the units.