NORTH CONWAY, N.H. — The Conway Scenic Railroad will celebrate precisely 50 years of operation with a series of trips on Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 3-4.
It was on Saturday, Aug. 3, 1974 that former Canadian National 0-6-0 No. 7470 made its first official test run between North Conway and Conway, and Sunday, Aug. 4, that the first tickets were sold for public train rides. To celebrate this milestone, the railroad’s 50th Anniversary Valley Train will make five diesel-hauled round trips to Conway, augmented by additional round trips using Budd RDC Millie. There are also plans for a variety of activities at North Conway and Conway.
Visitors can purchase tickets to depart from either Conway or North Conway; those tickets will be good for the entire day and will allow the holder to take part in all activities at either location. In addition to the Conway trips, short trips to Intervale and back are planned on the Budd car, built for the New Haven but similar to the RDCs assigned to the Conway Branch by the Boston & Maine from the mid-1950s until the end of passenger service in December 1961. These trips will feature low-cost “throwback” fares.
Official recognition of the 50th anniversary will begin with the Valley train at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday. Activities planned in Conway include the barrel train ride for young children; the “you’re the engineer” model railroad; face-painting; railroad safety displays; and historic photos of the railroad.
Activities in North Conway will include historic displays of Conway Scenic and the history of the iconic North Conway Boston & Maine Railroad Station, 150 years old this year. There will also be opportunities to tour a diesel locomotive cab and a caboose, and to view a video onboard the Budd Vista Dome Leslie Ann telling the early Conway Scenic Railroad story. Also, the Mt. Washington Valley Model Railroad Club layout in the North Conway freight house will be open to visitors, and preserved former Maine Central 2-8-0 No. 501 will be on display.
The 470 Club will demonstrate its track car, pump car, and velocipede, and will be involved with operation of a scheduled photo freight making a run to Conway before the first passenger excursions. This train may also operate toward Bartlett on both Saturday and Sunday; its vintage motive power may include former Maine Central GP7 573 and other classic diesels. VIP Tours may offer a bus service to provide photographer transportation of the photo freight to visitors with a valid North Conway-Conway ticket.
Visit the Conway Scenic Railroad website for more information.
