A ticket to ride...
41 Years!
Most of the dot.com and many tech companies didn't last very long, certainly not four decades, so the Conway Scenic Railroad must be doing something right to be around after 41 years.
North Conway, New Hampshire, is well-known for tax free outlet shopping, but for me, the main attraction has always been the trains.
Okay! I'll admit to doing some shopping... after all, who doesn't like a bargain at stores you cannot and will not find north of the border. This said, I still like to ride the trains while the others go shopping at Settler's Green and other places.
Okay! I'll admit to doing some shopping... after all, who doesn't like a bargain at stores you cannot and will not find north of the border. This said, I still like to ride the trains while the others go shopping at Settler's Green and other places.
Very little seems to change from year to year but on a comfortable, sunny afternoon I still like to spend a few hours wandering around the grounds... which is okay but just keep off the tracks... and record a few images.
As the following two scenes of CSRR252 resplendent in Maine Central colours show, all is very quiet at the station depot and in the yard between train times.
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| The 11:30 a.m. departure having returned from Bartlett; now accepting passengers and preparing to become the 1:30 p.m. departure to Conway. |
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| A look at the 2015 schedule and train times. |
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| At 1:32 p.m. and with bell ringing, 573 and passenger cars departs southward for Conway, NH. |
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| The run-around as seen from on board - a familiar scene shortly after the train arrives in Bartlett. The markers (lantern displaying the green light) have already been hung in preparation for the return to North Conway. |
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| A night train seconds away from departure at Bartlett a few Septembers earlier. |
Next: the Conway Scenic Railroad's Notch Trains visit here in summer and fall, but for most of the year the railway north of Bartlett, NH, remain dormant.
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| Ben and Catherine in front of the former Maine Central Railroad station at Crawford Notch. |
A word to those who may take railroading a little too seriously: don't be so quick to dismiss Thomas that Tank Engine as kid's stuff.
Most North Americans under 50 have never set foot on a passenger train. Most
Canadians under 40 don't know that Canada's two main railways once had
their own separate, competing passenger train services. Unless one lives in close proximity to a mainline or branch line, railways today for the most part, are largely invisible and unknown.
Thomas & Friends have introduced several generations of little people to the world of railroads, a world those young people would probably never see or learn about.
The Oddblock Station Agent
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