Silver Lake Railroad

capecoddah1 wrote:...I know you don't have a steam engine...

Actually they do have a steam engine, it doesn't run, but it's nice to look at. I believe it's a small Porter 0-4-0 switching engine.

capecoddah1 wrote:I checked out your link to the map. I'm a bit confused by all the ways that 113 runs all over the place. It looks like I can access route 113 from two different places off of 16 North. Which is better? Is this Coleman Gravel place on route 16? Which side of 16 as I drive North towards Conway? How far on route 113 do I drive to get there? These maps are very confusing. I don't live up that way and I don't know the roads and shortcuts. Thanks.

well bud, i'm not sure how I can help you more than a map.. here is what to do.. I live In ma., and my lake house is 10 mins off the SLRR road... We take a right onto rte 41 just past Whittier... In this small town called whittier (northbound) you will see the junction of rte 25 and rte 16.. 25 enters from the left, and there is a McDonalds on your direct right.. about 100 feet up the road, there is the junction of rte 41 and 16.. Take a right there.. follow that to the end, and then take another right onto rte 113.. The SLRR will be on your left hand side.. cant miss it!.. haha.. If you use my directions, in conjunction with the map, you will be able to find the place pretty easily... Maybe on your way up you could take this rte; as a way to just find the place... 113 will take you right back onto rte 16 in Conway, and It is a shortcut into conway also, but it is just a bit harder to understand What day / time will you be comming up?

capecoddah1 wrote:I checked out your link to the map. I'm a bit confused by all the ways that 113 runs all over the place. It looks like I can access route 113 from two different places off of 16 North. Which is better? Is this Coleman Gravel place on route 16? Which side of 16 as I drive North towards Conway? How far on route 113 do I drive to get there? These maps are very confusing. I don't live up that way and I don't know the roads and shortcuts. Thanks.

If you are heading north on Rte 16 pay attention to the "Yankee Smokehouse" (aka The Piggy Place) which will be on your left at the junction of 25 and 16. The first right after that is rte 41. Take 41 all the way to the end, then take a right onto 113. Madison Station (aka Silver Lake Depot) will be on your left shortly after turning onto 113.

capecoddah1 wrote:I checked out your link to the map. I'm a bit confused by all the ways that 113 runs all over the place. It looks like I can access route 113 from two different places off of 16 North. Which is better? Is this Coleman Gravel place on route 16? Which side of 16 as I drive North towards Conway? How far on route 113 do I drive to get there? These maps are very confusing. I don't live up that way and I don't know the roads and shortcuts. Thanks.

Coming up from the south on Route 16, just after West Ossipee (where the Yankee Smokehouse and the McDonalds are) you're gonna want to take a right onto Route 41. Take that all the way to the end where it ends in a T intersection with 113, take a right, as soon as you see the lake on your right, turn left, the railroad is in the old Silver Lake passenger depot (the front of the depot is a post office, seems fitting).

You could also take 113 east from Chocorua, or if you're coming south from Conway (or North Conway), take a left onto 113 and go by the sand and gravel pit, as long as you stay on 113, you'll still come to it. The Portsmouth switcher on the track next to the crossing is a dead giveaway.

If you take Route 41 from the south, you'll cross the tracks where they're still unused, if you look down the tracks to the right, you'll see a white wooden building, that's the Whittier passenger depot. This road is very scenic, giving good views of both the right of way and Silver Lake. About half a mile south of the SLRR station, the tracks cross the road.

If you take 113 from the north, while you're heading down, you'll see a sign for the Madison Boulder on the right, if you go down that road, you'll see the end of the line, this gives you a good idea as to just how long of a ride you're about to take. Also, if you have time, continue down Boulder road to see the massive Madison Boulder, it's not railroad related, but it is still pretty impressive.

As I said, the railroad is located at the former Silver Lake (Madison) passenger station, the post office occupies the front of the station. You might be able to look up the post office in a GPS unit, or just look up Madison Center which is very close to the station. If you can put coordinates directly into your GPS, they are: 43° 53′ 17″ N, 71° 10′ 31″ W

jez now those are directions.. hahahaha.. just one thing though, this operation is weather permitting, so if it is raining, no train rides, but you can still come and see our steam engine, and museum pieces.

Just punch in 1350 Village Rd, Madison. That will bring you to just down the street.

slrr1 wrote:maybe I am far too young to understand.. ehemm.. but in what way did you help me?.. At best in my mind, I learned a couple RR terms.

Do you want me to point out every contradiction that you make?

slrr1 wrote:A speeder is like a small track car, on our train we run an A-6.. you will have to look at pictures though.. Hard to explain.. 220 hp..... http://naphotos.nerail.org/show/?order= ... 20Railroad

But here's a post by slrr1 on Wed Jul 22, 2009 12:27 am

slrr1 wrote:And not only that, but there aren't any speeders on the property.

So far all you've done is offer contradicting statements over and over that have done little except confuse the situation. It sounds like you have a great thing going on there, but don't let your enthusiasm overtake your common sense.

I'll share what I know and/or heard of this railroad and equipment. After Guilford left years ago the State of NH aquired the ROW. I think it took some time. Somehow a short section of rail ended up in private ownership. I've heard it's about 400 feet or so and was an inside legal deal at Guilford. Ownership changed and the latest owner of this section also owns the Silver Lake Station. I heard that an agreement was made that if the State reactivated the line that the owner would give up ownership of the short section. Time will tell. The State being a good neighbor agreed to allow the newly formed SLRR to use the section of rail from Silver Lake Station to Boulder Road. They may have permission to run more but I had not heard that so I'll stick to what I know. The "Power" that is used day to day is a Fairmont A-6 speeder. It has new sheet metal to make it look like something else but it is a speeder. It had weight added to it for traction reasons. The horsepower could be as much as 220Hp but most A-6's used Ford 300 6 cyl which had special a cam to make it idle great with good low end torque. Somewhere in the 80 to 90 HP range. I've heard that if they go bigger than speeder sized MOW equipment they will run into insurance problems. I also understand that going to larger equipment as well as going across grade level crossing would require them to upgade to knucle couplings. I do not know the whys and whatfores I'm just sharing what I've heard. That's the meat. There are several small engines on static display. I think at least one is standard gauge. Fun place with laid back folks...A very hard thing to pull off these days. More power to them.

Otto Vondrak wrote:

slrr1 wrote:maybe I am far too young to understand.. ehemm.. but in what way did you help me?.. At best in my mind, I learned a couple RR terms.

Do you want me to point out every contradiction that you make?

slrr1 wrote:A speeder is like a small track car, on our train we run an A-6.. you will have to look at pictures though.. Hard to explain.. 220 hp..... http://naphotos.nerail.org/show/?order= ... 20Railroad

But here's a post by slrr1 on Wed Jul 22, 2009 12:27 am

slrr1 wrote:And not only that, but there aren't any speeders on the property.

So far all you've done is offer contradicting statements over and over that have done little except confuse the situation. It sounds like you have a great thing going on there, but don't let your enthusiasm overtake your common sense.

He may not have wanted to say that they have speeders because they don't have speeders in the traditional sense. There is one speeder on the property (two if you count the A-8 which is more of a small railcar), it's a large Fairmont A-6, but it is used as a locomotive in that it is always connected to two passenger cars and as far as I'm aware, passengers are not allowed in the cab. Even though their A-6 was built to be a speeder, as far as they're concerned, it's a locomotive because that is it's sole purpose on their line, so it would be misleading to advertise this operation as a "speeder ride" since it is in fact a form of train ride.

Below is an image posted to the NERAIL photo archive which should show what I mean.

Photo credit Buddy Winiarz

RedLantern wrote:He may not have wanted to say that they have speeders because they don't have speeders in the traditional sense... Even though their A-6 was built to be a speeder, as far as they're concerned, it's a locomotive because that is it's sole purpose on their line, so it would be misleading to advertise this operation as a "speeder ride" since it is in fact a form of train ride.

Fair enough. They are not unmodified speeders in the traditional sense.

Getting back to the HP, 220 is the engine as stated previously, we don't use all the horse in our "locomotive".. When carrying heavy loads, we would loose traction before we use all of the horse, part of having a lightweight hauler... and why that particular engine was installed in the A-6.

The A6 that SLRR does not have the standard Ford 300 straight six in it. It was replaced 2 years ago last I talked to Bruce with a new engine, at a damn good price of $1800! I want one for the A5!

Speeders on property:
Fairmont A6 "the loco"
Fairmont A8
Fairmont A3
Fairmont MT14
Fairmont M19
Woodings CBL
Homebuilt "trolley" with a what looks like a hydrostatic drive on what looks like an A3 frame


The ROW that GRS sold is 750feet. According to NHDOT there is no agreement that that 750 would go back to them. In the 2001 Conway Branch Study it is brought up that they would need to purchase the 750' ROW, or seek an agreement with the landowner to operate over it.

Bruce took the A-4 , and the other small speeder off the property, back to his garage... So the 2 yellow speeders-that were in the corner rusting away were taken away, and the orange/yellow speeder was put behind the trolley..

slrr1 wrote:Bruce took the A-4 , and the other small speeder off the property, back to his garage... So the 2 yellow speeders-that were in the corner rusting away were taken away, and the orange/yellow speeder was put behind the trolley..

A4? I'm pretty sure it was an A3 as it had the wheel base a few inches longer than a MT14.

Im not sure.. I was talking to the Neil sat, and we thought it was AN a-4, so I am not sure..... I believe it is an a-4.. I will ask bruce next time I tt him..

And what you think the M19 is actually a S-2

Bruce is also working on a third A-6.. Hopefully it'll be finished by next year