Conway Scenic 7470 status report?

Hello everyone,

Looking for info, on 7470 progress. Is she done, running, or any status on her?

Second, Friends and I plan on taking a trip up to ride the notch train. Sometime in the Sept/Oct time frame. When's the best time?

Regards,

Gary

Heard that it was supposed to go on its maidien voyage this past weekend, but there was still some work on the lapping of the throttle. It is rumored to be running a shakedown run this coming weekend, God willing.

This is the reply to a email sent the Conway Scenic RR today

We are trying to get it out this month but there is no guarantee. Please check back next week for more info

superwarp1 wrote:Hello everyone,

Looking for info, on 7470 progress. Is she done, running, or any status on her?

Second, Friends and I plan on taking a trip up to ride the notch train. Sometime in the Sept/Oct time frame. When's the best time?

Regards,

Gary

The best time to ride the notch train for the fall foliage would be around the 1st and 2nd week of October. Me and my girlfriend rode the notch train the last weekend in September last year and all we saw was green, green, and green trees. The foliage was just starting to turn near Fabians but in the notch and everywhere else there was nothing.

I sent a second email asking where she will run and this is the response I received.

She will be used on the Valley Train to Conway.

Question is why not use her for the Bartlet run?

Thanks BM,

That's what I plan on doing.

I was told by the CSRR crew on Saturday that #7470 will be in action next weekend (August 12/13), for the first time in 4 years.

-Jay H.

Since the 7470 is really only a yard shifter, not a road engine, she isn't exactly cut out for the hard climb up Crawford Notch. As with all shifters, the lack of pilot and trailing trucks allows her to "yaw", or "hunt" back and forth...not good for the track. They plan on keeping her confined to the Valley trains for the time being. She does ok to Conway and back because it's an easy run with no heavy grades to speak of. Perhaps someday, if we all live long enough, the 470 RR Club will get a serious plan together to restore the MEC 501, which would make a far better engine for climbing the Notch.

What about the 3.2 pecent grade going into the station from Conway. Wouldn't that be a diffucult grade to climb with 5 or 6 coaches?

CSRR573 wrote:What about the 3.2 pecent grade going into the station from Conway. Wouldn't that be a diffucult grade to climb with 5 or 6 coaches?

It's done it before - quite the show.

-Justin

The short steep climb into North Conway yard isn't enough to tax the 0-6-0, but the miles of continuous climbing and twisting up through the Notch is a different story. She was never built for that sort of thing on a continuing basis.

Don't they have a North Conway to Bartlet run? Don't know the grade but is that possible a ok run

An engine like 7470 could probably make the Crawford Notch grade given
the size of the train would likely be three or four cars. It has low drivers
and all of the engine weight is on those drivers so it has tractive effort.
As for any kind of speed, that would be a problem and also water would
probably be a problem for that particular engine.
Just because the engine might be able to handle a run to Crawford Notch,
this does not make it practical for a number of reasons. It costs more to
operate this engine than the diesels that they also have available for this
same run.
Water could be a problem and in addition, if something goes "haywire" on
a trip up the mountain to Crawford Notch, it is much farther back to North
Conway.
A trip to Conway or Bartlett would be far more practical for an engine like
this one.
Noel Weaver

I would guess that the biggest reason they want to keep her close to home is in case she breaks down. The working railroads used to do that with problematic models, or engines from minority builders (often the same thing!) they'd try to keep them on local runs so that they were never far from the home shops and could receive frequent and regular servicing every night. A steam engine has a lot more parts to break down than a diesel. I think most people are happy to get their CSRR steam-fix on the Valley Train.

Alan

Well after speaking with the crews at the CSRR many times they have told me a number of times that the lack of water at Crawford's and Fabians is the number one reason the 7470 doesn't go there. Yes there are many others but they have all said that is the number one reason. CSRR has run the 7470 to Fabians a few times but the 573 was assisting it and I believe there was a water truck at Fabians waiting to fill the engine.