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  • Conway Scenic Railroad (CSRX) discussion thread

  • Pertaining to all railroading subjects, past and present, in New England
Pertaining to all railroading subjects, past and present, in New England

Moderators: MEC407, NHN503

 #1552086  by MEC407
 
Screenshot 2020-09-09 at 12.36.31.png
Screenshot 2020-09-09 at 12.36.31.png (102.02 KiB) Viewed 2294 times
 #1552098  by b&m 1566
 
With 252 down, this puts 4266 into a standby role, with 1751 serving as the main back up. If 573 or 216 goes down or if 1751 is needed to assist 216 on a wet autumn day in the notch, that leaves just 4266 as the sole back up engine. If they lose 216, they have no back up, since I'm not sure 1751 could handle a 6+ car notch train on its own, so does this now make 4268's restoration a priority to finish or do they temporarily lease another engine, till 252 is up and running again? How close is 4268's completion?
 #1552111  by MEC407
 
b&m 1566 wrote: Wed Sep 09, 2020 3:18 pm . . .or do they temporarily lease another engine, till 252 is up and running again?
PAR 1 and PAR 2 are usually available... :-D
 #1552240  by backroadrails
 
highrail wrote:Yesterday, when in the area, I noticed the 252 behind the roundhouse and wondered what the conditions was. In terms of adding it to the "collection," my observation is that they do not have a great deal of extra space. The yard is pretty well full as it is. (There is a wrapped coach stuffed behind the 252) Given the need to have operating equipment to generate revenue in order to survive, I would not be surprised to see some hard decisions made on thinning the non-operative equipment. The expansion of track space at the North Conway yard seems impractical. There was some earlier discussion about an expanded use at the Conway site...I wonder if that might include some additional holding tracks. This has been a tough year for everyone, I am thrilled that they are able to run at all this year.

Steve
I forgot where it was posted, but I believe they are planning a new storage building at Conway as well as the rehab of a spur in the yard to allow the storage of equipment not currently being used (oos coaches and photo freight cars).
 #1552266  by b&m 1566
 
In other new developments, the Conway Scenic got conditional approval from the Conway Planning Board on June 11 for a new 4,840-square-foot storage structure off West Main Street in Conway Village at the railroad’s southern terminus that will not only be used to house historic railroad equipment during the winter, but will also be used to store equipment for special events that the tourist railroad plans to bring to that end of town.

The plan is to build it this summer, according to Swirk and project consultant Shawn Bergeron of Bergeron Technical Services of Conway, who accompanied Swirk at last Thursday’s planning board, held at the Marshall Gym at the Conway Recreation Department inside Kennett Middle School.

Two trains can fit inside the approved new building, but Swirk imagines it could also be used for special events such as wedding rehearsals or themed parties or corporate events, once those restart.

“We will be stopping at various hotel properties along the railroad where we can put together the hotel room, the train thing as one ticket. The new building will look old, so it will look like it matches the Freight House next to it, but across the tracks. There will be very little parking required as again, all of the participants will arrive by train,” said Swirk.
Link for the article is here.
 #1552463  by oibu
 
Any updates on 252 or idea of what is involved? Not sure from the sound of it if it had a catastrophic failure (i.e. needs a new block or similar) or if it needs a repair, and whether in either case CSRR is capable of repairing near-term or if this is major longer-term project. Presumably by now that much has at least been determined.
 #1552483  by CSRR573
 
Well seeing the work that they're doing on 4268, Id say the shop guys there are quite capable of doing anything that the railroad needs
Last edited by MEC407 on Mon Sep 14, 2020 12:56 pm, edited 1 time in total. Reason: unnecessary quoting
 #1552504  by b&m 1566
 
I don't think we will see 252 until at least 2022/23 but that's just a guess on my part. Coming off the Covid-19 shut down and limited operations, this break down couldn't have come at a worse time for them. I'll take their Instagram post for its word, they are "looking at the most cost effective way to repair it", whether that means finding another 645 or rebuilding the current one, who knows at this point. I'd like to think they'll announce a decision when they have one but we'll have to wait and see. If they go for the engine rebuild, 252 may leave N. Conway for that one, I'm not sure they have the resources on hand to tackle that type of project, but if they swap out the 645, I would think that's something they could do right in N. Conway. *shrugs shoulders* Maybe they can include the 645 engine block with 1757 and have a scrap contractor come in and remove both.
 #1552509  by NHV 669
 
Even with the pandemic and 252 down, CSRX has ramped up their Fabyans Mountaineer schedule. The site is now showing Tu-Sat availability tomorrow through the 28th, then moving to 7 days a week starting Monday, 9/28 through the end of October.
 #1552524  by p42thedowneaster
 
Many GP40s over the years have been de-rated to GP38-2 status by having their turbos swapped out for Roots blowers. (This apparently made them more reliable for switching duties) The notch is maybe a bit different than switching duties....

I wonder if it would be possible to go the other way with 252 and add a turbo (or acquire a block with one already)?

GP9 567 with roots
1750HP
GP38-2 645 with Roots
2000HP
GP35 567 with turbo
2500HP
GP40 645 with turbo
3000HP *best :)

Update in research....Apparently the turbo version of the GP38-2 is the GP39, which has a 645- 12cylinder with turbo, making only 2300HP. The 16 cylinder w/turbo must not fit in the GP38 car body...ah well.
 #1552551  by MEC407
 
The 16-645 with turbo requires a significantly larger cooling system than the non-turbo 16-645, necessitating a bigger radiator and three cooling fans rather than two.

It would probably be less expensive to simply buy a used GP40 than to turn the 252 into a GP40.
 #1552574  by p42thedowneaster
 
MEC407 wrote: Tue Sep 15, 2020 8:39 am It would probably be less expensive to simply buy a used GP40 than to turn the 252 into a GP40.
I certainly don't doubt that! It would just be efficient to combine actual local heritage and more power. The B&M had GP40s, and there are still a few around, but they had no dynamics on them. I suppose Guilford is as close as you could get...
 #1552582  by Arborwayfan
 
Stopping to pick people up at some of the local hotels and offering a train-venue-hotel package is a good idea. If the ski train runs again, I wonder if they will ever run it to some of those hotels for a different kind of package.
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