Conway Scenic Railroad (CSRX) discussion thread

[p42thedowneaster]

I think B&M 1732 can still be found in preservation with a later B&M blue scheme at RR museum of NE. (Perhaps needing new paint and quite surely awaiting major primer mover repair or swap)

As for ST72 (aka 1741)... I believe the club is looking to do the original blue, black and white McGinnis scheme. Although Mass Central RR uses this scheme, I think 1741 would be the first to go all the way with it including the B&M logo and actual historically correct delivery paint scheme.

It will be interesting to see what the next gen of preservation looks like. Although Guilford only roamed Crawford Notch for a very brief time, maybe it would give them an excuse to acquire a GP40 with a Big G on the side of it??? MEC345 appears to be running well, and appears to have dynamics.

[EastYorkTrainFaan]

So what do people think will pull the first regular Mountaineer tomorrow?

[Who]

I know there's been some mixed info coming from the 470 Club, some said 72 is up next for rehab, others have said 4266 is up next for some much-needed work. Where 4266 is running, if it needs work, then that should take priority over 72. It's very likely you will not see the 2 F units run again until the 470 Club Trip in October, can the work be done on 4266 between now and then, or does the needed work require 4266 to be pulled from service for an extended period of time?

[NHV 669]

Although Guilford only roamed Crawford Notch for a very brief time, maybe it would give them an excuse to acquire a GP40 with a Big G on the side of it??? MEC345 appears to be running well, and appears to have dynamics.

Why would they have any interest in a unit that has ZERO relevance to B&M/MEC history? 345 was still running for Conrail when CSRX expanded to the notch.

[BandA]

I don't think there is any nostalgia for "G". Maybe in 20-40 years.

[b&m 1566]

I really don't think they need anymore engines.

[CSRR573]

Well personally I think you can never have too many New England equipment preserved, the current consensus on fb says the current ownership doesn't really know what they're doing and isnt too railfan friendly (my past few experiences, i would have to agree and ive been going there 31+ years). They would also like to see PAR 007 preserved at North Conway, perhaps the Bartlett Roundhouse society would be a better home for the likes of 007 and some wreck train equipment. Theres plenty of track there and im sure the state of NH wouldn't object to them using that track

[p42thedowneaster]

Why would they have any interest in a unit that has ZERO relevance to B&M/MEC history? 345 was still running for Conrail when CSRX expanded to the notch.

Well, like 216 which also has little to do with CSRX, B&M, or MEC, the GP40-2 also has a turbo. And if anyone is ever going to pay tribute to Guilford/PAR it has to be with the GP40. Like Southwest only flying 737s, the GP40 was their signature motive power for many years. It helped standardize their equipment and parts and perhaps kept the railroad running through some tough times.

[b&m 1566]

Well personally I think you can never have too many New England equipment preserve

Just remember the more you have, the more it cost to maintain and being a for profit business you have to weigh the benefits and watch the bottom line.

[MEC407]

Point of clarification:

Are we talking about Conway Scenic or the 470 Club? The conversation has drifted back and forth between the two of them, and I realize the lines get blurry because 470 Club keeps their locomotives on Conway Scenic property and allows Conway Scenic to operate them... but I suspect the two organizations have very different criteria when it comes to acquiring locomotives.

From my perspective, it seems unlikely that the 470 Club would have any reason to buy an ex-Guilford GP40... but Conway Scenic would be very likely to buy one if they needed another locomotive — which, at the present time, they do not. If one of their DB-equipped locomotives had a catastrophic failure sometime in the near future and was deemed beyond repair (hopefully that won't happen!), an ex-Guilford GP40 would make sense. One must keep in mind, however, that the ex-Guilford GP40s might be long gone by the time Conway Scenic needs to buy another locomotive. Remember, they just added a second GP38 to their roster quite recently, so they're probably all set for at least the next several years, if not longer.

[Who]

perhaps the Bartlett Roundhouse society would be a better home for the likes of 007 and some wreck train equipment. Theres plenty of track there and im sure the state of NH wouldn't object to them using that track

Last I was told is that the BRPS is on life support, and are struggling with what they have now, they do not appear to be in a position to take on more.

[BandA]

Better aks for the oil change records before buying anything from 747 Merger Sub...

[ConwayScenic252]

It seems that whenever an engine fails the railroad doesn't want to fix it. The #252 failure took over a year to finish, it was held off until a contractor came in. #7470 was out of service for all of 2021 and probably will be for 2022 again. At this point #501 has been held off for 30-40 years now with no update. The #501 sound-smoke thing was cool but randomly stopped happening after the full management replacement happened. Running #7470 up the notch one month after it's finished restoration wasn't wise. I hope that we can see #501 run someday. But it's unlikely.

[Who]

The repair to 252 was neither cheap nor easy, they came very close to losing the engine block. Finding a specialized mechanic that can make the necessary repairs for the price you can afford was probably harder to find than the repair itself.
Repairs to the 7470 tender trucks are technically still a work in progress, the trucks under the tender right now are only temporary, thankfully they found trucks that allow them to run 7470.

[arthur d.]

Point of clarification:

Are we talking about Conway Scenic or the 470 Club? The conversation has drifted back and forth between the two of them, and I realize the lines get blurry because 470 Club keeps their locomotives on Conway Scenic property and allows Conway Scenic to operate them... but I suspect the two organizations have very different criteria when it comes to acquiring locomotives.
From my perspective, it seems unlikely that the 470 Club would have any reason to buy an ex-Guilford GP40... but Conway Scenic would be very likely to buy one if they needed another locomotive

Well said.