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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

 #1580677  by b&m 1566
 
Don't be surprised if that ends up being a Covered Wagon in the snow excursion with the 4266 and dare I say 4268 (If they can get it done in time).
 #1581518  by b&m 1566
 
For those of you, who are not big into social media, 252 should be up and running in a few weeks! I guess plans changed and the repair work is being done in N. Conway. A contractor Yoro Diesel Service, out of Waveland, MS was hired to repair the engine.
 #1581768  by backroadrails
 
It might just be me, but given the amount of railroads in the area which offer mechanical services, as well as companies like CAD and AMP, it just seems odd that they picked a contractor from a few hundred miles away. It might just be a case of "how low can you go?" but I really do hope this wont be a repeat of the repairs done to the GE's many eons ago.
 #1581806  by BandA
 
backroadrails wrote: Mon Oct 04, 2021 11:04 am It might just be me, but given the amount of railroads in the area which offer mechanical services, as well as companies like CAD and AMP, it just seems odd that they picked a contractor from a few hundred miles away. It might just be a case of "how low can you go?" but I really do hope this wont be a repeat of the repairs done to the GE's many eons ago.
Dun & Bradstreet sez it is a two-person company with annual revenue of $80K. They must get this diesel going quickly, right, otherwise it will affect their leaf-peeping season, right?
 #1581808  by NHV 669
 
Having driven 302 Between Bethlehem and Portland in the last two days in both directions, and passing all kinds of tour bus outfits, let alone observing the scenery, peeper season is well upon us.

Who knows, maybe the Swirkus will toss more money at more power.
 #1581810  by MEC407
 
b&m 1566 wrote: Thu Sep 30, 2021 12:09 pm ...the repair work is being done in N. Conway. A contractor Yoro Diesel Service, out of Waveland, MS was hired to repair the engine.
From Google Reviews:
Rhea Rutherford
2 years ago
This has been an on site only crankshaft repair service for at least 45 years. It also dose on-site line boring and other on-site specialized in-place machining services. Specializing in Electro-Motive (EMD)ENGINES
In-place Repair
Connecting Rod Journal grinding Chrankshaft thrust face grinding Flywheel fit repair

Generators-Locomotives-Marine applications.
 #1581813  by p42thedowneaster
 
Guess this is also the only choice right now when you're essentially on a captive railroad. That said, even without 252, they should be able to get by with the other 4 diesel locomotives for even the heaviest foliage traffic. They can also run valley extras with the RDC if they had to shorten the notch train for some reason.

Speaking of which..^^^ I wonder if they would ever consider running the Budd roundtrip from Fabyans to Wiley Brook Bridge? I know she struggles with the grade a bit but perhaps that short stretch would be within her limits? Plenty of people up that way around the big hotels and resorts.
 #1581814  by BandA
 
What I didn't say clearly is CSRX obviously hired a small company to fix their engine. Can't tell from a single review whether they are good or not, hopefully CSRX carefully vetted them. If you take the review at face value they are specialists. Not much of an internet presence, but very few good mechanics have a fancy web page. Probably cheaper and faster to fly in a mechanic and his tools than ship the engine offsite.
 #1581870  by NHV 669
 
Would probably be a bit difficult to do Budd runs from Fabyans with only one car, tons of people, and a closed station. The Mountaineer runs are already daily for foliage season anyway.
 #1581910  by Arborwayfan
 
I've often wondered if CSRR could make it so people could do roundtrips starting above the Notch, but I always came back to the fact that two Mountaineer round trips would be tough to fit into the day; one of them would start awfully early for most potential passengers to want to take it. I hadn't thought of using different equipment to have special "from above the Notch" trips.

What would it take to store the RDC up above the Notch someplace for a few weeks in leaf season and use it to offer short, maybe non-notch rides to people who are staying up above the Notch and don't want to drive down to
Conway just to ride a train partway back again? Could they just park the RDC on a siding at Crawfords or Fabyans overnight? How far can the RDC run between fuelings? People staying up that way might be interested in a ride from Fabyans north (or I guess railroad west?); yes, it's along a highway, but the views are as good as the views on the Conway route. CSRR could set up a special schedule of like one-hour RTs from Fabyans for Columbus Day weekend, other leaf-season weekends, or peak summer season, and probably get passengers they currently have no chance of getting. Enough to make it pay? I have no idea. How far north of Fabyans are the tracks in good enough shape to run the RDC at, oh, 10 mph?
 #1581915  by NHV 669
 
The tracks were good enough to run two full trains under steam not too long ago to Hazens, and the runs to Whitefield in the last five years.

The CSRX FB page just announced that they have added six Crawford Mountaineer trains for November, and Valley trains will run through Thanksgiving.
 #1581931  by p42thedowneaster
 
From what I have heard...the B&M rarely had Budds on the notch (and perhaps only downhill). They would need to run multiple RDCs to ensure enough braking capacity. This is why I thought...just go from Fabyan to Wiley Brook Bridge and head back...less than 90min round trip? They could certainly employ a full sized loco to do a reverse notch train, but I'm not sure how popular that would be.

Tracks beyond Fabyan are not bad! Last time I rode up to whitefield I was shocked how smooth the ride was and how little side-to-side rocking.
 #1581935  by b&m 1566
 
Arborwayfan & p42thedowneaster - while the idea sounds good, it's not really possible for a number of reasons. You would need another crew to operate the train, all the land around Crawford's and Fabyan stations, is owned by AMC and Omni respectively. To build a parking lot for that type of operation, they would need to lease or purchase land for a parking lot and that's a big investment for something that would only be used about 4 weeks a year.
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