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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

 #1600846  by ConwayScenic252
 
I rode the Mountaineer last Thursday. The valley train was about 20 minutes late. The platform has still been closed for two years now. Thankfully the model rail house was open. After that I saw #255, still in its VTR red, pull into the station with the “1920’s Era Consist” which featured no dining car, a dome, and a random notch coach. Very authentic. Then it left to go back to Conway instead of the usual continuation to Sawyer’s. There’s only one Sawyer’s train now and three Conway trips. Every 5 minutes the announcer would say “10 minutes!” and finally the train left. #216, the infamous ticking time bomb pulled in with the consist. Rode in the CP Reed. Doors are removed from compartments but still feels like British Rail. Empty train. Only thirty minutes at Crawford, then back to Conway with no Sawyer train meet.
The 7470 display was a disappointment. Sure, go in the cab and blow the whistle, crew was friendly and knowledgeable. Swirk stands there and does that. #1751 sits behind the roundhouse (poor thing) and it didn’t go anywhere. Lots of taped off areas, the #501 display with lights and smoke would’ve been nice but ever since Solomon came in that didn’t happen. #7470 would be in better condition going to Strasburg. Not that it wouldn’t be sad to see it leave, but hey, #7312 right?

I became friends with Russ and Paul in their years, they knew what was right. #252 and #216 swapped the notch train. #573 ran, railfans weekend had everything instead of a photo freight, the #7470 ran tall and proud with Court in the cab, everything was the way it should’ve been. It’s truly sad to see the notch train over-marketed over the valley train and Swirk’s leadership change everything. I’d give anything to see Russ and Paul come back. But hey, they have buses now I guess?
 #1600879  by NHV 669
 
I should add, on my return trip home from the Conway area Sunday, we were stopped at Roger's Crossing by the Sawyer's River train returning to HQ.

255 solo, 6 cars, no dome. I would have to say the same; what looked like a half full train if that, other than the group on the rear car that looked plenty happy to have the best seats out on the back. Not sure which car that is?
 #1600934  by Westbound31
 
I know a third dome car is on the way. That would account for the $200k line of credit against the property in mid May (info pulled from public records). I assume two domes moving forward on the Notch train and one on the valley. Which means marketing should change on the Valley train since, as previously pointed out, it is no longer a 1920s era consist with the added Notch cars now and probably a permanent dome car. Lots of people on Trip Advisor posting reviews that are warning people to stay away, it is a scam. People are feeling scammed out of their money. Solomon should be marketing more accurately so the customers actually know what they’re getting. But every time Solomon appears on the White Mountains YouTube/TV channel he plugs the “mountaineer” to no end. And is still calling the valley train a 1920s era consist even though half of the valley consist has been replaced by 1950s Notch cars and is being pulled by a second generation diesel.

I know 1751 was coming due for new wheels and that was before Swirk took over. It really shouldn’t have been in service with the wheels being as worn as they are. At this point I’m not sure what the future of the locomotive is. 573 has been MIA for a while now except for its use on a ballast train a couple months back. I very much doubt that 501 will be moving into the roundhouse anytime soon. 7470 hardly runs because no one wants to work at Conway scenic to run it or employees aren’t staying around long enough to learn how to. That’s why the Valley train no longer consists of the Chocorua. Attitash spread the word of how bad management is at the railroad and now they’re having a hard time finding a service to replace them. The whole operation is a juggling act of skeleton crews, mixed consists, random schedules and a growing but also diminishing fleet of motive power. But keep putting Solomon out there on tv and radio to remind us all of how great the place is now.

It’s frustrating when I see people excited that 7470 is out on display or is pulling a random train on a Sunday. I get it, it’s exciting to see 7470 but it’s not a sign of things to come. Keep in mind that with Russ and Paul we had 7470 running from mid September to the end of the regular season. Pulling every train to Conway, 3 trains per day. Between runs when the valley train was off to Bartlett the 7470 was on display on the passing track where you could walk onto the platform or even on the grass next to the track and talk to the crew on the engine.

Another thing that concerns me is firing the engine every weekend. That’s a lot of expanding and contracting of the metal of the boiler. The reason 7470 was always kept hot once her season started is because you risk damaging components when you heat/cool the engine, especially when done quickly. When the boiler heats, the metal expands and this can be visually measured in various places on the engine. That expansion adds stress to rivets and seams. Once the engine is fired, that fire stays lit until it’s time to put the engine away for the winter. When you fire it and cool it every weekend, you’re adding stress to an already 100+ year old boiler.

When the tender trucks were condemned and the cab was burned the engine was out of service for a long period of time. I can only imagine how long 7470 will be out of service if a boiler issue arises. These things need to be fired up slowly over a long period of time, not just at a whim when you have a crew available. This is what happens when railroad knowledgeable employees leave and are replaced with less qualified friends of Swirk.

All of these concerns are only amplified by the fencing off of the property. You’re less and less able to view various areas of the grounds. They do no want you to see inside the roundhouse. They don’t want people on the platforms unless they’ve paid money to be there. It’s an operation of hand over the money, wait here, board now and go home. Don’t stick around, don’t ask questions. Trains run late and run around a general scheduled time. Trains are added and subtracted from the schedule depending on crew availability.

It’s sad. As someone who grew up going there and worked there, it’s truly sad and frustrating to see what the place has become. When I worked there the crew was like family. There were always familiar smiling faces, people happy to talk for a few minutes and answer your questions. Many times I would give people tours of the roundhouse or let them in for a couple of minutes to see what we were working on. I remember when I was 7 or 8 and an employee let me and my dad inside the roundhouse because he noticed us looking around. That was such a memorable moment for me and was a big reason why I wanted to work at Conway Scenic and eventually did. You’re no longer greeted with that smiling face and your questions are no longer welcome. In fact, you’re no longer welcome unless you pay cash. And even then you’re herded onto and off of the train like cattle. It’s heartbreaking.
 #1600965  by Jonathan
 
I still have a good feeling about the future of this railroad. As ive said before, I'm someone who wants to work there regardless of who's running the place or how it's run or whatever. The point about 7470 being fired up on a whim definitely scares the steam fan in me, hopefully the railroad figures out a predictable schedule for steam operations soon. As for the platform and/or employees, I think thats for the risk of overcrowding on the platform due to the pandemic. As a railfan who normally chases the train rather than rides it, I don't see that as much of an issue, reason being, I only get about 1 station shot every time i'm there, the rest of the time, I mainly go to crossings along the route.


Think about the conversation we'd be having if the pandemic never even happened. In 2018 and 2019, the railroad was thriving with the Swirks in control and then covid came along and all of a sudden, things have happened and changed, hopefully there'll be a light at the end of the tunnel sometime soon.
Last edited by Jonathan on Wed Jun 29, 2022 6:38 pm, edited 3 times in total.
 #1600966  by EastYorkTrainFaan
 
So I've been reading over this sub for a bit and I've seen people talking about how the yard used to be open and yes i have seen it when it was many times however i think a lot of things have changed now. We have people who offten do unsafe things to get pictures like standing on tracks or walking where they shouldn't be. Let's not forget that even railfans can make mistakes like the incident that happened with one of Union Pacific's steam engines where a railfan got in the wrong place and was hit by another train. Even though it's a tourist railroad they still need to keep people safe, and unfortunately sometimes safety is more important than someone being able to enjoy things like they used to.
 #1600968  by CSRR573
 
We are indeed in the "Dark Days" of the railroad. I've noticed they've deleted some of my FB questions recently. Nothing bad just asking where X piece of equipment is. Ive got a bad feeling about the Conway Trains, I think swirk could care less about them and only truly cares about his precious Rhonda Lee. I too have wanted to work there ever since the early 90s but now it seems that childhood dream is over. I was optimistic at first when swirk took over(he won me over with his childhood story about the RR) but now after making the trek up there multiple times since he took over, Im worried for the future
 #1600975  by NHV 669
 
EastYorkTrainFaan wrote: Wed Jun 29, 2022 4:23 pm unfortunately sometimes safety is more important than someone being able to enjoy things like they used to.
That's quite the conflation to make, comparing a mainline steam trip on an active class I carrier on double track, with a 10mph scenic route that has no 50+mph freight trains to compete with.

As has been pointed out, safety seems to be a secondary concern over profits these days, including the employees themselves.

The preceding posts, especially by those who have worked there, should have made you well enough aware of that.

Nothing was moving in the yard on either of my visits Sunday, let's not excuse that with irrelevant comparisons from far larger operations.
 #1601001  by EastYorkTrainFaan
 
NHV 669 wrote: Wed Jun 29, 2022 5:24 pm
EastYorkTrainFaan wrote: Wed Jun 29, 2022 4:23 pm unfortunately sometimes safety is more important than someone being able to enjoy things like they used to.
That's quite the conflation to make, comparing a mainline steam trip on an active class I carrier on double track, with a 10mph scenic route that has no 50+mph freight trains to compete with.

As has been pointed out, safety seems to be a secondary concern over profits these days, including the employees themselves.

The preceding posts, especially by those who have worked there, should have made you well enough aware of that.

Nothing was moving in the yard on either of my visits Sunday, let's not excuse that with irrelevant comparisons from far larger operations.
I'm not saying that people are going to be hit by trains but there are other reasons to keep people out of the yard now like, for example, someone taking a phone video or pictures with their phone doesn't pay attention to where they are and trips on the rails, or a parent that decided that it's ok for their child to play around the yard and climb on things because they are kids.
Also, some adults need to have reminders that it isn't safe to be around the rails for example in 2019 I was at Fabian station watching the train come into the station and there were people on the bridge sitting on it taking pictures, they only moved when the engineer blew an extra long and loud whistle blast at the crossing over the highway. People around then tried to tell them that it wasn't safe but they had to get a picture on the bridge anyway.
 #1601029  by Westbound31
 
There are definitely a lot of valid points being made on both sides here as to the closure of the platform and yard access. But I think the main thing here is there has been no response from the railroad as to why it’s been closed.

If it is due to covid concerns then why are open air cars no longer on trains? And the compartment cars built during the pandemic have had the doors removed. That to me says the permanent closure of the platform and the yard isn’t due to Covid. While the doors were removed from the compartments in the cars, the temporary ropes blocking access to the platform and the yard were replaced with brand new posts and chains. There is a lot more room to move and air to breath outside than inside the cars. Yet the cars have had compartment doors removed and open air cars removed.

The railroad is not at all interested in answering questions. Comments on Facebook are removed by marketing/Solomon and emails and calls go unanswered. Swirk could care less about the railfan community, the community here in these forums. So long as the customer keelps coming back and buying tickets for wrongly marketed trains then there’s no reason for him to cater to railfans.

As one reviewer on trip advisor put it, the railroad is his “boondoggle”. Eventually, the negative reviews and word of mouth reviews will spread and start to hurt the bottom line. Employee retention issues and staffing issues will start to hurt the operations as we are seeing now. It’s not sustainable. Swirk is not willing to listen to anyone. It’s his way or no way and that’s why all the employees who loved the railroad either ended up being fired or leaving.
 #1601030  by octr202
 
While I have no insight on Conway, it is worth noting that a change of ownership would have meant new insurance policies for the new owners. In today's world, I could certainly see insurance companies requiring greater restrictions on visitor access. Just because an old insurance carrier, serving the former owners, allowed something doesn't mean it's going to be allowed when all of that changes.

That certainly doesn't excuse the other issues, but it's worth noting that insurance is often the reason behind increasingly restrictive policies at places which once felt "open" to us as visitors.
 #1601061  by NHN503
 
Westbound31 wrote: Thu Jun 30, 2022 8:15 am Swirk is not willing to listen to anyone. It’s his way or no way and that’s why all the employees who loved the railroad either ended up being fired or leaving.
100% this.

I wouldn't even remotely consider going back as long as he's there. I mean even simple things are done backwards. They ran a Mk4, and are now out there stuffing ties...seriously come on now. Why spend thousands of dollars, to have a contractor tamp and surface to then have a crew of people with little to no experience go out and stuff ties and disrupt that surface? Oh and purchase relatively new equipment for that inexperienced crew to use.

TST is ties stone tamp, not tamp stone ties.
 #1601072  by Jonathan
 
Westbound31 wrote: Thu Jun 30, 2022 8:15 am Swirk could care less about the railfan community, the community here in these forums. So long as the customer keelps coming back and buying tickets for wrongly marketed trains then there’s no reason for him to cater to railfans.

So you're saying the time 7470 ran during holiday week wasn't catered to railfans, the day the f7s ran a few months ago on all 3 valley trains wasn't catered to railfans, you're saying running 7470 through the notch 2 times in 2019 wasn't catered to railfans. In my eyes, Swirk has done things to make the railfans show up trackside.

I don't disagree, there has been questionable things put into place by Swirk and company, having the platform roped off, places in the yard being off limits, and other topics talked about already. One user has said under Russ and Paul, everything was perfect, 7470 was safer under the care and operation of Court. While I don't disagree with that view, I believe the contractors that Swirk has hired to help out with 7470 (Maine Locomotive and Machine Works) is another top-notch crew that can keep 7470 safe.
 #1601078  by CSRR573
 
Please dont bring up those two fiasco's. I was on both and they only served as a way to boost swirks ego. Both were poorly managed and whoever was driving 7470 had some pretty bad train handling skills. And while Maine locomotive works certainly seems more then capable of maintaining 7470, If swirk thinks he knows better or doesn't take their advice ,then The work they can do doesnt matter
 #1601081  by NHN503
 
Jonathan wrote: Thu Jun 30, 2022 1:40 pm
So you're saying... the day the f7s ran a few months ago on all 3 valley trains wasn't catered to railfans.
It wasn't. It was for test runs by the 470 club to make sure that their equipment was running well enough that their excursion would operate as well as it could for its ticket holders.
Jonathan wrote: Thu Jun 30, 2022 1:40 pm ... While I don't disagree with that view, I believe the contractors that Swirk has hired to help out with 7470 (Maine Locomotive and Machine Works) is another top-notch crew that can keep 7470 safe.
Context on this makes the difference however. 7470 is safe when Brian and his quality and capable crew are involved with it. The concern is that when they are not there what is happening.
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