Conway Scenic Railroad (CSRX) discussion thread

Bill, we get it, you and all the former employees who were either canned or quit, are upset. For what it was worth you and your former co-workers were the "new guard" of the railroad. You were all trained by some of the best railroaders in the industry, some were even original employees of the Conway Scenic, going back to the beginning. I'm sure you were all excited to carry the torch and be the next generation of Conway Scenic Railroaders. But your last comment is a little out of line don't you think? "Armchair railfans" Really!? Why do you keep getting angry with railfan's? Everyone is looking at this situation different from one another. The way this discussion has gone the last few days, I tend to agree with b&m, I think some would love to see it crash and burn because of their anger and hatred towards management and ownership.

MEC407 wrote: ↑Thu Jul 07, 2022 9:55 am
That's a fair point. Look at Guilford... they made all sorts of objectively bad decisions/choices, screwed hundreds of employees, had safety problems, and yet they lasted for 40 years and raked in massive returns on their original investment.

And that's on point. CSRR will always be there, there's also a group on the side that's dabbled in investment to acquire if need be, however unlike Guilford current management has creditors to answer to, and those seem to be adding lately. And again unlike Guilford, customers aren't captive to using it, so if the reviews or experiences get to a point it wi hurt the bottom line.

I think CSRR is here to stay, but I don't think current ownership is long.

So "Who".....
Since I obviously worked beside you at one point, how can you disagree? I was taught by the finest railroaders that were there. I'm absolutely dying laughing at the idiotic new guard comment as I was accused as being part of the alleged "old guard" right before I left. And does the FACT that we from the 2009-2020 Era were the next group of people, and the fact that we learned from the finest set us back? It does not. I am dam BLESSED to have been there during the growth of that time. The awesome individuals who took the time and patience to teach me CORRECTLY how to do things and the WHY things worked. And just like the "old guard", we did what was asked. Need a building painted? No problem. Need a dumper emptied? No problem. Mop the station floor? Absolutely. Help out in the shop? What time I gotta be there. That was how we were trained. That was how things got done.

I know what we all did. I know what Dwight and the forebearers all did. Was it always perfect? Nope. Nothing is. But I k ow that there is not a single one of us that wants it to go away. We want an owner to grow it and nurture it, not light it on fire and drive it into the ground.

And ADMIN......I ask you to excuse my passion. I willfully stick up for the people I worked with and those before when accused of some of the above malarky.

Reader#108 wrote: ↑Sat Jul 09, 2022 4:57 pm I know what we all did. I know what Dwight and the forebearers all did. Was it always perfect? Nope. Nothing is. But I k ow that there is not a single one of us that wants it to go away. We want an owner to grow it and nurture it, not light it on fire and drive it into the ground.

Amen. You won’t find a single former employee who wants to see this place go under. That’s what upsets us. Like my grandfather and father took me to Conway Scenic as a kid to walk the yard and teach me things, I want the same for my children and grandchildren and for everyone else who wants to have those same experiences. It was those experiences as a kid that lit the passion of railroading in me as a child. Conway Scenic was always a great place to spark the flame of passion in railroading. Those kids grow up and eventually do the same for their kids and that’s how heritage railroads stay true to their heritage. It’s the people and the experiences that caused us to grow attached and love the place as if it was our own.

Swirk shared a similar story about his father when he and his family were vacationing up there. Swirks dad camped out in the car of the parking lot so that they could ride the first train of the day because he wanted to make his son (Swirk) happy and experience something. And it’s under his current management that you probably wouldn’t be able to do that today.

It’s difficult to watch this place fall the way it is. To be kicked out as a former employee just for stepping on the grass to teach my family about 7470 as she’s being fired up, all those memories as a child with my grandfather walking me around teaching me and spending those long summer nights there just looking with my dad…to be kicked out like that feels like being kicked out of your own home. So yes, it’s a huge shock for us and extremely uncomfortable. We don’t want to see the end of this place, all we wanted was a shot to do what those before did for us.

Ok, so, we're experiencing some rough times in the railroad's history. Here's a question: what can be done to get the Conway Scenic back to where it was before the pandemic?

Its like any business that has a tarnished history due to poor ownership. It will take time and money.
The first step would definitely be to fix the manpower and equipment issues. Pay the employees more, offer better benefits, fix the growing list of mechanical issues on the locomotive fleet even if that means sending stuff to contract shops.
Personally I think everything should then get a fresh coat of paint. Maybe then host a event like railfan weekend or something after advertising it for months prior. As part of that event, offer discounted tickets or something, to draw the public in so its not a just a railfan only event. Just some one time thing to give back to the public and hopefully symbolize a change.
I am not versed fully in the scope of stuff that has gone wrong at Conway, but I would definitely say hiring a OPM with experience with the operation of a tourist railroad would be key. And I think we are all well aware of what happens when a owner tries to make all the calls...

Jonathan wrote: ↑Mon Jul 04, 2022 2:09 pm Do any of yall know if Swirk had been this bad at G&U or Pioneer Valley? I mean, before now, people have been praising him. Now it seems like hes changing things for the worse. Was that the case with pioneer valley and grafton and upton, or were they praising him at those places? Cause obviously this isn't the first railroad hes been involved with, and as previously stated, things are changing for the worst, presumably.

I mean, its almost like all of the G&U power suddenly died in a short span of time, which left the railroad scrambling to find replacement equipment... Sound familiar?

CSRR4266 wrote: ↑Sun Jul 03, 2022 10:40 am

CSRR573 wrote: ↑Sun Jul 03, 2022 10:25 am what ever happened to the generator they bought to make an HEP car for the notch train?

Probably sitting in the north yard somewhere waiting for the Silver Cascade to be butchered so it can be installed.

The part that boggles my mind was that until recently, KRS had a exVIA generator car that was already set up for HEP that they were willing to sell for scrap value to get it off the property, which ultimately it was cut up not long after the CP takeover of CMQ.

CPF66 wrote: ↑Sun Jul 10, 2022 11:18 am I mean, its almost like all of the G&U power suddenly died in a short span of time, which left the railroad scrambling to find replacement equipment... Sound familiar?

Sounds real familiar... can't place my finger on it...


Anyways, what's up with the two new buses in the yard? Like is there gonna be a boat next so we can sail up to Crawford Notch?

Well I think its safe to say that some of the $200,000 went towards those...

Wait? There are three buses on the property now? Maybe they plan to put hi-rail gear on them and use them instead of Millie.

I wonder if Swirk (or whoever is the owner by that time) would be interested in housing #470 when #501 gets restored to run up the notch and doublehead? Bring #1055 along with it? Contact CSX and get the sisters? Just kidding about the latter, but the doubleheader could be possible.

Just for a run or two, then return to Downeast.

That would be a very expensive move to do where DE is “landlocked” with no outside connection to the general system. Plus 470 would have to be trucked out in three pieces just like it was trucked in to DE. While it’s a lovely pipe dream, it would be financially prohibitive.

Looks like #7470 is being fired up to sit and do nothing again. Recent Facebook post. Repeats the same thing as before, “training and display” and “they will announce when they will run it on regular excursion service”. This time though they say it might make “unscheduled surprises”. So basically us railfans are screwed until a schedule comes out.

I called them out on that post and saying how the place is a swirkus, they deleted the comment and then turned off commenting.