According to the recently posted April 2010 issue of Conway Scenic Railroad's WHEEL REPORT, CSRR has acquired GP-35 #216 and GP-38 #252 from Pan Am Railways. The units will be painted in a Maine Central "Harvest Gold" scheme by PAR prior to delivery to CSRR; lettering will be CONWAY SCENIC. #252 is historically significant to the CSRR as it was operated by the Maine Central over the Mountain Division trackage that the CSRR now uses. CSRR plans to use #252 as the regular unit on its Crawford Notch trains this year.

There has been a great amount of speculations/rumors locally about the sale/disposition of locomotives currently on the CSRR roster. CSRR Operations Manager Paul Hallett acknowledges these rumors in the WHEEL REPORT--and says that he can't comment further at this time, but that answers should be forthcoming before too long.

Frederick G. Bailey

Watching the railfan forum meltdowns has been incredible fun. The news about the Geeps is very good, and "the Sisters" have been rumored to be out the door for years, but it's the foamer fight that has been the highlight!

Rob

What is the current regular power for the 'Notch?

Was the Scenic in need of more motive power or was the offer too good to pass up?

/Mitch

Regular power on the Notch Train has been a pair of ex-CN FP-9A's, commonly referred to locally as "The Sisters" mentioned in the post above. The F's are not dynamic brake equipped, and it has been the desire of the CSRR management for a few years now to replace them with a dynamic brake equipped unit to help reduce wear and tear on the passenger equipment caused by heavy braking on the downgrade portion of the trip. CSRR acquired a pair of reasonably priced and locally available elderly GE U-boats equipped with dynamics several years ago, but neither has been very successful. One operated for a short while on the Notch Train, but suffered a major prime mover failure; the other was returned to service last Fall and made a test run up through the Notch after the 2009 tourist season ended, but it was reported as still having electrical issues.

According to the WHEEL REPORT, the CSRR became interested in #252 when local railfan Jimmy Abbott informed Paul Hallett that the unit had been stored by PAR. Besides being of historical significance to the CSRR, the unit will be the reliable, dynamic brake equipped unit that the CSRR has been seeking for the Notch Train. It is receiving some mechanical attention by PAR's Waterville, ME shops before being delivered to CSRR.

Frederick G. Bailey

One thing's for sure, Paul Hallet is one hell of a great guy and a real asset to CSRR!

Mike

Thanks for the details.

What will happen to the FP-9A's? They ARE the Notch to me. The scenery is spectacular and the nostalgic diesels are impressive but when I close my eyes and picture the Scenic, I can't help but to picture those beautiful F's. ('Course, whene I'm dreaming I instead picture a Maine Central steam engine or the Flying Yankee : )

Can /has an F unit of any type ever been equipped with dynamic breaks or is that just not possible?

/Mitch

Plenty of Fs had dynamic brakes. Adding them "after the fact" is difficult and expensive. Could be done, but remember one thing about F-units on an excursion railroad: You get one locomotive for the price (cost) of two--- they really don't back up very well as single units. That MEC GP38 makes a lot more sense for CSRR.

I would not be surprised to see those two FP9s stay in the region and wind up in dark blue paint, with an iconic "winged globe" logo on them. Certain folks were apparently impressed with the NS F-unit exec train power last year.

Howard P.
You Never Know, CT

HP, that certain blue engine rumor is what caused the comedy show on other forums! I hope you are right, that train needs some proper cabs on it!

Rob

Anyone have a picture of the GP-35 or the GP-38 they purchased?

So...will Conway Scenic drop steam and go entirely Diesel?
I can't believe Pan Am has actually done something involving historic
preservation of a Maine Central locomotive. Amazing.

Richard,

To be fair, the Big G sold Conway the MEC GP-7 and they did do that full repaint of an MEC U-18B leased to a tourist line in NYS for a spell.

It seems money talks. If someone wants one of the few MEC or B&M units on the roster, perhaps how is the time to raise funds?

Rob

NOT trying to start anything, but perhaps while they're feeling so magnanimous the City of Waterville should ask for a little help sprucing up the 470?

Stephen

Agreed, Stephen!
They didn't do anything when a few bucks, and I mean a few, kept one of the class U-18b's for preservation or scrap. Well, what's done is done. We should keep it civil, as much as is possible.

Not to inject too much "politics" into the discussion, but expecting what is now Pan Am Railways to have a "vested" stake in MEC 470 is on par with those who still hold the modern-day Volkswagen and Audi responsible for being part of the Holocaust.

It would be nice if Pan Am/Guilford/whoever would at least pay a token acknowledgment of their heritage, but there exists a substantial difference between "wouldn't it be nice..." and "they should...."

I agree, but the locomotive literally sits a stones throw from the yard office and entrance to the shops...and the main line runs directly behind the engine. One would think that would be incentive enough. I know if I ran the circus, I'd want the area around my driveway to look decent :)