White Mountains Rail Tour
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We left around 10:00 a.m. from the old Conway Railroad Station, in downtown Conway. The train included coach and first class seating, with two by two seats that can be pushed around to face either direction, as well as an open-air car, which was very nice to ride in on the day we traveled. The engine was steam, and continued to pull our train until past North Conway.
At North Conway station, about a twenty-minute ride from Conway, we took on more passengers, and continued north. The train tracks follow the Saco River, which was interesting for me, since the Saco River flows into the sea in Maine, not New Hampshire. Continuing north, the steam engine was soon exchanged for twin diesel engines.
The regional history that was shared by the train personnel during this trip was incredibly interesting. They explained that in the past, workers who lived in railroad-built houses along the line cared for the tracks. This enabled them to have easy access to the tracks during snowstorms, accidents, downed trees and the like. The last remaining railroad house is now privately owned, and every time the train goes by the conductor throws out a dog biscuit to the family pet. Sure enough, she was waiting by the tracks for her treat when we passed by.
The train continued northward, through valleys and over high (and scary) trestles, such as Frankenstein Trestle, allowing passengers to embark at various locations to take pictures or to just look around at the vistas. We passed through Bretton Woods, site of the stately Mount Washington Inn, and learned about other grand hotels, now destroyed, that previously stood in this vicinity. We viewed Mount Willey, where a landslide killed every member of the Willey family in 1926. Right along the tracks sat the foundation of the Willey house, another railroad home.
Eventually, we reached the point where the train transferred onto the tracks of the old Boston, Concord and Montreal Railroad, and passed through forest and woodland. Eventually, with little fanfare, the conductor announced that we were at mile marker 103 (103 miles from Portland, Maine, the original starting point of this rail line). Most of us alighted and realized that we were in the middle of nowhere. However, as the conductor explained to us, the railroad upgrades a length of tracks each year, and so each year the train can travel further. Perhaps it will someday be able to travel all the way to St. Johnsbury, its original terminus.
