On January, 4, 2014, the Massachusetts Bay Rail Enthusiasts chartered their annual "Steam in the Snow" event on the Conway Scenic Railroad. The recent dumping of snow a few days prior allowed for some amazing shots of the ex Canadian National 0-6-0 putting on a show in the frigid temperatures that lingered just above zero the entire day. I braved the zoo of people this year in order to catch these scenes of what could possibly be #7470's last day of operation ever in the unfortunate case that the boiler inspection this summer does not turn out well. Needless to say, these scenes will not be repeated in the coming years.
We begin at North Conway yard with the 7470 firing up for the days run to Notchland and return. Former Maine Central GP7 #573 towed the train up for the westbound trip and was kept on the train for the eastbound return for braking. Our first shot is at Glen with the train stopping to pick up a passenger before continuing west. At Bartlett, we catch the extra passing the freight house which is the normal termination point for the Valley trains. At "Third Iron", the maroon and gold GP7 leads the train upgrade with the steam engine now working hard on the rear. Upon reaching Notchland the train terminates and makes the first two runbys of the day for the passengers. We begin the return chase stopping first at "Fourth Iron" followed by the Bartlett roundhouse as the train passes a wooden plow rotting away in the snow. Our next stop is at Attitash Mountain Village as the train makes its way through the mountainside condominium development across the street from the ski area. Two more runbys were made at Woodland Pines and we catch the first one before heading just west of the location to catch the train working upgrade towards Intervale. Mount Washington can be seen looming in the background in the last light of the day. After detraining passengers at North Conway, the train makes a "staged" arrival so the passengers can get a chance to shoot it coming into the station. Afterwards, the engine is cut off and backed into the yard to drop the fire. Unfortunately, darkness had fallen by the time the engine pulled into the roundhouse, but the dropping temperature made me just as glad to leave anyway.
Thanks for watching!
(C) 2013 Mainline Productions
8 сен 2024
