page_title: Conway Scenic Railroad
section_title: Operations
hierarchical_section_title: Conway Scenic Railroad / Operations
caption_attribution_description: Built by the Budd Company in 1954 for Great Northern Railway Empire Builder service. Later used on Amtrak, Alaska Railroad, and Cape Cod Railroad. Acquired by Conway Scenic Railroad in 1998 and placed into service on the Notch Train in 2001.
context_page_description: The Conway Scenic Railroad is a heritage railroad in North Conway, New Hampshire, United States, owned by Profile Mountain Holdings Corp. The railroad operates over two historic railway routes: a line from North Conway to Conway that was formerly part of the Conway Branch of the Boston and Maine Railroad, and a line from North Conway through Crawford Notch to Fabyan that was once part of the Mountain Division of the Maine Central Railroad. The Conway line is owned by Conway Scenic, and the Mountain Division is owned by the State of New Hampshire.
  The railroad's main terminal is located in historic downtown North Conway in the Mount Washington valley. The station complex has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1979.
context_section_description: The railroad operates excursions of varying duration, generally under two banners, the Valley Train and the Mountaineer:
  The Valley Train – running either south to Conway (the "Heritage Excursion", 55-minutes round trip) or west to Bartlett (1¾-hours round trip excursion). The Valley Train includes the dining car Chocorua; the 1898 open-deck Pullman observation car Gertrude Emma, which is the oldest active standard gauge passenger car in the country; a former Boston & Maine heavyweight coach converted to an open-air car; and several restored heavyweight coaches, some dating back to the 1920s. The schedule varies year to year, but typically the Heritage Excursion operates mid-April through the end of December. The Bartlett Excursion operates early May through mid-November. 
  The Mountaineer – covering the line through Crawford Notch, is typically a 5-hour round trip to Crawford Depot (located at the height of land in Crawford Notch), but is extended to 5½ hours during the fall foliage season when the train travels beyond Crawford Depot to Fabyan Station at Bretton Woods in the town of Carroll. The Notch Train includes an open-air car (Silver Cascade #1308), a first-class vista dome dining & lounge car (Rhonda Lee), a first-class vista dome car (Dorthea Mae), a first-class car (Carroll P. Reed), a first-class dining car (Hattie Evans) and commuter coaches retired from the Montreal commuter pool, one of which was converted to a "Café table car" for passengers riding in coach. Like the Valley Trains, the schedule varies year to year but typically operates mid-June through late-October to early-November.
  The Sunset Dinner Train – typically operating mid-June through mid-October on select weeknights and weekend nights. It is a 1¾-hour round trip excursion to Bartlett. Special dinner trains of varying lengths include the Murder Mystery Dinner Trains and the Cupid Express, a Valentine's dinner train in February. Although the dinner train is considered part of the Valley train, the Mountaineer trainset is typically the one offered for these services.
  Annual special events at the railroad have included Mother's Day & Father's Day specials, Autism Spectrum specials, Military & First Responders Appreciation Days, Railfans' Weekend, Johnny Appleseed Express, Pumpkin Patch Express, Journey to the North Pole (a Polar Express-themed trip), and "Steam in the Snow" (or "Covered Wagon in the Snow" when 7470 is not available), which is a photographers' special in early January, sponsored by the Massachusetts Bay Railroad Enthusiasts. The railroad used to host a "Day Out With Thomas" [the Tank Engine], but the event has been discontinued.
  Snow Trains started in February 2020 and operate over the two February school vacation weeks, for Massachusetts and New Hampshire respectively. These are shuttle trains that run daily every 90 minutes from North Conway to Attitash Mountain Resort in Bartlett and back, starting at 7:30am and making a total of seven round trips per day.
caption: The Dorthea Mae dome car
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