Climbing To The Top
For F Unit Friday here is another from this fabulous late fall day in the north country following the 470 Railroad Club's annual photo special on the Conway Scenic Railroad. As in years past the train departed North Conway at 9 AM for a six mile run down the ex Boston and Maine Conway Branch to end of track where the power was run around. Then they returned north seven miles to Intervale where they entered the former Maine Central Mountain Subdivision for a 28 mile run west to Fabyans.
As always the club showcased their historic ex B&M F7s but this year they were joined by a special addition in the form of spectacularly restored GP9 1741 resplendent in its as delivered McGinnis 'bluebird' livery. Built in July 1957 as part of a 50 unit order that included trade in credit to EMD on the pioneering fleet of FT A-B locomotives this unit passed to Guilford and later became Springfield Terminal 72. One of the last three in service it was sold to the Heber Valley Railroad in 2017 along with her two heritage painted sisters. While they moved west to new careers this unit lanquished at Waterville where I saw her in 2020: flic.kr/p/2j8F2Jk not long after she was purchased by the 470 Club and in May 2021 made the trip to North Conway where restoration work began in earnest. To read a bit more and see a pic of her in B&M days check out this article.
railfan.com/historical-group-saves-boston-maine-gp9/
As for her older siblings, the Fs are original Boston and Maine locomotives wearing their as delivered EMD designed scheme. 4266 was built in Mar. 1949 and was acquired for preservation in 1981 off the Billerica deadline. Restored a couple years later, she has called North Conway home ever since and has been operational off and on for the past four decades.
4268 was built in Oct. 1949 and ran for the very first time in almost a half century just earlier this year. I'm not sure when her last run was, but I can find no photos of her in service after about July 1974. She languished for a decade behind the Billerica shops after being stripped of all major components including prime mover, main generator and traction motors. In 1986 she finally left Billerica by truck after being acquired by George Feuderer who displayed her in a field in East Swanzey, NH until acquired by the 470 Club and trucked to North Conway in October of 1991.
She received a cosmetic restoration in 1993 and had been prominently displayed at the Conway Scenic in the company of her operational sibling ever since. After years of planning, the club began restoration in earnest in 2018 with the full support of the railroad and its shop using ex New Hampshire Northcoast GP9 1751 (ex PRR) as a major parts donor for the four year long restoration project.
The following additional information is courtesy of Carl Byron:
The 4268A was actually built in March, 1949 as Engineering Test Dept Locomotive #930. Used for high altitude component testing on the DRGW's Soldier Summit among other locations. It spent some of that summer masquerading as a CB&Q locomotive leading their passenger car display at the 1949 Chicago World's Fair. It was then was cleaned up, re-engined, and made into to a standard F7A and offered for sale at a slightly used demo price. The B&M bought it and it was renumbered and painted into the B&M livery and shipped east, so while the builders plate may well say 10/49 but it certainly had a prior interesting career.
The trio are seen here on the final pull up the 2.2% grade to the 1900 ft crest of the grade at Crawford Notch station which is a bit over a half mile behind me. The train is near about MP 84.4 as it slithers thru the reverse curves on the approach to the big rock cut at the Gateway having climbed some 1400 ft since departing North Conway.
To support the ongoing upkeep of this unit and to thank the club for their tremendous efforts in real substantive rail preservation I encourage you to make a donation here:
Crawford Notch State Park
Town of Hart's Location, New Hampshire
Saturday November 2, 2024
Climbing To The Top
For F Unit Friday here is another from this fabulous late fall day in the north country following the 470 Railroad Club's annual photo special on the Conway Scenic Railroad. As in years past the train departed North Conway at 9 AM for a six mile run down the ex Boston and Maine Conway Branch to end of track where the power was run around. Then they returned north seven miles to Intervale where they entered the former Maine Central Mountain Subdivision for a 28 mile run west to Fabyans.
As always the club showcased their historic ex B&M F7s but this year they were joined by a special addition in the form of spectacularly restored GP9 1741 resplendent in its as delivered McGinnis 'bluebird' livery. Built in July 1957 as part of a 50 unit order that included trade in credit to EMD on the pioneering fleet of FT A-B locomotives this unit passed to Guilford and later became Springfield Terminal 72. One of the last three in service it was sold to the Heber Valley Railroad in 2017 along with her two heritage painted sisters. While they moved west to new careers this unit lanquished at Waterville where I saw her in 2020: flic.kr/p/2j8F2Jk not long after she was purchased by the 470 Club and in May 2021 made the trip to North Conway where restoration work began in earnest. To read a bit more and see a pic of her in B&M days check out this article.
railfan.com/historical-group-saves-boston-maine-gp9/
As for her older siblings, the Fs are original Boston and Maine locomotives wearing their as delivered EMD designed scheme. 4266 was built in Mar. 1949 and was acquired for preservation in 1981 off the Billerica deadline. Restored a couple years later, she has called North Conway home ever since and has been operational off and on for the past four decades.
4268 was built in Oct. 1949 and ran for the very first time in almost a half century just earlier this year. I'm not sure when her last run was, but I can find no photos of her in service after about July 1974. She languished for a decade behind the Billerica shops after being stripped of all major components including prime mover, main generator and traction motors. In 1986 she finally left Billerica by truck after being acquired by George Feuderer who displayed her in a field in East Swanzey, NH until acquired by the 470 Club and trucked to North Conway in October of 1991.
She received a cosmetic restoration in 1993 and had been prominently displayed at the Conway Scenic in the company of her operational sibling ever since. After years of planning, the club began restoration in earnest in 2018 with the full support of the railroad and its shop using ex New Hampshire Northcoast GP9 1751 (ex PRR) as a major parts donor for the four year long restoration project.
The following additional information is courtesy of Carl Byron:
The 4268A was actually built in March, 1949 as Engineering Test Dept Locomotive #930. Used for high altitude component testing on the DRGW's Soldier Summit among other locations. It spent some of that summer masquerading as a CB&Q locomotive leading their passenger car display at the 1949 Chicago World's Fair. It was then was cleaned up, re-engined, and made into to a standard F7A and offered for sale at a slightly used demo price. The B&M bought it and it was renumbered and painted into the B&M livery and shipped east, so while the builders plate may well say 10/49 but it certainly had a prior interesting career.
The trio are seen here on the final pull up the 2.2% grade to the 1900 ft crest of the grade at Crawford Notch station which is a bit over a half mile behind me. The train is near about MP 84.4 as it slithers thru the reverse curves on the approach to the big rock cut at the Gateway having climbed some 1400 ft since departing North Conway.
To support the ongoing upkeep of this unit and to thank the club for their tremendous efforts in real substantive rail preservation I encourage you to make a donation here:
Crawford Notch State Park
Town of Hart's Location, New Hampshire
Saturday November 2, 2024