Canadian Railroads > F-Unit Friday - Canadians in New Hampshire

The re-opening of Crawford Notch in 1995 coincided with VIA selling off a number of retired cab units (both GMD and MLW), and Conway Scenic was able to acquire two FP9s, 6505 and 6516.  The shop crew got them running again, and painted up in a CN-inspired scheme.  The pair hauled excursion trains from North Conway to the Notch and back for about 10 years, before being sidelined by diesels which had dynamic brakes (brake shoes on the passenger cars had to be replaced weekly), and were then dealt to Pan Am Railways, which used them on their business train.  They passed to CSX with that road's purchase of Pan Am earlier this year, and it's uncertain what the future holds for them.

I caught the pair on September 2, 1997 at the "Gateway", the summit of Crawford Notch in New Hampshire, as they were returning light to No. Conway (6516 is hidden behind 6505).  The two covered wagons were to have taken half of the AAPRCO train down the hill to No. Conway (two Amtrak P40s would have taken the other half) for the annual convention, but poor track conditions on shortline New Hampshire & Vermont stopped the train not far from Groveton, NH.  The aborted trip was a disappointment, but shooting the pair on some rare mileage beyond Crawfords as the light faded, partly made up for it.

GTD

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Beauty !