Canadian National 7470
Conway Scenic Railroad (Canadian National) No. 7470 is a preserved class "O-18-a" 0-6-0 "Switcher" type steam locomotive at the Conway Scenic Railroad in North Conway, New Hampshire.
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History
The locomotive was built by the Grand Trunk Railway at Pointe-Saint-Charles in June 1921.[1] The Grand Trunk classified the switcher as F9 Class and numbered it as 1795.[1] When the Canadian National Railway absorbed the Grand Trunk in 1923, they reclassified it as an O-18-a and renumbered it as 7470.[1]
After retirement, 7470 was spared scrapping by being sold to Canada Dominion Sugar, where it spent some additional years as a switcher, it was renumbered as 303.[1] In May 1963, it was purchased by the Ontario government for a transportation museum that never came to fruition.[1] In 1965, it was sold to a man named Charles Weber, he had the engine placed in storage in Wallaceburg for several years untouched.[1] It was later purchased by a rail collector named Fred Stock, the engine was put in storage at the Canadian National rail yard in Sarnia, Ontario, Canada.[1] In April 1968, Stock sold the engine to Dwight Smith.[2][1]
Dwight Smith was working on founding the Conway Scenic Railroad, which opened in 1974. After purchasing the engine, it was moved to Rigby Yard in South, Portland Maine in October 1968.[1] After sitting in Portland for three years, it was moved to North Conway, New Hampshire in 1971 were it went through a three year restoration.[1] After three years of restoration work, 7470 return to active service on August 3, 1974 and was renumbered as Conway Scenic 47, it made its excursion return run on August 4, 1974.[1] it was the new railroad's only locomotive in its earliest years. The old number 7470 and Canadian National paint scheme were restored in 1988 according to Railfan & Railroad magazine.
Today, 7470 mainly operates in mid-September and October seasons only, for Railfan's Weekend and Steam in the Snow in January where it is hosted by the Mass Bay Railroad Enthusiasts. It used to run during summer months as well, but ended in 2007, excluding special excursions. 7470 has also pulled the Notch Train on rare occasions for special events, once in 2007, 2011, and twice in 2019.
In July 2014, it was announced that 7470 was going to be coming out of service due to a major federally mandated inspection and overhaul. 7470 ran its last train on January 3, 2015, and its overhaul work began the following day. It returned to active service on June 1, 2019 and made its first test runs under its own power for the first time since January 3, 2015. 7470 made its excursion return on June 29, 2019. 7470 also made another notch appearance on September 1st, 2019. It pulled its first ever Steam in the snow event since 2015 on January 4th, 2020.
7470 is being prepared for the 2021 season and will be seeing operation for most of the season June-December. Conway Scenic Railroad is running its own Winter Steam event since the annual Massachusetts Bay Railroad Enthusiasts version was cancelled due to Massachusetts-New Hampshire travel restrictions.
7470 is expected to run fifteen more years until 2034, when its next overhaul work is due.
In popular culture
7470 made its first ever film appearance in the 1972 Paramount Pictures film A Separate Peace, lettered as Boston & Maine 47.[1]
References
- https://www.issuu.com/wiseguycreative/docs/mwv-vibe-fall19/s/161701
- "Old Time Trains". Retrieved 2014-09-17.
Further reading
Hallett, Paul. "Conway Scenic Railroad -- Steam Engine #7470". Archived from the original on 2014-09-29. Retrieved 2014-09-17.