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Canadian National 7470 is a preserved O-18-a class 0-6-0 "Switcher" type steam locomotive, preserved and operated by the Conway Scenic Railroad in North Conway, New Hampshire.
History
Revenue service
The locomotive was built by the Grand Trunk Railway at Pointe-Saint-Charles, Montreal, Quebec, in April 1921. The Grand Trunk classified the switcher as F9 Class and numbered it as No. 1795. When the Canadian National Railway absorbed the Grand Trunk in 1923, they reclassified it as an O-18-a and renumbered it as No. 7470.
Preservation
After its retirement in 1960, the engine was spared scrapping by being sold to Canada Dominion Sugar, where it spent some additional years as a switcher and was renumbered as No. 303. In May 1963, it was purchased by the Ontario government for a transportation museum that never came to fruition. In 1965, it was sold to a man named Charles Weber, who had the engine placed in storage in Wallaceburg, Ontario, for several years untouched. It was later purchased by a rail collector named Fred Stock, with the engine put in storage at the Canadian National rail yard in Sarnia. In April 1968, Stock sold the engine to Dwight Smith.
Excursion service
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. 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. Subsequently, the locomotive returned to active service on August 3, 1974, and was renumbered as Conway Scenic No. 47, making its excursion return run on August 4, 1974. It was the new railroad's only locomotive in its earliest years. The engine was renumbered back to No. 7470 and the Canadian National paint scheme were restored in 1989, according to Railfan & Railroad magazine.
Today, the engine mainly operates in the mid-September and October seasons, for Railfans' Weekend, and for 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. No. 7470 has also pulled the Notch Train on rare occasions for special events, once each in 2007 and 2011, and twice in 2019.
In July 2014, it was announced that the locomotive was going to be coming out of service due to a major federally mandated inspection and overhaul. The engine 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 in four years. The locomotive made its excursion return on June 29, 2019.
No. 7470 made another Notch appearance on September 1, 2019. It pulled its first Steam in the Snow event since 2015 on January 4, 2020. No. 7470 was being prepared for the 2021 season for the engine's 100th birthday and was to see operation for most of the season, from June through December but due to work to be done to the engine, the plans were cancelled. The Conway Scenic Railroad has hosted its own Winter Steam event since the annual Massachusetts Bay Railroad Enthusiasts event was cancelled due to Massachusetts-New Hampshire travel restrictions.
Accident
On the morning of January 3, 2022 at 4:44 am, a radio inside 7470's cab caught fire, and it caused the inside of the locomotive's cab to burn up as well. The fire also damaged the spring in the whistle valve, causing the whistle to release a valve sound, which alerted the nearby steam locomotive mechanic, who called 9-1-1. The nearby fire department arrived shortly afterward to put the fire out. Had it not been for the whistle valve blowing itself, the 1874-built roundhouse it was stored in would have received critical fire damage and collapsed onto 7470. The cab has since been repaired and the engine returned to service in June 2022.
Appearances in media
In 1972, the engine made its first ever film appearance in the Paramount Pictures film, A Separate Peace, lettered as Boston & Maine 47.
References
- ^ "The 7470 Returns to the Valley".
- ^ "Steam Engine 7470". Retrieved April 15, 2021.
- "April 2021 Wheel Report". Retrieved April 12, 2021.
- "Old Time Trains". Retrieved September 17, 2014.
- Amadon, Ron (July 23, 1977). "A Nostalgic Train Ride". Nashua Telegraph. Retrieved October 13, 2021.
- "History: Conway Scenic Railroad, Inc". Conway Scenic Railroad. Archived from the original on December 22, 2016. Retrieved December 18, 2016.
- "Steam Engine #7470". Conway Scenic Railroad. Archived from the original on 29 September 2014. Retrieved December 18, 2016.
- Parsons, Jeff (3 January 2022). "Fire in Conway Scenic Railroad Steam Locomotive Causes Whistle to Blow Alerting Staff". Q97.9. Retrieved 2022-01-03.
- Eastman, Tom (3 January 2022). "Minor engine fire cancels special run at CSRR". Q97.9. Retrieved 2022-01-03.
Further reading
Hallett, Paul. "Conway Scenic Railroad -- Steam Engine #7470". Archived from the original on 2014-09-29. Retrieved 2014-09-17.