The White Mountains-Beautiful!!!

Today is a day we have been looking forward to for awhile now.  We went down to the local train station in North Conway and took the "Notch" train for a 5 1/2 hour excursion into the White Mountains to Crawford Notch Station.

In the lobby of the North Conway Grand Hotel

Treston & Tucker- Nonnie & Poppy finally found a moose

Rain was predicted today, but held off until we pulled back into the station at the end of the trip.  We arrived at the station as scheduled and already the yard was busy with activity.  A steam locomotive was sitting on the round-about puffing away.  This engine is sometimes used on special occasions.  We were pulled today by engine 252 which is a diesel locomotive.  I am glad it was a diesel engine as we climbed the mountain.

Train station at North Conway

Original sign for Crawford Notch

We were second to board and were seated with a nice couple from Florida.  The Polska's have both recently retired and are members of a railroad restoration club near Jacksonville.  Howard was a great source of information about the railroad in general.  We had a kindred spirit as they are also baptists. We were also seated in the dining car together and it made for a pleasant afternoon on this 5 1/2 hour trip.

The Polska's-Thanks for an enjoyable afternoon

We pulled out of North Conway and traveled generally north following the course of the Saco River.  We travelled through Bartlett, Willard, Crawford Notch, and on to Fabyans Station where the engine was switched to the other end of the train and we made the reverse trip back down the mountain.  We passed over Frankenstein Trestle which is 800' long and 80' in the air and the train stopped on top of the trestle for photographs and to take in the view.

The Notch Train at Crawford Station-  It was cold and windy.

The foliage was beautiful in the lower elevations, but by the top the trees had already dropped many of their leaves.  It was cold at Crawford Station with a brisk wind.

 

I rode in the open car near the back of the train much of the trip up.  I was able to lean out to get some shots of the train in the curves and to photograph the scenery without shooting through glass.  Howard kept me aware of what was coming next and to be ready.

The dining car named in honor of Hattie Evans who raised four children as a widow - Houses were once erected along sections of the rail line for the section foreman who maintained the line.  Mr. Evans was responsbile for section 139 which was one of the steepest sections of the line.

The Evans' section home was built on the rock foundation in this picture and just hung on the side of the mountain.  The train picked up the 4 children of the family and carried them to and back from school down the line at Bartlett Station each day.  The train was unable to stop for the pickup, so Mrs. Evans positioned her children every 40' along the track and they stood with their hand on their side and elbow out.  The trained slowed and the conductor would reach out and grab each child and lift them aboard.  Mr. Evans was later killed in a tragic accident while working on the line.

This is absolutely some of the most beautiful scenery I have ever seen.  It rivals Jordon Pond (almost)!

We move again tomorrow.  It is raining tonight and hopefully it will not be foggy in the morning.  I don't want to drive in fog here in the mountains with moose on the loose.  We plan to backtrack a short distance back into Maine and then cross New Hampshire on the Kancamagus Highway.  Our goal is to be in Vermont by the end of the day.

This is a wooden snowplow which was pushed by an engine to clear the tracks of snow.  It is currently being restored by railroad volunteers in Bartlett.

In Hattie Evans dining car

IF THE FOLIAGE IS NOT PEAK IN THE WHITE MOUNTAINS, THEN I DON'T BELIEVE MY SENSES COULD HANDLE THE LEAVES ANY MORE VIBRANT!