New Hampshire . . . our first train trip . . . the White Mountains . . .

I’ve always LOVED train trips!!  Now, perhaps that is just because I’ve never been on one . . . that is, until we discovered this Conway Scenic Railroad trip about 60 miles from our campground.  We decided to take the long trip of the selections . . . 5 hours total for the round trip journey from North Conway, NH to Crawford Notch, NH.  It’s only about 25 miles from one point to the other, but the train travels very slowly so everyone can take in the breathtaking scenery while traveling through the White Mountains of New Hampshire.  During the trip, we climbed over 1300 feet to the “Gateway of the Notch” . . . much of the travel was along the beautiful Saco River.  The following is the diesel locomotive that carried us to and from our destination . . .

This is the Dome Car in which we rode, the Dorothea Mae.  We went upstairs to the dome area for our seats, which meant we had glass windows around and above us.  Cool!!

This is the dining car, the Hattie Evans, where we enjoyed our lunch while on the return trip . . . eating while riding and enjoying gorgeous scenery . . . can’t beat that!!

A view of Mt. Washington (the highest point in New England) . . . even though it was raining during this portion of the trip, that didn’t spoil the beauty and grandeur of Mt. Washington, or any of the other peaks we saw.

Our destination . . . Crawford Notch . . . a combination train station/gift shop/museum/restroom stop . . .

And here’s that little old couple again . . . this time enjoying lunch in the dining car, the Hattie Evans . . .

A beautiful photo from the window of the dining car, showing how we’re nestled for the moment between the mountain peaks, and also how high up we are from the highway below . . .

John took this shot from the front of the dome window, showing the 4 cars in front of ours, plus the “big yellow engine” . . .

And after our return from our journey . . . as we drove back to Littleton . . . we stopped to try and capture for you how high up we were . . . and more importantly, how the tracks were laid literally on the side of the mountain, with a straight-down drop-off . . . you can see the trestle on the left, and then you see a white horizontal line to the right of the trestle . . . that’s the open tracks on the side of the mountain!!

One of the most amazing things for me to grasp is the fact that construction was begun on these very tracks in 1875 . . . an impressive feat for the time, considering the need to span two gorges, a dozen streams and blast through the Gateway.  These tracks were used for passenger and for freight trains by the Maine Central Railroad until 1958 (Passengers) and 1984 (Freight).  The Conway Scenic Railroad bought and began to run seasonal passenger train service in 1995.  And, I’m so glad they did!!!

In case you couldn’t read between the lines, I HAD A GREAT DAY ON MY FIRST TRAIN TRIP!!!!

And, of course . . . for you, Kennedy . . . we used this WalMart in Littleton, NH, several times!!

As I finish up this entry, it’s now 11:30 am on Saturday, August 4^th . . . we’re pulling out of the Littleton KOA heading for White River Junction, Vermont.  Nancy Harris Smith (one of our original Emmanuel Singers) and her husband, Nathan, and their daughter, lived in White River Junction several years ago.  While we’re visiting there, we’re looking forward to driving by to look at the house where they lived, and get a photo of it for them.  And, we hope to get a good experience seeing the Green Mountains of Vermont.  “Talk” to you again soon . . .

Much love to all,

Frances