Eastbound at 4th Iron. Conway Scenic's big 0-6-0 lumbers off the 4th Iron Trestle in the sparsely populated hamlet of Hart's Location, New Hampshire, as she hauls the Mass. Bay Railroad Enthusiast's "Steam in the Snow" excursion eastbound toward its next stop in Glen. Note the presence of a crewmember in the gangway on the Engineer's side, keeping a sharp lookout for trackside fans. In fact, several non-railfan types had set up a photo line dangerously close to the tracks, just to the right of my photo location, prompting the Engineer to actually stop the train on the other side of the bridge. As I took my photo, he was just resuming his run, but was obviously a bit rattled by the carelessness he had just observed and was taking no chances as he proceeded cautiously toward Glen.
The annual "Steam in the Snow" trip is a special excursion, specifically for railfans, which runs from North Conway west to Notchland and then returns. This trackage is the old Maine Central Mountain Division. The westbound run is typically diesel-dragged by one of the line's Geeps, out to Notchland, with the steam engine on the tail-end, where the diesel is cut off and the steamer then hauls the consist back to North Conway, stopping at several locations to perform photo run-bys for the passengers.
Beautiful mountain scenery has made this small state a draw for rail buffs to ride the Mount Washington Cog Railway and the Conway Scenic, among others.
