Canadian National 7470
Canadian National 7470 is a preserved O-18-a class "Switcher" type steam locomotive, built in April 1921 by the Grand Trunk Railway, it is 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. It would work for a number of years until being retired by SW diesel switchers.Preservation
After its retirement in 1960, the engine was spared from 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 mandated Federal Railroad Administration 1,472-day 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.
On August 6, 2019, No. 7470 was given its official name in honor after Conway Scenic Railroad's founder, Dwight Smith.