Conway Scenic Railroad (Rochester, Portsmouth, Littleton: buy, shop, move to)

[Captjob]

Hello NH Friends,

Looking at taking the Conway Scenic railroad trip on Wednesday the 8th. What would you recommend, the 55 minute round-trip or the 1 hr 45 minute trip? Standard car, first class or dome seat? How will a 3 year old fare?

Any other advice on these trips, ie valley or notch.

Thanks All
Captjob

[NH2NCMom]

Originally Posted by Captjob

Hello NH Friends,

Looking at taking the Conway Scenic railroad trip on Wednesday the 8th. What would you recommend, the 55 minute round-trip or the 1 hr 45 minute trip? Standard car, first class or dome seat? How will a 3 year old fare?

Any other advice on these trips, ie valley or notch.

Thanks All
Captjob

Wish I could help you but really can't, but I think you see more with the 1 hr 45 minute trip.

Will try to think of any other visits for ya - I'll be in Portsmouth/Rochester about the same time as you - don't know if you're interested in visiting the seacoast.

[~Boo~]

Hello CaptJob ~ I highly recommend the ride to the Notch! You get awesome views in the Dome. We departed at 11:00 am & it returned at 4:40. (I am looking at my ticket stub from 2003 ~ It's in my scrapbook, lol) I think the time includes getting out at Crawford Notch & walking around & switching the engine at the half-way point.

Does your 3 year old like trains? We went when my son was 2 1/2. He loved trains then & still does now. He really enjoyed it. Especially when the Engine had to switch places at the end for the ride back. He slept almost the entire way back. The Dome is very small. It doesn't feel confined because you are surrounded by windows. But you know your 3 year old best, so if you think they'd enjoy it then I'd say go for it.

Recently we went on a train ride with both our boys here in Cali. It was a 3 hour ride there & back. We chose to be in a dining car where we could get up & move around. On the way back you move to another lounge car & I think it worked out better to be able to move around with two children. I thought I'd throw this in there, so you'd have something to think about, lol.

btw, in both trips there were passengers with nervous looks on their faces when they saw young children. Afterward, we received compliments from some of them and they were impressed with our children's behavior. It was all smoke & mirrors, lol. Backpack with toys & drawing stuff. Food & drinks were readily available too.

[NH2008]

We have only done the shorter trip but it was great. We were in the first class viewing car. My son was 4 and enjoyed it, my daughter was 1 and hated it. I think they would both enjoy it more now. The cars really have a nice historic feel; they've done a nice job maintaining them. With the shorter trip, you do see some not so scenic sights (you're basically just going to Conway and back, so you see the backs of some outlets, etc) but you can just switch sides. I think the notch trip might be too long for a 3 yo but the Bartlett trip could be perfect. They also have lunch trips and special days out with Thomas, etc. The gift shop has some tempting kids' gifts.

Do buy your tickets online. They're available the day of, but if the weather gets bad they sell out. We had a few disappointments where we drove in and couldn't get tickets before I finally bought online in advance.

[Captjob]

Thanks for the info all. I would love to take the noth trip; however, just looking at how long this trip is I think my 3yo might want to climb into the engine with the Engineer's and take over.

The 1 3/4 Bartlett trip may be the one that suits us. I think your right, the 55 munte trip might be too short. Boo, I can only imagine the picture opportunities along this route.

With this, I will purchase online and be sure to get the reservations in ASAP. How is the weather right now and the color change?

Captjob

[DareToDream]

Originally Posted by Captjob

How is the weather right now and the color change?

Captjob

Up here in Littleton - nights down in the high 20's to low 30's, days low to mid 60's (for the next ten days lows predicted in the 30's to 40's, highs about the same) - leave are starting to change here and there