Conway Scenic Railroad

Polar Express Magic train they said! What a huge let down! Went before Christmas and was so excited that we would take a train and enter the North Pole like the movie! First make sure you buy a first class ticket because that’s the only good thing. We got a free scarf and Iuke warm hot chocolate. We take a train ride for about 10 minutes and then have get out and walk around and then head into a building. You take a seat with a bunch of strangers and wait for a show to start! Finally the boring show starts and soon Santa comes out. Santa was great for the first 15 minutes but then all the little children were getting tired of sitting and listening to Santa ask each and every child what they want for Xmas. Save your money and go to the mall and then a place for some hot chocolate. We brought my nephew and he pointed out some really bad made costumes. However the actors were great and they did the best they could.

The Conway Scenic Railroad is a 5 hour ride through the Crawford Notch and the fall colors and scenery.

What a Grand Time! My fiancé’ suprised me with the tickets as I had mentioned early in year I would like to go. The train ride was amazing, the views spectacular in peak foliage season! The ride being narrated with some humorous stories of yore. WShe opted for the boxed lunch which was packed with good things, the bread homemade! We got even luckier as the ride was a fundraiser for the Kiawana Club, a teen youth club which went abobe and beyond supplying eadeurvs and treast on the tour. To top it off they took a photograph and later handed them out free and framed! We left ours accidently behind, yet cotacting the staff… thank you Susan! they’re forwarding via email the left behind photo. The entire expierence has been good old fashioned New England hospitality. The North Conway Scenic Railroad and the folks up there now how its done. I can’t say enough and WILL be returning for this even if not a summer ride through as well! Thank You!

This is a great fun train ride. I read some reviews on Unilocal before booking and I’m glad I did. I was pretty pleased being in first class and making sure I had lunch in Hattie Evans (rather good food!). Other Unilocal reviews didn’t like the fact that you’re forced to share with others. I thought it was a mixed bag. My wife and I enjoyed meeting new people, finding out where they are from, etc. If you don’t like meeting new people, I could see how you wouldn’t like it. My wife and I only wanted to go to see the fall foliage and that’s exactly what we got. Plus, it’s rare that a train will go that slow just to observe nature. I enjoyed how peaceful it was and best part, your phone doesn’t work well (Verizon) so we were able to get away from constant notifications and emails! I wouldn’t recommend Coach. You get what you pay for. It didn’t look all that appealing. I give it 4 stars only because the arrival time wasn’t very clear (turns out I wasn’t the only one). The ticket said 9:30 departure, but then later on down the sheet it said to arrive by 10:15 for an 11am departure. Google also told me that the railroad doesn’t even open until 9:30. So I reasoned that the ticket was reflecting the time the ticket window was open. Well I got there right at 10:15 and was told «You’re late» but since it was a «special train» they went south first, then came back at 10:30 and went north up to the Notch. So we got on and were able to see 90% of the ride. From what I was told, the first portion wasn’t really worth the extra hour.
Oh, and don’t book online, call them. Their website is garbage for booking.

Slow Train To Nowhere
It was a rainy day, cold and windy. What better thing to do than take a ride on a scenic train? Problem was, it went SUPER slow and really did just go up the mountain towards Crawford Notch and then a little ways beyond, turned around and came back.
Seriously??? We could have seen LOTS more from a car ride and a WHOLE lot quicker. Not worth the time or the money, sorry.

I was so excited to ride the railroad. We come up here many times a year and have never been on the train. My boyfriend suprised me with tickets today October 7^th on the notch train that leaves at 11 and arrives back around 4p.
Unfortunately when we were boarding the trip took a bad turn. We had tickets to a specific car and lined up at the door then we overheard a conductor trying to get an entire tour bus group (Mayflower tours) through that door so we lined up at the next door. Then a tour operator (Mayflower tours) rushed over to the second door and told us to wait while the tour group lined up and filled the car so we went back in through the original door and sat down. Some of the tour patrons pointed us out claiming the seats on that side of the car were theirs and we moved to the other side of the train until one of the tour operator ladies told us to «move to the back of the train» so her tour group could sit together. There were no seats left in the car. We were told to move to a car behind. I was so thoroughly frustrated at how we and the others outside of the tour group were treated by the tour operator s (Mayflower tours) and the oblivious ness of the conductors of the train. I couldn’t believe how they stood by and let these aggressive tour guides prioritize their group at the expense of the rest of us.
It was really hard to enjoy the train ride after that. This situation should have never happened and should never happen again. The railroad needs to invest in some sign posts with space to slide the different tour company’s logos in so they know where to line up and tickets should be issued to the appropriate train car. I also think it is incredibly unreasonable to think an entire tour bus should sit together. Also under no circumstance should the tour operators be allowed to manage seating the train.
The ride was nice but mostly in the woods very bouncy, squeeky with some good moments. It was extremely long over 5 hours but had an interesting naration of the history of the area. It’s really hard to review in an unbiased way. Very frustrating. I’m so sad.

Rode the train and could only see trees for 80% of the trip. Save your money and drive up 302. You would enjoy the ride and scenery much better. The conductor Dave Appleton is a very rude person who got upset with me taking pictures over his seat which he was not even using. He said did I not see the seats said occupied. All that was in one seat was his bag. There were 4 empty seats he said belonged to him. He did not sit in any of them for the entire 5 hour trip. He was rude and very ugly about me using his area for taking a few pictures out the window.

While in NE, my wife wanted to ride the notch train. As a result we did the 5hour excursion and lunch. The whole experience was great. The staff from the counter to the dining car, and narrator were all very customer service oriented and made the experience fun. The food was good, my only reservation (at first) was sitting with someone else in a small dinner car since I wanted to have this experience with my wife alone. We had a couple sit with us that were fun to talk to and actually helped make the experience better.
We sat in first class, but my wife spent the majority of he time in the open car taking pics. It was cool back there since some people brought their dogs along for the ride. The first class seats were comfortable for the time we sent in them. Overall a great experience. Thank you for keep these trains on the rails.

This was a honeymoon adventure on our way to maine. We booked the dome car and lunch. The views were great and you can move around the train freely. There is a first class area that is all your own but you can walk back to the open air cars too. The food was perfection. We had roast turkey with the fixings and it was mouth watering good. I have an allergy to citrus and they even know who I was and what plate was mine when we ordered. The whole trip was smooth and relaxed, it was hard to believe 3 hours went by. There is even a snack car if your still hungry in the way down the notch. So worth every penny!

My wife would give this 4 – 5 STARs and I would give it 1 – 2 STAR so I will meet in the middle with 3 stars.
I actually thought that a similar train ride in Laconia that hugs the Lake Winnepesauke was more scenic and had more entertaining staff /​«engineers».
In Conway they moved the engine from the back to the front. People were allowed to get off and take pictures and stretch your legs.
On the way back, as a BONUS, one thing that was really neat and unique was they let everyone (who wanted to) get off the train in a field to take a photo opportunity as the train went by. (first they backed up the train and then came through will all lights and smoke a blazing). This is where I really wish I had a better camera. Then they reversed and came back to pick us up. I really enjoyed this but I can tell on young mother with two cranky toddlers did not.
Positives:
* Allows dogs on coach so this made our experience very memorable with our ailing dog.
* A snack bar is available in the 1^st coach car (but wasn’t made aware of it until near the end).
* Good value. Not sure why but my son was free this labor day weekend.
* The station and store itself is very nice
Negatives;
* Scenic views to Conway are not that great. You get to see how some of the citizens of N. Conway keep there yards and some that don’t!
* People are not likely to switch as the RHS (mountain facing) is the best view
* The PA system needs an overhaul. Could hardly understand what the narrator was saying.
Overall. I’m sure my wife will want to do this again. We will go on the Barltett trip and hopefully for the more pricey lunch train. That I recall being fun and unique when we did it 10 years ago.
Tip… going to Conway… sit on the RHS (even though it is sunny… better views).

My boyfriend and I decided to go on the dinner train ride to Bartlett while on vacation in North Conway. When we boarded the train we were brought to a table and told to sit to the right side of the table as we would be sharing with another couple. We thought this was strange, they were very tight tables to begin with. Soon after an elderly couple arrived whom we were to share with. My boyfriend and I are both in our late 20’s and we’re hoping to have a nice dinner and to spend time with one another. Speaking to an elderly couple about their grandkids and bunions was not at the top of our to-​do list. On top of that, the elderly woman must have been a smoker in her day. Most of the trip she was coughing up a lung while we were trying to eat.
I feel that we should have been told in advance that we would be expected to share a small table with strangers. It was very disappointing to me.
The food was decent. The views were sucky. Mostly the back of run down sheds and old broken down machinery. Once we got to Bartlett they stopped the train for about 20 minutes in the backyard of a couple houses. The best view we saw by far was the labradoodle running around in a backyard.
If you are a group of 4 and you don’t care about the scenery then by all means, give it a shot. If you are a couple looking to spend time with one another, don’t do it! $ 137. for the most awkward and uncomfortable hour and 45 min of my life, no thanks!

During the 4^th we decided to spend some time at the Conway Scenic Railroad. We arrived at a time where there was a gap between trains so we decided to look around the museum as well as head to their model train exhibit.
The station itself is gorgeous and the inside of the station is incredible. The museum has a lot of unique items and the staff here is very polite. We weren’t able to take the train due to the timing, but looking at the trains were great.
The next time we visit we plan to take a trip on the train and look forward to possibly visiting for the Polar Express runs during the Christmas season.

Conway scenic railroad is anything but scenic. The two hour train ride is almost entirely blocked by trees on either side of the tracks. Walk the streets of North Conway and you will see much more than on the CONWAY SCENIC RAILWAY.

So cool! Great views. Funny staff! And Santa was even on the train. It was 55mins long but well worth it

The polar express is a nice family experience. With beautiful scenery and a decent price. Maybe more for younger kids but I still enjoyed my ride.

We planned our trip around this. They had a once a year special 8 hour train ride. Now, I know for some this might sound like too much, as maybe for some it might be. However, the trip was relaxing and they made 3 stops. We chose the coach section, so it was $ 60.00 pp. Very reasonable and they had a narrator guiding the train. It was an interesting ride, we saw a lot of spectacular views as well. During our stops we were able to take some amazing pictures too. They also have dining, which we opted out of. They do have a snack bar in case you need a snack or sandwich. I would recommend this ride, I wouldn’t do the 8 hour train again, but glad we did it once.

I’d pass on this if you’re over the age of 5. A little misleading as we thought it was going to be a ride through the mountains instead of around town.
Very nice tour guide thought.

This is a ‘maybe do once’ experience. But only if setting yourself back $ 100 for a family of four isn’t a hardship and you are really bored — like in April when there is little else to do up here.
I boarded having high hopes despite other reviews. We took the Bartlett tour and it was basically what others said — a train ride through local back yards. I might have even been ok with that if there were not really rude families with screaming kids everywhere, so loud that I could not hear the narration. And I’ve been the mom on the airplane with two crying babies and my husband is a pediatrician, and we are pretty darn tolerant, but this was enough to put us over the edge. They really ought to have a quiet car and a family car.
I should have listened to my fellow Unilocalers and steered clear!
UPDATE: I have received several angry messages saying I was a snobby tourist who doesn’t want to see the locals’ backyards, and that its a good thing I married a rich doctor so I don’t have to subject myself to the North Conway way of life. I apologize if I insulted any locals about their backyards, but locals, please ask yourself, would you honestly pay close to $ 100 to look at your backyard? I would not pay it to look at many yards, mine included, that I can promise you.

We wanted to be in first class, but it was sold out! Fall season is popular so book early. So my review is on the coach area!
First off you can only enjoy wine with your cheese plate if you are in first class so keep this in mind! We packed our picnic and that looked like a much better option than some of the box lunches we saw. The snack bar lady was awesome, but the choices were sad.
The ride itself was beautiful that time of year. Chilly wind, colors of fall sweeping across the mountains — just beautiful. But 5 ½ hours in coach — a bit too long for me! I tried to make the most of it, but was falling asleep with a numb bum toward the end!
It was about 52.00 for the trip — seemed a little high for the coach section, but it was ‘do it once’ experience.
Go first class if you can — they seemed to really enjoy it more!

This is one of my favorite things to do in New Hampshire. NH is such a beautiful state and riding the CSRR is a great way to relax and take it all in. I have done just about every trip they offer and have ridden this train at least 10 times. The best time to go is in the fall on the 5 hour trip to Fabayan Station. The foliage is gorgeous and the weather is always perfectly cool and comfortable. I also love the shorter trip to Bartlett on the first class car with the comfy wicker seats and the cute snack station inside. It really is a fun thing to do for a date or with family. Well worth the money, it makes for great memories and even better pictures.