CONWAY — Railroading — both of the model and real-life kind — has been Conway Scenic Railroad co-founder Dwight A. Smith’s passion since he was 5.
After naval service during World War II and a degree from Dartmouth College, Smith worked for the Boston & Maine Railroad for 26 years before co-founding the CSRR in 1974. He retired in 1990, and began work on an elaborate HO-scale model railroad layout in 1991.
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