Reliving the romantic era of the snow trains [01/03/2009]

Cranmore and Conway Scenic to mark 70th anniversary of arrival of Hannes Schneider Jan. 9-11

Skiers and snowboarders of today have no idea of the romance and fun they missed out on by not having been around when snow trains used to ride the rails, bringing skiers and snowsport enthusiasts to the pioneering winter playgrounds of New England from the 1930s to the early 1950s.But, thanks to the Conway Scenic Railroad and Cranmore Mountain Resort, they're going to get a glimpse at the snow trains of old during Snow Train Weekend Jan. 9-11.The snow trains will be celebrated as part Cranmores festivities that will honor the 70th anniversary of the arrival at Cranmore of Hannes Schneider (1890-1955) in February 1939.Schneider, the renowned Austrian ski instructor and acknowledged Father of Modern Skiing, remains the most famous snow train passenger of all time.In a scene that was documented by newsreel footage and photographers of the time, the skiing master arrived with his family at the North Conway station on Feb. 11, 1939, taking the train from New York City with Cranmore developer and world financier Harvey Dow Gibson (1882-1950) and his wife. The Gibsons met the Schneiders in New York Harbor following their Queen Mary sail across the Atlantic following Hannes release from Nazi captivity.Schneider put Cranmore and North Conway on the skiers map of North America, running the ski school at Cranmore until his death in 1955. All of his contributions and the romance of the snow trains will be celebrated during the Snow Train Weekend 2009. According to Jeff Leich of the New England Ski Museum (phone 823-7177), the Appalachian Mountain Club was behind the idea of the original snow trains.In the 1920s the ski gained some acceptance as an alternative to the snowshoe for winter forays on AMC club trips, notes Leich, whose museum conducts the annual Hannes Schneider Meister Cup at Cranmore every March as a fund-raiser for the member-supported organization. The AMCs first ski trip was in February 1925, and weekly ski trips were scheduled in the winter of 1927.AMC member John Holden, who saw ski train excursions in Munich, reported on the concept at a club meeting, and Park Carpenter, another of the early club skiers, brought the idea to the Boston & Maine Railroad, which was desperate to rebuild its faltering ridership. The first trip was run in January 1931 to Warner, N.H., and over 8,000 riders were counted that first season.Soon, the snow trains became a fixture of the winter landscape of New England, running from early December to mid-March every season, with trains departing from New York City, New Haven, Boston and Portland and arriving at such destinations as the Berkshires in western Massachusetts; Laconia, Plymouth, and Whitefield, N.H.; and Ossipee, North Conway and Intervale, N.H.When Mount Cranmore opened for its first season in 1937-38, snow trains helped bring skiers from Boston to fill its slopes. The war years of the early 1940s found as many as five trains coming into North Conway on a Sunday, carrying up to 4,000 skiers for a one-day trip.The weekend snow trains operated on Friday nights, bringing an additional 700 to 800 passengers to North Conway, and leaving on Sunday with their passengers well-satiated after a weekend of skiing, skating, tobogganing, singing and dancing.At times, former Conway Scenic Railroad president Dwight Smith once said, there were too many trains on hand for North Conways rail yard, and the overflow trains would be deadlocked sent empty to the Maine Centrals yard in nearby Bartlett for servicing and towing.Each of the Boston & Maine trains were manned by members of the Passenger Traffic Department, who wore dark blue suits which featured the B&Ms small red insignia on their shirt sleeves. The guides offered advice on on where to ski and what to wear, giving skiers an insiders account of the conditions at the slopes of New England.The destinations each week were no hit-or-miss propositions, according to the the B&M public relations department. Each week, the railroad noted, a survey of ski conditions would be made, working in conjunction with the Ski Bulletin skiers publication.Based on that data, a decision on where to head to would be made on a Thursday. That decision would then be posted in all of the Boston newspapers the next day (as well as in Worcester papers when trains were leaving from or passing through there).For those who didnt own their own equipment, the B&M took care of skiers through its fully-stocked Winter Sports Car. Maintained by the Armstrong Company of Boston, the car was parked on Track 3 at Bostons North Station weekdays. It would be coupled with the snow trains for the trips north.Like the $4.35 ticket fare for a round-trip, the rental rates were more than reasonable at the snow car a skier in 1936 could rent a pair of skis with leather bindings for $1, or $1.25 with metal bindings. Boots rented for $1 a pair, and all lengths of ski poles went for 50 cents a pair. Snowshoes were also available, as were all manner of winter clothing (mittens, ski parkas and more).Railroad officials boasted that the cars were well-warmed, making them ideal homes for the day. Given the youthfulness of most of their passengers, the snow trains acquired a reputation over the years for their spiritedness. But some longtime railroad officials said that reputation was somewhat overstated. Sure, there were some rowdies who came up for the ride, the late Henry Gagnon, a retired B&M conductor, said in an interview in 1989, "but not many. Overall, they were skiers, and nice kids.Added the late Fran Johnson, a longtime former Cranmore office worker, It wasnt like that all the time. But certainly, if you saw beer bottles in the windows of the cars when you got to North Station for the trip north, you knew the trip was going to be a bit [lively].She said it wasnt the skiers who were the cause of the trouble it was the day-trippers along for a good time. Unlike other areas such as Whitneys Hill in Jackson, Cranmores proximity to the North Conway Train Station served it well during those war years, as G.I.s on furlough could ride the rails in those gas-rationing days and then easily walk to Cranmore or be transported by wagon. As a result, Cranmore boomed during the war years.After the war, new and larger resorts opened out West. Americans enjoyed the post-war boom years, and the automobile and improved highways changed the way the public traveled. Trains took the hit.The B&M ran its last regular snow train in 1950, although there were sporadic attempt to revive the excursions, including one in 1956, which carried only 73 passengers.The B&M stopped all passenger service between Boston and North Conway in December 1961, and ran its last freight run in October 1972. The railroad filed a request to abandon the West Ossipee to North Conway and Intervale line in 1971, a request that was granted by the Interstate Commerce Commission in 1973. In the late 1960s and early 70s, an annual excursion run for those who had ridden the snow trains in the old days was held by the Massachusetts Bay Railroad Enthusiasts Inc., a rail-fan club based in Boston.Among those who rode a Buddliner on one of those excursions to North Conway in February 1968 was Dwight Smith, a rail fan and 21-year veteran of the B&M freight traffic department. The 1874-built, Russian-styled North Conway station had been boarded up and was in danger of being sold to an outside developer, but had been bought by local Yield House founder Bill Levy and ski shop founder Carroll Reed. It was Reed who had founded the regions first ski school as the American branch of Schneiders St. Anton, Austria, school in Jackson in December 1936, and who subsequently sold his Jackson and Cranmore ski schools to Gibson. Gibson in turn put Schneider in charge of the schools as part of his plan to bring Schneider to Cranmore after winning his release from the Nazis in February 1939.When Smith saw the station on that rail-fans trip in 1968 he envisioned transforming it as the centerpiece of a plan to operate a tourist line in the Conways. Reed and Levy approved the idea, and the Conway Scenic Railroad came into being in 1974.So, skiing and railroading go together in North Conways case very well, indeed, as their histories are intertwined. That connection will be celebrated Jan. 9-11. All ABBOAAARD! SNOW TRAIN WEEKEND, Jan. 9-11 Friday, Jan. 9 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Ticket Rollback Day at Cranmore: Lift tickets will cost only $3.30, the same price as a lift ticket in the 1930s. 3 to 4 p.m. Watch the Snow Train roll into the station for this special opportunity to photograph a diesel train in snowy North Conway. The station will be open for those who would like to visit its museum and Gift Shop. Saturday, Jan. 10 8:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Skiing and snow-tubing at Cranmore. 10 to 11:15 a.m. Snow Train pulled by Steam Engine 7470 from North Conway to Glen, with run-by at the North Conway station for photos. 11:15 a.m. to 11:45 p..m. Reenactment of Hannes Schneiders arrival in North Conway in February 1939 by Snow Train. Upon disembarking from the train on Feb. 11, 1939, Hannes and his family were greeted by school children forming an archway made of ski poles. A new permanent exhibit of the New England Ski Museum will be open during this event in Norcross Place, next door to the train station. Hours will be posted at the station. Following train arrival re-enactment, members of the Schneider family will greet well-wishers at the Norcross Circle Ski Museum office.2 p.m. Blessing of the Skis in Schneider Square at Cranmore. From the 1930s and continuing for 30 years, the Blessing of the Skis was a weekly ritual at North Conways Our Lady of the Mountains Catholic Church. Skiers and snowboarders may bring their equipment to Cranmore for a return to this time-honored tradition. 2 to 9 p.m. Cranapalooza with Snow Train theme at Cranmore. Cranapalooza is a weekly event for families at Cranmore offering night skiing, family entertainment, live music and more. A special Snow Train version of the event will be offered in partnership with the Conway Scenic Railroad. Night skiing tickets offered at a special low price with free entertainment and giveaways for the kids provided. 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. Ski history lecture on Snow Trains by local author and ski history buff Tom Eastman at the historic Eastern Slope Inn. Sunday, Jan. 11, 2009 10 a.m. Snow Train departure for Glen, powered by historic Diesel Engine 573. 8:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. All-day skiing at Cranmore For more information, call Cranmore Mountain Resort at or the Conway Scenic Railroad at or go to www.cranmore.com or www.conwaycenicrairoad.com.