CONCORD — Get ready for the Flying Yankee’s return to Conway, N.H., possibly as early as next week. Ownership of the historic train has officially been transferred to the Flying Yankee Association of Nashua by the New Hampshire Department of Transportation.
The announcement came after the governor and executive council voted to approve the sale at their Wednesday meeting.
“It is truly an exciting time to be a Flying Yankee fan,” said Brian LaPlant, chairman of the Flying Yankee Association, in a press statement issued by the FYA.
“This beautiful train can now be properly protected, preserved, restored and, one day, returned to the rails as a reminder of New England’s historic railroading past.”
The FYA now intends to move the Flying Yankee from its current location in Lincoln, N.H., at the former Hobo Railroad (now Granite State Scenic Railway) to the Conway Scenic Railroad’s freight yard in Conway Village, across from the Ham Arena, “in the near future” — with FYA officials telling the Sun they are working with the Lincoln-based railroad, the Conway Scenic Railroad and New Hampshire State Police on the relocation process.
The plan, according to CSRR President and General Manager/co-owner David Swirk, who was interviewed by the Sun last week about the CSRR’s upcoming 50th anniversary celebration Aug. 3-4, the CSRR is to provide temporary track siding for the vintage train until the CSRR can buiid a restoration museum building to house the train.
The FYA will own the train and pay for the restoration with the hopes that it could return some day to the tracks of the CSRR where it once ran on the Boston & Maine beginning in the mid-1930s and where it once symbolized American ingenuity and can-do-it-ness at the height of the Great Depression.
Exact details regarding the transport on the back of a flatbed have yet to be announced, according to Jacob Eidsmore, head of public relations for the Flying Yankee Association, who contacted the Sun on Wednesday.
He said the FYA shares the involved railroads’ and state police’s concerns about public safety regarding the move as well as safeguarding eager railfans and those concerns govern details being worked out for the historic train’s new location in Conway.
Brian Solomon, manager of marketing and events for the Conway Scenic Railroad, when contacted by the Sun Wednesday underscored that public safety has to be paramount for any would-be onlookers.
“We are very happy to hear the news (of the transfer of ownership). We just want to say there will be plenty of opportunities to view the Flying Yankee in the future for those riding our trains or buying a ticket for a controlled situation. It is not going to be hidden away. Moving a train like this can be dangerous so we urge caution and that the public respect private property and understand that the railyard and the train tracks/Right of Way are private property.”
When the Flying Yankee was moved from the Edaville Railroad in South Carver, Mass., on a flatbed through Conway north to a siding in Glen in 1993 by late Story Land co-founder Bob Morrell, railfans lined the sides of Route 16 as it crossed the CSRR tracks on Route 16 in Conway Village.
Eidsmore contacted the Sun for an exclusive on Wednesday following the vote. He said his board of directors was to meet Wednesday night to discuss scheduling and other details. He said the CSRR is concerned about public safety and trespassers on the right of way to the railroad’s freight yard in Conway.
“The FYA would like to recognize and thank both the NHDOT and the N.H. Division of Historical Resources for their work and cooperation in making this important transition possible,” said Eidsmore.
As owners of the Flying Yankee, the Flying Yankee Association is a 501(c)(3) non-profit charitable organization that is working to restore the famous train, originally operated by the Boston & Maine Railroad in the mid-20th Century.
For more information, go to flyingyankee.org, or find the organization on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), and Instagram.
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