 The Conway Scenic Railroad was founded by local businessmen Bill Levy and Carroll Reed and by Boston and Maine Railroad employee Dwight Smith.A few years after the Boston & Maine (B&M) ended passenger service on the Conway branch in 1961, Levy and Reed formed the North Conway Depot Company and purchased the station and land that made up the North Conway rail yard, with the railroad retaining ownership of the tracks and rights to operate on the still-active line with freight trains.In 1967, Smith purchased Engine 7470 and started searching for a place to restore and operate it.