If you’re in the Jackson, New Hampshire area this summer, swing by the Jackson Public Library and check out this awesome LEGO rendition of the Conway Scenic Railroad by Dawson Santoro.
The Conway Scenic is a a tourist line in the Mount Washington Valley of New Hampshire, offering passenger excursions through the White Mountains. Their colorful consists include a number of vintage locomotives and cars, including the 0-6-0 Canadian National 7470 that Dawson chose to model for his display.
I asked Dawson a few questions about his very professional build.
BMR: What was the original inspiration behind choosing the Conway Scenic as a prototype to model?
DS: I’ve been following PENNLUG for a few years now, the models they build are truly amazing and they inspired me to build a train with that level of detail. And since I’ve been coming to Jackson, New Hampshire every summer for the past fifteen years, I chose to build the Conway Scenic Railroad which is a major tourist attraction in the area. by invitation, for the past two summers, I’ve had some custom LEGO builds on display and for this year I chose the Conway Scenic because everyone here in The Mount Washington Valley, knows about and has seen or been on the real thing so it’s relatable to everyone.
BMR: What is your design process? Do you work with virtual models on a computer first, or do you work more hands on with physical bricks as you build?
DS: My design process was to first look at a lot of close up pictures that I took of the real train last summer and I tried to figure out what LEGO parts I could use for each feature of the train. I also looked at a lot of LEGO models from other builders to get ideas. I designed one of the coaches on LEGO Digital Designer to get an idea of how each one would look and have a rough list of parts I would need. I modified each coach as I built them and I would often take apart a lot of the detail and rebuilt it differently to get it as accurate as I could. For the steam locomotive, I designed the boiler, cab, gearbox and coal tender on LEGO Digital Designer. Since it was my first locomotive I’ve built there was a lot of trial and error with building with physical bricks. I much prefer actually building my models and being able to see how it’s going to turn out and what works and what doesn’t.
BMR: How long was the design and build process?
DS: I started building this model in November 2017 and finished it at the beginning of May this year which is about six months from designing it to applying on the decals at the end. Before I started designing it I already knew how I was going to power it so I ordered the power functions I needed back in September. I first started building the locomotive which took me about a month and a half to complete the rough shape and functions of the gearing. Throughout the rest of the building of the coaches and the track, I didn’t stop working on the locomotive, adding small detail or changing details I didn’t like or thought I could improve on.
Visit Dawson’s Flickr page to see more, including Conway Scenic’s beautiful Dorthea Mae dome Car.