LACONIA — Train service between downtown and the Weirs was canceled Saturday morning after a Winnipesaukee Scenic Railroad car derailed as it pulled into the station, briefly blocking traffic along Main Street.
The second car of the scenic train derailed shortly before 11:15 a.m. on June 15, as riders waited to board at the downtown station.
Winnipesaukee Scenic Railroad is operated by Granite State Scenic Railways, which is owned by Patriot Rail Company. The railroad company was purchased by Patriot Rail last August.
Riders who purchased tickets for the ride left with the promise of a refund. Those who had taken the train from Meredith through the Weirs to downtown Laconia were returned there.
Thirty-three passengers lined up along the track downtown in order to shuttle between the heart of the city and Weirs Beach, where the majority of Laconia Motorcycle Week events were held.
The train service ran between Meredith and the Weirs for the remainder of the day.
Conductor David Haig said he’d been working on the railway for 31 years and had never experienced a train derailment before.
Two cars filled with passengers who boarded in Meredith or the Weirs were ferried back to their destination of origin, Haig said, which allowed traffic to continue along Main Street in downtown Laconia.
Representatives from the Granite State Scenic Railway did not return requests for information Monday.
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