Lynn native trains to be ‘Notch’ above

LYNN – Bob Furlong’s been working on the railroad and the former Lynn city clerk’s friends have been traveling to New Hampshire to ride The Notch train with him.Landing a job in 2000 aboard the North Conway to Crawford tourist train fulfilled a lifelong ambition for the former city clerk and top aide to the City Council.”If someone asked me what I wanted to be, I’d say a train engineer.”Furlong and his wife, Jean, have skied or spent summers in the Granite State since 1967, including skiing during the winter at Cranmore with their kids and taking in the warm weather fun around North Conway.Sitting in Crawford one day shortly before his retirement in 2000, Furlong watched The Notch train pull out of its station and decided then and there what he wanted to do with his post-City Hall days.”I said, ‘I’m going to work on that train.'”The Notch makes the five-hour round trip between North Conway and Crawford station Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday between mid-June and mid-October. It also takes a slightly longer fall trip from North Conway to Fabyan station near the Mount Washington Hotel.Furlong works in the snack bar and runs into plenty of friends from the Conway area and Lynn.The train travels past steep ravines and crosses the Frankenstein Trestle and Willey Brook Bridge with their panoramic views. Its engines, coaches and dome car are working testaments to the golden age of American rail travel.”Most of the cars are from the ’50s, sort of like me,” Furlong said.His love of railroad history is an extension of Furlong’s interest in Lynn’s history. He quickly embraced his job as chief custodian of city records in 1991 when he was named clerk. That promotion came after 18 years spent as clerk of committees for the City Council.The Furlongs still spend part of the winter in New Hampshire and Bob is aboard The Notch during the holiday season when the train is transformed into the Polar Express for trips to the “North Pole.”His favorite season for riding the rails is fall when the leaves begin to turn along The Notch’s route.”I meet people from all over the world, especially in the fall. I never get tired of riding the train.”