Can you survive the Railway to the Moon? Sojourn to Mount Washington and experience the ultimate train ride.

Lifestyle Travel

Steam locomotive and a biodiesel train cross Jacob's ladder trestle at a 37.4% grade

By DAN SCHLOSSBERGPhotos courtesy of Mount Washington Cog Railway

Cog Keeps Chugging Along

Cog Railway's steam number 2 A steam locomotive approaching the station

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Cog Keeps Chugging Along

Although New Jersey has always been a busy transportation hub, few of its residents have ever seen a steam engine or ridden the rails on a train powered by one. If not for films like The Great Locomotive Chase and Emperor of the North, steam trains would probably join the buffalo nickel and Sunday doubleheader in the dustbin of history. But wait! One of the world’s greatest steam railroads still runs daily — on a narrow-gauge, cog-wheel route that makes a steep ascent to the forbidding summit of Mount Washington, New Hampshire. The nation’s best example of living history from the 19th century, the Mount Washington Cog Railway stretches up a three-mile trestle on the mountain’s western slope to a height of 6,288 feet — more than enough to produce wild weather conditions at a moment’s notice. The weather station at the top once recorded a wind gust of 231 miles per hour, more than double the speed of Nolan Ryan’s best fastball. Neither Hurricane Katrina nor the tornado in The Wizard of Oz could match such ferocity. Nor could any other recorded weather phenomenon with the lone exception of a tropical cyclone at the end of the 20th century. “I Survived” souvenir T-shirts marking the 1934 event are too risqué to quote in this publication. But they sell like hotcakes. The weather at the summit is notoriously horrendous, with hurricane-force winds more than 100 days per year, an annual average of 280 inches of snow, and temperatures dipping well below safe levels. The wind chill recorded on January 16, 2004 was actually -102.59 F. (the mercury read -43.6 while the sustained wind was whipping at 87.5 miles per hour). The Mount Washington weather station, the world’s first of its kind, is almost as old as the cog. It was established by the U.S. Signal Service, an early version of the National Weather Service, in 1870, a year after the cog first climbed to the summit. With weather conditions impeding construction, it wasn’t until 1932 that the Mount Washington Observatory was added. Built to withstand winds of 300 miles per hour, buildings and broadcast towers are literally

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Vintage number 9 steam locomotive leaves Marshfield Base station

Steam at the summit

Historic photo of Mount Washington Cog Railway

anchored to the mountain. At the same time, the cog wheel railway is anchored to its track. Unobstructed photo opportunities are obviously more plentiful during the ascent. Except for the Pilatus railway in Switzerland, the Mount Washington cog is the steepest rack railway on the planet. It has an average grade of more than 25% and a maximum grade of 36.41% — making passengers feel like they’re on the high road to heaven. Not surprisingly, getting up the mountain takes time and coal. Both of the route’s two active steam engines average 2.8 miles per hour going up and 4.6 mph going down, producing times of 65 minutes up and 40 minutes down. Diesels were added to the active inventory in 2008, when a difficult economy prompted management to cut costs wherever they could. Each diesel is capable of making three round-trips for the same cost as a single round-trip by a steamer. But the huffing and puffing of the steam engine, the key feature of the cog for almost 150 years, is worth the extra price. A round-trip ticket for an adult aged 13-64 is $69 for diesel power, but $75 for steam. Seniors pay $65 or $69, respectively, while children (aged 4-12) are charged $39 each. That’s not only lower than the price of a Disney World day pass but allows each participant unlimited time at the summit, where there’s a lounge, gift shop, and observatory. Most people return on a different train than the one they rode to the summit from the base. Passengers would be wise to tour Marshfield Base Station too; in addition to food and souvenirs, it contains a museum on the railway’s history. Conceived by Sylvester Marsh after he climbed the mountain in 1852, the cog-wheel line was initially considered pure folly — and technologically impossible. Skeptics panned the project, calling it so preposterous that building it would be akin to building a railway to the moon. The nickname stuck — but Marsh stuck to his guns too, building his own locomotive and practice line while convincing wary investors that his zany idea could become reality. It did, with construction to the top ending in 1869. In August of that year, Ulysses S. Grant — instrumental in the completion of the

transcontinental railroad months earlier — became one of the first customers to ride the cog to the roof of New England. The 1875 arrival of railroad service through Crawford Notch brought a flood of curious tourists. Some 50 trains a day stopped at the three stations in Bretton Woods, creating the impetus for construction of grand hotels. The best, the 200-room Mount Washington, is a 1902 structure that is the last survivor of the gilded age in the Presidential Range of the White Mountains. Attracted by the cool summer climate and mountain-climbing train, patrons have kept the cog in business — even after the old coach road, first opened in 1861, turned into the Mount Washington Auto Road, located on the peak’s eastern slope. Service has been continuous since the line’s 1869 opening, stopped only by a pair of world wars. Even the massive overhaul undertaken by mechanical engineer Al LaPrade late in the 20th century couldn’t keep the trains off the mountain. The trains keep chugging from late April through November. Even anti-pollution laws couldn’t stop the cog, which received an exemption from the strict state codes. Its steam engines burn a short ton of coal and use 1,000 gallons of water per ride. Cog smog is a frequent phenomenon, with the mountain-climbing trains visible from the Mount Washington Hotel and nearby Bretton Woods Resort. Locomotives push cars up the hill and then back down, with both engine and car braked separately for the sharp descent. Passenger cars hold 70 people, each of whom spends most of the trip snapping photographs and shooting videos perfect for reliving the experience. Riding the cog is certainly memorable. The route didn’t even have sidings until 1941, the first year a train going down could pass a train going up. In addition to a pair of spur sidings, a special nine-motion switch was invented to make passing possible. More switches were added in 2004 and 2014, with several powered by solar panels — a development Marsh never could have imagined. The line’s creator was ahead of his time, however. The ladder-like design of his rack rail system allowed snow and debris to fall through the spaces, a concept so visionary

that the Swiss government commissioned a similar line that opened two years later. Never known to bypass an opportunity for a thrill ride, early employees of the cog train devised wooden slide boards that fit over the track, allowing enough room for a rider and his tools. Known as “Devil’s shingles” for obvious reasons, these early skateboards allowed riders to race down the rails at speeds of more than 60 miles an hour. The record time was two minutes and forty-five seconds. Not surprisingly, they were soon banned for safety reasons. Because the Appalachian Trail crosses the summit of Mount Washington, hikers are familiar with both the cog and the auto route, which approaches the summit on the western slope. Even skiers grew acquainted with the cog, which allowed passengers in skis to jump off and ski down to the base. That experiment ended after four years. Two steam engines remain in regular use: the Ammonoosuc, built in 1875, and the Waumbek, a 1908 coal-burner also built by the Manchester Locomotive Works. The line’s earliest engine, the Peppersass, is on exhibit at Marshfield Station. The world’s first cog locomotive, featuring a vertical boiler, was built in 1866 and put to work when the line opened. It went out of service in 1929. The Mount Washington Cog Railway is not the nation’s only incline. A diesel-powered cog climbs Pikes Peak, near Colorado Springs, and three funiculars carry Pittsburgh residents to the top of surrounding hills. But riders in Mount Washington will testify that nothing beats the original. Many will return to ride again during the line’s gala 150th celebration in two years. A three-year series of commemorative events is already underway. Most visitors arrive by car via Route 302 in Bretton Woods. The cog is six miles away. For further information, contact Mount Washington Cog Railway, 3168 Base Station Road, Mount Washington, NH 03575, tel. 603-278-3575, www.thecog.com. n

Dan Schlossberg of Fair Lawn, NJ is travel editor of New Jersey Lifestyle and host of two weekly radio shows, Travel Itch Radio and Travel Tuesdays. He is also the founder of the North American Travel Journalists Association (NATJA).

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