Mt. Washington Cog Railway
-- This Page Still
Under Construction --
On July 16, 1998, we
visited this historic railroad, which climbs the western slope of Mt.
Washington. Starting above 2000 feet elevation, the 45-minute trip takes
visitors up to the summit of Mt. Washington. At 1000 feet higher than
Denver, it's the highest peak on the eastern seaboard.
The engines and coaches aren't all 120+ years old, but
this standard gauge railway is, and the equipment and operations are much the
same as envisioned when it was planned right after the US Civil War, except for
the OSHA-approved hearing protection the engine crew gets to wear. Each
coach is pushed up the mountainside alone by a coal-fired steam engine, driven
by an Engineer, stoked by a Fireman, and the passengers rely on the return trip
on the skills of the coach's Brakeman, as the engine and coach aren't actually
connected, except through bumpers.
